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The opening subplinian phase of the Hekla 1991 eruption: properties of the tephra fall deposit

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Abstract

The 1991 Hekla eruption started on 17th of January with an intense 50-min-long explosive phase that transitioned into fire fountain activity lasting for 2 days. The eruptive plume rose to maximum height in about 10 min and the total mass of tephra deposited from the opening phase was 8.6 × 109 kg (VEI 3 event). The principal axis of tephra fall is to the NNE of Hekla and grain-size analysis reveals a systematic decrease in grain-size away from source. Majority of sample sites show typically unimodal grain-size distributions, although a few have bimodal distributions where the secondary mode is a subtle finer peak. The calculated total grain-size distribution (TGSD) is bimodal, with a coarse primary peak (−3.5 to −2.5 φ) and a subordinate fine peak (2.5 to 3.5 φ). The coarse peak is lapilli-dominated and was deposited within the first 25 km of transport, whereas the fine peak is coarse-ash-dominated and fits well with the modal grain-size of samples deposited >65 km from Hekla. Ascent rate of the magma and conditions for vesiculation in the shallow conduit became increasingly uniform with time through the 1991 opening phase.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Icelandic Centre for Research grant 110077-0061, the Landsvirkjun Energy Research Fund grant 02-2012, the south Iceland research fund 2014, and NSF EAR-12-20596. Special thanks to William Moreland, Christopher Lofthouse, Lee Masson, Simon N. Lauritssen, Elísa Ólafsdóttir, Maria Janebo, and Sigurður Gústafsson for fieldwork assistance. The manuscript was improved significantly by comments from M. Janebo, two anonymous reviewers, executive editor J.D.L White, and editor C. Bonadonna.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Jonas Gudnason & Thor Thordarson

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Bruce F. Houghton

  3. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Jonas Gudnason & Gudrun Larsen

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  1. Jonas Gudnason
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  2. Thor Thordarson
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  4. Gudrun Larsen
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Correspondence to Jonas Gudnason.

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Gudnason, J., Thordarson, T., Houghton, B.F. et al. The opening subplinian phase of the Hekla 1991 eruption: properties of the tephra fall deposit. Bull Volcanol 79, 34 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-017-1118-8

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