Descriptive Nomenclature and Classification of Pyroelastie

Deposits and Fragments 0

Recommendations of t he IUGS Subcommission on the Systematics of Igneous Rocks
By R. SCHMID, Ziirida *)
Wi t h I figure and 2 tables
Zusammenfassung
Die ,,IUGS Subeommission on the Systematics of Igneous Rocks" unt erbrei t et hier ihre
Empfehlungen ffir di e Benennung und Klassifizierung pyroklastischer sowie gemischt
pyroklastiseh-epiklastischer Ablagerungen auf Grund deskriptiver, haupts~ichlich granulo-
metrischer, Kriterien. Diese Empfehl ungen sind das l~esultat einer internationalen Um-
frage mittels Fragebogen, di e sida iiber di e letzten vier Jahre erstreckte.
Abstract
The IUGS Subcommission on t he Systematics of Igneous Rocks herein presents its
recommendations on t he nomenclature and classification of pyroclastic and mixed pyro-
clastic-epiclastic deposits using descriptive, mainly granulometric, criteria. The recom-
mendations are the result of an international inquiry by means of questionnaires during
the last four years.
Rasum~
La ~Subcommission on t he Systematics of Igneous Rocks,< de I' IUGS pr6sente ici ses
recommendations pour la d6nomination et la classification des roches pyroclastiques et
pyroelastiques-6piclastiques selon arguments descriptives, surtout granulom6triques. Ces
recommendations repr6sentent le r6sultat d' une enqu~te internationale ex6cut6e pendant
les quatres ann6es pass6es.
I~paTEoe Co~cp~aHHe
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COCTaBHBIX HaCTef~ -- , , I UGS " - n p e ~ a o mHa a a S Ke T y . 3~ecr~ r I p HB O~ T CH p e s y J n ~ -
raTbI onpoca ~ npe~aoa~eHx~a, ~aK oT~ea~ris~x y~eHbix, Tare r~ ynpem~enrxf~ o
~aaccr~qb~Ka~Hr~ 3py~TX~BHt,lX nopo~.
I nt r oduc t i on
Dur i ng t he l ast f our year s, a per i od when wor ki ng meet i ngs of t he subeom-
mi ssi on wer e deal i ng wi t h pyr ocl as t i c deposi t s, six quest i onnai r es on t he descr i p-
t i ve nomencl at ur e a nd cl assi f i cat i on of pyr ocl as t i c rocks wer e ci r cul at ed t o mor e
t han 150 geol ogi st s t hr oughout t he wor l d. One of t he quest i onnai r es accompani ed
an i ssue of t he Bul l et i n Vol canol ogi que. The answer s wer e car ef ul l y a na l yz e d to
obt ai n r epr es ent at i ve opi ni ons, upon whi ch t he r ecommendat i ons i n t hi s pa pe r ar e
based. The r ecommendat i ons have be e n r at i f i ed b y t he Subcommi ssi on at i t s Par i s
meet i ng i n Jul y 1980.
Fr o m t he begi nni ng, t he Subcommi ssi on a i me d at a descr i pt i ve, r at her t han a
genet i c, cl assi f i cat i on s ui t ed for f i el d use, i ncl udi ng a mi ni mum numbe r of t er ms,
~) Priv.doz. Dr. R. SCHMID, Inst i t ut fiir Kristallographie und Petrographic, ETH-Zen-
trum, 8092 Zfirich, Switzerland.
79 4 Band 70, Hef t 2, 1981, Seite 794--799
R. SCnMID - - Descriptive Nomenclature and Classification
and based mainly on the granulometrie properties of pyroelastic deposits. The
Subcommission also i nt ended to compile a separate glossary of common volcani-
clastic rock terms, but this endeavor is still incomplete.
C o mme n t s o n t he r e c o mme n d e d de f i ni t i o ns a n d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
The following paragraphs outline the reasons for our final choice of nomencla-
ture and classification summarized in the next section.
T h e t e r m" p y r o c l a s t "
The answers on the questionnaires exhibited a major difference among active
workers on pyroclastic rocks on the question of how broadl y the terms "pyroclast"
and "pyroclastie deposit" should be defined. One group, represented by geologists
whose chief concern is pyroclastic rocks, prefers to restrict "pyroclastic deposits"
to subaerial fall, flow and surge deposits, and to use the median grain diameter
(of the non ballistic components) as a base of the granulometrie classification.
