Post-eruptive processes in the Campanian Ignimbrite

Summary

¶This paper deals with the mineralogical features of the most important and widespread pyroclastic formation of Southern Italy: the Campanian Ignimbrite. This formation is characterized by four stratigraphic units, different in colour and mineralogical composition. The lowermost unit (USAF) is constituted by an incoherent, thin (few tens of cm) sequence of glass or feldspar-rich layers. The middle part of the succession is formed by two main units: a lower grey, welded unit (WGI) capped by a yellow and lithified unit (LYT) that differ in both volcanological features and mineralogical composition. Locally these units are found separately. An incoherent unit (max thickness about 2 m) mainly represented by fresh glass, forms the upper part of the succession. A detailed analysis has been carried out on six sections representative of the entire succession. The WGI is feldspathized by authigenic mineralization processes, and the feldspar content ranges between 30 and 90%. The LYT has been deeply affected by zeolitization processes and the total zeolite content often reaches 60%. Based on a comparative examination of both volcanological and mineralogical data, it is hypothesized that these two units were involved in different secondary mineralization processes. The portion of the succession characterized by the highest emplacement temperatures suffered welding and feldspathization and the result of these processes gave rise to the WGI unit. In contrast, the overlying lower-temperature and incoherent portion of the deposit was affected by circulation of meteoric water, thus enhancing zeolitization and lithification. The product of this process gave rise to the LYT unit.