Catalog of Tephra Samples from Kilauea's Summit Eruption, March-December 2008

摘要

The opening of a new vent within Halemaumau Crater in March 2008 ended a 26-year period of no eruptive activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano. It also heralded the first explosive activity at Kilaueas summit since 1924 and the first of eight discrete explosive events in 2008. At the onset of the eruption, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) initiated a rigorous program of sample collection to provide a temporally constrained suite of tephra samples for petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic studies. Petrologic studies help us understand conditions of magma generation at depth; processes related to transport, storage, and mixing of magma within the shallow summit region; and specific circumstances leading to explosive eruptions. This report provides a catalog of tephra samples erupted at Kilaueas summit from March 19, 2008, through the end of 2008.