Another group, which is composed mainly of palaeovolcanologists and geologists
dealing only temporarily with pyroclastic rocks prefers to include within the term
"pyroclastic deposits" also lahars, subsurface and vent deposits (hyaloelastites,
intrusion and extrusion breceias, t uff dikes, diatremes, etc.). Because experienced
volcanologists frequent l y cannot clearly recognize the specific genetic origin of
a volcaniclastic rock in the field (e. g. to distinguish hyaloclastites from other types
of pyroclastie rocks), the Subcommission recommends t hat "pyroclastic deposit"
be used in a broad sense. It defines "pyrocl ast " as ". . . generated by disruption
as a direct 1) result of volcanic action" instead of "'... generated by disruption
during volcanic eruptions", pyroclastie deposits being ". . . assembl ages. . , of
pyroclasts". Moreover it allows "'pyroclastic deposits" to contain up to 25 ~/0 by
volume of epiclastic, organic, chemical sedimentary, and diagenetic admixtures.
The ext ended meaning of "' pyroclast" is not in contradiction with the linguistic
content of this term, "pyr" denoting fire and "clast" breakage.
T h e t e r ms " a g g l o me r a t e " a n d " ' p y r o c l a s t i c b r e c c i a "
Following the preference of many volcanologists, "aggl omerat e" is applied to
coherent as well as to incoherent materials, whereas "pyroclastic brecci a" refers
to mainly consolidated materials because the term "brecci a" is traditionally used
for coherent materials.
T h e t e r m " t u f f "
How broadl y should the t erm "t uf f " be defi ned? The answers on this question
ranged from "consolidated ash" to "all consolidated pyroclastic deposits". Two
advantages would result if "t uf f " were defined in the broad sense:
1. "Tuf f " could be used as a complementary term to "t ephra".
2. Coming generations of eart h scientists would be free to replace "pyroclastic
1) The adjective "direct" excludes autobrecciation of lava flows, because the lava
flow itself is the direct result of volcanic action, not its brecciation.
795
Aufs~itze
br ecci a" and "aggl omer at e" by t he terms "block t uff", and " bomb t uff",
t hus r educi ng t he number of basi c descri pt i ve pyrocl ast i c rock terms and
using for pol ymodal or poor l y sort ed pyrocl ast i cs sel f-expl anat ory composi t e
terms such a "ash-block t uf f " or "bomb-l api l l i t uff".
The Subcommi ssi on deci ded t o make onl y one st ep in this di rect i on by using
"t uf f " not onl y for ash-size materials, but also, as "lapilli t uff", for coarser pyr o-
clastics. I f t he t erm " t uf f " is used alone it shoul d comprise, however, ash-size
materials only.
Gr a n u l o me t r i c c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
I n their definitions, t he p y r o e 1 a s t s are characterized, in addi t i on to ot her
properties, by their size using as a quant i fi er t he " mean di amet er". I n ver y coarse
and in consol i dat ed pyrocl ast i e deposits t he " mean di amet er " is usual l y est i mat ed
by eye whereas in i ncoher ent materials it can be det er mi ned by sieving. Because
t here does not exist a st andar d pr ocedur e whi ch coul d be pr escr i bed for measur i ng
t he mean di amet er in all cases in t he same way, t he Subeommi ssi on declines t o
defi ne this term.
I nst ead of t he "medi an di amet er " 2), t he mor e general i zed t erm "aver age dia-
met er " has been used in t he granul omet ri c classification of p y r o e 1 a s t i e
d e p o s i t s t aki ng i nt o account t hat granul omet ri c analyses will rarel y be carri ed
out and t hat general l y t he grain size will be est i mat ed by eye.
The Subcommi ssi on, in deci di ng on appr opr i at e granul omet ri c size limits, woul d
have pr ef er r ed t o di vi de t he granul omet ri c scale at 50, 2 and 0.05 or 0.1 mm. Be-
cause t hese number s are not even number s on t he phi-scale wi del y used by sedi-
mentologists, t he 64, 2 and 1/16 mm limits wer e ehoosen. These numbers, how-
ever, have t o be r egar ded as provisional as l ong as i nt ernat i onal agr eement on
granul omet ri c divisions of sedi ment ar y rocks is lacking. Whe n in f ut ur e such an
agr eement is achi eved it may be necessary to modi f y t hem so t hat t hey will fit
appr opr i at e sedi ment ar y size limits. Sedi ment ol ogi st s are i nvi t ed t o rei nforce
their efforts to establish a uni fi ed granul omet ri c classification of sediments.
