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Applications of paleomagnetism in the volcanic field: A case study of the Unzen Volcano, Japan

Earth, Planets and Space volume 56, pages 635–647 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

A case study is presented for applications of paleomagnetism in the volcanic field. First, the importance of magnetic cleaning was demonstrated for the present-day pyroclastic flow. Some blocks contained a very large secondary component which was removed only after heating to temperatures over 400°C. Second, progressive thermal demagnetization was used to determine the cooling history of volcanic products. In the case of a block-and-ash flow found at a depth of 450 m in a drill core, the emplacement temperature varied from block to block, giving inconsistent results. Some blocks, however, might have undergone rotations during cooling because one or two sharp kinks were often recognized in the orthogonal plots of thermal demagnetization. In another case of a Holocene block-and-ash flow, the remanence directions for block samples were completely scattered. This contradictory observation is interpreted by an eruptive sequence that the blocks had already cooled down below the blocking temperature at the summit when the lava dome was at the stage of endogenous formation. Finally, case studies of lava identification by remanence directions are given. For some lava flows which are coeval in terms of volcano-stratigraphy, remanence directions are different beyond the error, suggesting a short time gap between their extrusion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Education, Kochi University, Kochi, 780-8520, Japan

    Hidefumi Tanaka

  2. Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, 305-8567, Japan

    Hideo Hoshizumi

  3. Dept. of Earth Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan

    Yuki Iwasaki & Hidetoshi Shibuya

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  1. Hidefumi Tanaka
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  2. Hideo Hoshizumi
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  3. Yuki Iwasaki
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  4. Hidetoshi Shibuya
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Correspondence to Hidefumi Tanaka.

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Tanaka, H., Hoshizumi, H., Iwasaki, Y. et al. Applications of paleomagnetism in the volcanic field: A case study of the Unzen Volcano, Japan. Earth Planet Sp 56, 635–647 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352526

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352526

Key words

  • paleomagnetism
  • progressive thermal demagnetization
  • block-and-ash flow
  • exogenous dome
  • endogenous dome
  • Unzen Volcano