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A Review of the Recent Geochemical Evolution of Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (1927–2010)

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Active Volcanoes of the Southwest Indian Ocean

Part of the book series: Active Volcanoes of the World ((AVOLCAN))

Abstract

Between 1927 and 2010, more than one hundred eruptions of Piton de la Fournaise produced ~1 km3 of lava, and the volcano’s summit collapsed twice (in 1931 and 2007). These lavas display, respectively, 20 and 65 % of the Sr–Nd and the Pb isotope ranges reported for La Réunion volcanoes over their known eruptive record (3.8 Ma). Variations in major and trace element concentrations and Sr–Pb isotopes do not define a temporal trend at the scale of the century, but display systematic short-term cyclic fluctuations. The positive correlation between 87Sr/86Sr and ratios of trace elements that are more versus less incompatible during partial melting of the mantle (e.g., Nd/Sm, La/Sm) probably results from the sampling of small-scale heterogeneities within the plume source. Changes in the degree of melting and/or crystallization are debated, but these appear ultimately linked to source properties. Lead isotopes do not co-vary with Sr isotopes, in part because of the partitioning of Pb into dense metallic phases that are preferentially sampled during high-flux eruptions. Taken together, Sr–Nd–Pb–Os–Th isotopes do not support contamination of magma with genetically unrelated components, such as the underlying Indian oceanic crust, mantle lithosphere, seawater, or seawater-altered lavas. Yet, in some rare cases (e.g. the 1998 Hudson eruption), the compositional patterns suggest that the parental magma assimilated older volcanic products within the edifice, such as crystal cumulates and/or interstitial differentiated melts. The geochemical fluctuations over the 1927–2010 time period constrain the residence time of magma in the shallow reservoir to 10–30 years and its size to 0.1–0.3 km3. The magma residence time during the course of the long-lived 1998 eruption is estimated to be an order of magnitude shorter, but the reservoir was probably of similar size. Instead, the shorter magma residence for the 1998 eruption was probably due to a higher magma flux.

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Acknowledgements

This paper benefited from the constructive comments of E. Todd and M. Coombs from USGS. The studied samples were collected by G. Kieffer, P.M. Vincent, P. Boivin, P. Bachèlery, F. Albarède, T. Staudacher, and several members from the Piton de la Fournaise observatory and La Réunion University. D. Auclair, and C. Bosq are thanked for the new Sr isotope data on the April 2007 eruption. This work was financed by the French Government Laboratory of Excellence initiative n°ANR-10-LABX-0006, the Région Auvergne and the European Regional Development Fund. This is Laboratory of Excellence ClerVolc contribution number 118.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, CNRS UMR 6524, IRD R 163, Aubière, France

    Ivan Vlastélic

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    Aaron J. Pietruszka

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  1. Ivan Vlastélic
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  2. Aaron J. Pietruszka
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Correspondence to Ivan Vlastélic .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Univ. Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Patrick Bachelery

  2. Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Univ. Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Jean-François Lenat

  3. Piton de la Fournaise Volc. Observatory, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, La Plaine des Cafres, France

    Andrea Di Muro

  4. Laboratoire GeoSciences, University La Réunion, Saint-Denis, France

    Laurent Michon

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Vlastélic, I., Pietruszka, A.J. (2016). A Review of the Recent Geochemical Evolution of Piton de la Fournaise Volcano (1927–2010). In: Bachelery, P., Lenat, JF., Di Muro, A., Michon, L. (eds) Active Volcanoes of the Southwest Indian Ocean. Active Volcanoes of the World. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31395-0_11

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