Voluminous lava flows at Oldoinyo Lengai in 2006: chronology of events and insights into the shallow magmatic system

The largest natrocarbonatite lava flow eruption ever documented at Oldoinyo Lengai, NW Tanzania, occurred from March 25 to April 5, 2006, in two main phases. It was associated with hornito collapse, rapid extrusion of lava covering a third of the crater and emplacement of a 3-km long compound rubbly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of volcanology 2008, Vol.70 (9), p.1069-1086
Main Authors: Kervyn, Matthieu, Ernst, Gerald G. J., Klaudius, Jurgis, Keller, Jörg, Kervyn, François, Mattsson, Hannes B., Belton, Frederic, Mbede, Evelyne, Jacobs, Patric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crystalline rocks
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Exact sciences and technology
Geology
Geophysics/Geodesy
Igneous and metamorphic rocks petrology, volcanic processes, magmas
Lava
Lava flows
Magma
Mineralogy
Natural hazards: prediction, damages, etc
Plate tectonics
Research Article
Sedimentology
Seismology
Silica
Volcanic eruptions
Volcanoes
Volcanology
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Summary:The largest natrocarbonatite lava flow eruption ever documented at Oldoinyo Lengai, NW Tanzania, occurred from March 25 to April 5, 2006, in two main phases. It was associated with hornito collapse, rapid extrusion of lava covering a third of the crater and emplacement of a 3-km long compound rubbly pahoehoe to blocky aa-like flow on the W flank. The eruption was followed by rapid enlargement of a pit crater. The erupted natrocarbonatite lava has high silica content (3% SiO 2 ). The eruption chronology is reconstructed from eyewitness and news media reports and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite data, which provide the most reliable evidence to constrain the eruption’s onset and variations in activity. The eruption products were mapped in the field and the total erupted lava volume estimated at 9.2 ± 3.0 × 10 5  m 3 . The event chronology and field evidence are consistent with vent construct instability causing magma mixing and rapid extrusion from shallow reservoirs. It provides new insights into and highlights the evolution of the shallow magmatic system at this unique natrocarbonatite volcano.
ISSN:0258-8900
1432-0819
1432-0819
DOI:10.1007/s00445-007-0190-x