Ge n e t i c p r e f i x e s
The terms for pyrocl ast i c deposits ci t ed in t he fol l owi ng chapt er may be prefi xed
by f ur t her terms denot i ng t he specific genet i c origin of t he deposi t or t he chemical
composi t i on of t he par ent magma, e. g.: "ai r fall t uff", "l acust ri ne t uff", "l ahari e
ash-lapilli t uff", "rhyol i t i c crystal t uff", "vent aggl omer at e" etc. The terms may
also be r epl aced by pur el y genet i c terms such as "hyaloclastite", "base surge de-
posit", etc., whenever it seems appr opr i at e to do so.
T h e t e r m " e p i c l a s t "
The definitions of "epi cl ast ", "epi cl ast i c deposi t ", and "epi el ast i c rock" gi ven
on page 799 have to be r egar ded as provisional because t hey fall out si de t he com-
pet ence of t he Subeommission. The y had t o be gi ven t o cl earl y del i neat e pyrocl ast s
and pyroel ast i e deposits f r om epiclasts and epielastie deposits.
2) The median diameter of the grain population of a deposit is the diameter by which
the area below a weight ~ frequency distribution curve is divided into two equal parts.
796
B, SCHMID - - Descri pt i ve Nomencl at ure and Classification
R e c o m m e n d e d d e f i n i t i o n s a n d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n
P y r o e l a s t s
- - P y r o c 1 a s t s ar e t he i n d i v i d u a l cr yst al s, cr ys t al f r a gme nt s , gl ass a nd rock
f r a gme nt s g e n e r a t e d b y di s r upt i on as a di r ect r e s ul t of vol c a ni c act i on. The i r
s hapes a c c ompl i s he d d u r i n g di s r upt i on or d u r i n g s u b s e q u e n t t r a ns por t to t he
p r i ma r y de pos i t mu s t n o t ha ve b e e n al t er ed b y l at er r e de pos i t i on pr ocesses.
I f so, t he cr yst al s or f r a gme nt s wo u l d be cal l ed " r e wor ke d pyr ocl as t s " , or " epi -
el ast s" (if t hei r pyr ocl as t i e or i gi n is unc e r t a i n) .
- - A b o m b is a pyr oc l a s t wi t h a me a n d i a me t e r c o mmo n l y e xc e e di ng 64 mm.
It s s ha pe (el l i psoi dal , di scoi dal , or i r r egul ar ) or i t s s ur f ace (e. g. "' br ead cr us t "
sur f ace) i ndi c a t e s t ha t d u r i n g i t s f or ma t i on a n d s u b s e q u e n t t r a ns por t i t was i n
a whol l y or pa r t i a l l y mo l t e n condi t i on,
- - A b 1 o e k is a pyr oe l a s t wi t h a me a n di a me t e r e xc e e di ng 64 r am, whos e com-
mo n l y a n g u l a r t o s u b a n g u l a r s hape i ndi c a t e s t ha t d u r i n g i t s f or ma t i on i t was
i n a sol i d st at e.
- - L a p i 11 i ar e pyr ocl as t s of a n y shape, wi t h me a n di a me t e r s of 2 t o 64 r am.
- - A s h g r a i n s ar e pyr ocl as t s wi t h me a n di a me t e r s s mal l er t h a n 2 r am.
- - 19 u s t g r a i n s (or f i ne as h gr ai ns) ar e pyr oel as t s wi t h me a n di a me t e r s
s mal l er t h a n 1 / 1 6 r am.
P y r o e l a s t i e d e p o s i t s : g e n e r a l t e r ms
- - P y r o c l a s t i c d e p o s i t s ( = " p y r o c l a s t i c s " ) i n c l u d e b o t h con-
s ol i dat ed z) a n d u n c o n s o l i d a t e d as s embl ages of pyr ocl ast s. Th e y mu s t c ont a i n
mo r e t h a n 75 % pyr ocl as t s b y vol ume.
- - P y r o c 1 a s t i c r o e k s ar e p r e d o mi n a n t l y c ons ol i da t e d pyr ocl as t i c depo-
sits.
- - T e p h r a is a col l ect i ve t e r m for pyr ocl as t i c depos i t s whi ch ar e p r e d o mi n a n t l y
unc ons ol i da t e d.
P y r o c l a s t i c d e p o s i t s : t e r ms f o r u n i mo d a l a n d we l l
s o r t e d p y r o e l a s t i c d e p o s i t s (Tab. I a n d F i g . 1)
- - A p y r o c 1 a s t i c b r e e e i a is a pyr oel as t i e rock whos e a ve r a ge pyr oel as t
si ze exceeds 64 mm a n d i n whi ch a n g u l a r pyr oel as t s pr e domi na t e .
