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Simultaneous creation of a large vapor plume and pumice raft by the 2021 Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba shallow submarine eruption

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-07-19, 01:33 authored by Kristen E Fauria, Martin JutzelerMartin Jutzeler, Tushar Mittal, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Liam J Kelly, John Rausch, Ralf Bennartz, Brent Delbridge, Lise Retailleau
The 12 August 2021 eruption of Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba, a shallow submarine volcano in the Izu-Bonin arc of Japan, is one of few documented submarine eruptions to make a large aerial plume and floating pumice raft. Relative to past eruptions, this event was well-covered by multiple high resolution satellite remote sensors, raising the possibility of resolving important questions about the timing of raft and plume formation, and their relationship. Here we use satellite remote sensing to assess the eruption timeline, style, rates, and products. We use the Himawari-8 satellite to assess the plume volume flux and height through time. In addition, we use a combination of ultra-high resolution satellite imagery to assess the timing and mechanisms of raft formation. We find that the 16 km eruption plume was ice-rich and conclude that the 0.1 km3 raft and eruption plume were co-genetic. Finally, we suggest that pumice clasts were delivered to the raft by tephra jets, ballistics, and near-vent fallout from the plume. Together our observations reveal that the fallout of pumice lapilli from a water-rich eruption column generated a large pumice raft.

History

Sub-type

  • Article

Publication title

EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS

Volume

609

Article number

ARTN 118076

Pagination

13

eISSN

1385-013X

ISSN

0012-821X

Department/School

CODES ARC, Earth Sciences

Publisher

ELSEVIER

Publication status

  • Published

Rights statement

©2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons .org /licenses /by /4 .0/).