Contrasting fragmentation and transportation dynamics during the emplacement of Dikkartın rhyodacitic dome; Erciyes stratovolcano, central Turkey

Dikkartin is a monogenetic lava dome emplaced on the southern flank of Erciyes stratovolcano (3917 m) in central Anatolia, Turkey. Stratigraphic, granulometric, morphometric and textural variations are presented to obtain quantitative physical volcanological insight and to interpret eruption and emplacement mechanisms in Dikkartin eruptive sequence. Contrasting fragmentation and transportation dynamics in the stratigraphic sequence of the Dikkartin eruption is related to the ratio of magma and external water during each phases of the activity. We suggest four eruptive phases. The eruption begins with a dry, purely magmatic Plinian eruption with a column height of 20 km. According to the isopleth and isopach maps, the plume stretched in a NNE-SSW direction. The amount of water interacting with magma modified the course of the Dikkartin eruption. During a phase dominated by phreatomagmatism, an explosion crater and a tuff ring were formed. Exhaustion of the water in the environment and depletion of initial magmatic volatiles in the course of time resulted in extrusion of a lava dome. Sequential Fragmentation/Transport (SFT) theory has been applied on tephra samples to comment on fragmentation and transportation dynamics using grain size data. The magmatic and phreatomagmatic characters contained in each explosion sequence were numerically demonstrated. The relationship between the porosity time and the magma-water interaction time was investigated by detailed SEM analysis and roughness values calculated on volcanic ash. Surface analysis on volcanic ash suggested that most of the phreatomagmatic eruptions producing the tuff ring were dry with superheated steam but little vapour condensation occurred allowing adhesion of fine material on surfaces. Considering the c. 20 km plume height calculated for the climactic eruption column (Phase 1), the prevailing winds directed the cloud to the south, but due to the decrease in the plume height (Phase 2), the cloud was later directed to the northeast. According to the direction of seasonal winds, it is suggested that Dikkartin erupted during winter.