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The Tephra of the 1669 Etna, Sicily Eruption: The Petrologic, Mineralogical, Geochemical Properties, and the Geodynamic Aspect

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Abstract

This paper reports the first multidisciplinary petrologic, mineralogical, and geochemical studies of the near-crater tephra discharged by the 1669 catastrophic eruption of Etna stratovolcano, Sicily. We studied the grain-size distribution, chemical and mineral-phase composition of the tephra. We determined the composition of trace elements and the composition of encapsulated lithogenic gases. Etna is classified as an intraplate volcano with a deep-seated magma chamber. Of special importance is the fact that the Etnean products were found to contain volcanogenic organoids that have phase, elemental, and isotope compositions similar to the organoids encountered in diamond-bearing products discharged by some Kamchatka volcanoes. This corroborates out earlier inference that carbonaceous abiogenesis is ubiquitous in the conditions of onshore volcanism.

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Notes

  1. For comparison: the AD79 eruption of Vesuvius killed roughly two thousand people.

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Funding

The ICP-MS trace element analysis was performed at the Geoanalitik TsKP UrO RAN for the research topic no. AAAA-A18-118053090045-8 of the State Assignment at the Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology, Federal Research Center, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Pervomaiskaya, 54, 167982, Syktyvkar, Russia

    V. I. Silaev, V. N. Filippov, B. A. Makeev & S. N. Shanina

  2. Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, bulvar Piipa, 9, 683006, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia

    G. A. Karpov, L. P. Anikin & K. V. Tarasov

  3. University of Catania, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Universitetskaya pl., 2, 95129, Catania, Italy

    V. Scribano

  4. All-Russia Rosnedra Geological Institute, Sredny pr., 74, VO, 199106, St. Petersburg, Russia

    D. N. Remizov

  5. Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vonsovskogo, 15, 20016, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    D. V. Kiseleva

  6. ADAMANT, Skolkovo Innovation Center, Tikhoretsky pr., 10/1-61, 194064, St. Petersburg, Russia

    C. K. Simakov

Authors
  1. V. I. Silaev
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  2. G. A. Karpov
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  5. D. N. Remizov
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  6. V. N. Filippov
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  7. D. V. Kiseleva
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  8. B. A. Makeev
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  9. S. N. Shanina
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  10. K. V. Tarasov
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  11. C. K. Simakov
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to V. I. Silaev, G. A. Karpov, D. N. Remizov or D. V. Kiseleva.

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Translated by A. Petrosyan

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Silaev, V.I., Karpov, G.A., Anikin, L.P. et al. The Tephra of the 1669 Etna, Sicily Eruption: The Petrologic, Mineralogical, Geochemical Properties, and the Geodynamic Aspect. J. Volcanolog. Seismol. 15, 180–200 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0742046321020056

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