- - An a g g 1 o m e r a t e is a pyr oel as t i c rock or depos i t whos e aver age pyr oel as t
si ze exceeds 64 mm a n d i n whi ch r o u n d e d pyr oel as t s pr e domi na t e .
- - A 1 a p i 11 i t u f f is a pyr ocl as t i e rock whos e a ve r a ge pyr oel as t si ze is 2 t o
64 r am.
- - A t u f f (or a s h t u f f) is a pyr oel as t i e rock whos e aver age pyr oc l a s t si ze
is less t h a n 9, mm.
- - A d u s t t u f f (or f i n e a s h t u f f ) is a p y r o c l a s t i c rock whos e aver age
pyr oc l a s t si ze is less t h a n 1 / 1 6 mm.
3) "Consol i dat ed" as used her e and i n t he fol l owi ng is t hought to comprise adjectives
such as "coherent ", "cement ed", "i ndur at ed", etc.
797
Aufs~tze
Tab. I Granulometric classification of pyroclasts and of unimodal, well sorted
pyroclastic deposits.
clast size
64 m m
2 ~m
~16 mm
pyroclast
bomb,
block
lapillus
coarse ash grain
fine ash grain
(dust grain) ~"
pyroclastfc d e p o s i t
mainly uncon- [
solidated:
tephra
aqglomerate,
b e d of blocks
or
bomb, block
t e p hr a
layer, bed of
lapilll
or
lapilli tephra
mainly consolidated:
pyroclastic rock
agglomerate t
pyroclastic breccia
lapilli tuff
coarse ash
fine ash
(dust)
coarse (ash) tuff
fine (ash) tuff
(dust tuff)
pumice,
glass
cr yst al s, rock
crystal fragments
fragments
Fi g. i . Subdivision of tufts and ashes accordi ng to their fragmental composi ti on.
P o l y m o d a l o r p o o r l y s o r t e d p y r o c l a s t i e r o c k s c o nt a i ni ng
py r o e l a s t s o f mo r e t han o n e d o mi n a n t s i z e f r ac t i on s ho u l d b e n a me d b y us i ng an
appr opr i at e c o mbi n a t i o n o f t e r ms c i t e d i n Ta bl e I, e. g. :
- - as h-l api l l i t uf f ( l api l l i > ash)
- - l api l l i -as h t uf f ( as h > l api l l i )
- - l apf l l i t u f f -b r e e c i a / -a g g l o me r a t e ( l api l l i ~ b l o c k s / b o mb s )
- - (ash) t u f f -b r e c c i a / -a g g l o me r a t e ( as h ~ b l o c k s / b o mb s )
- - as h-l api l l i t u f f -b r e c c i a / -a g g l o me r a t e ( l api l l i ~ as h ~ b l o c k s / b o mb s )
798
R. SCHMID- Descri pti ve Nomencl ature and Classification
E p i c l a s t i c a n d e p i e l a s t i c d e p o s i t s
- - E p i e 1 a s t s are cryst al s, c r ys t al f r a g me nt s , gl as s a nd rock f r a g me nt s t hat
ha v e b e e n l i be r a t e d f r om a n y t y p e o f pr e e xi s t i ng rock ( v o l c a ni c or n o n v o l c a n i c )
b y we a t he r i n g or e r os i on and t rans port ed f r o m t he i r p l a c e of or i gi n b y gr avi t y,
air, wat e r , or i c e .
- - An e p i c 1 a s t i c d e p o s i t i s a c o n s o l i d a t e d or u n c o n s o l i d a t e d a g g r e g a t e
of epi cl astso
- - An e p i c 1 a s t i c r o c k i s a ma i n l y c o n s o l i d a t e d e pi c l a s t i c de pos i t .
Mi x e d p y r o e l a s t i c - e p i e l a s t i e r o c k s
- - T u f f i t e s are rocks c o ns i s t i ng o f mi xt ur e s of pyr oc l as t s and e pi c l as t s
( < 75 ~ pyr oc l as t s , < 75 ~ e pi c l as t s b y v o l u me ) ,
Tab. II T e r m s for m i x e d p y r o c l a s t i c - e p i c l a s t i c r o c k s .
p y r o c l a s t i c *)
a g g l o m e r a t e , a g g l u t i n a t e
p y r o c l a s t i c b r e c c i a
l a p i l l i t u f f
c o a r s e
( a s h) t u f f
f i n e
t u f f i t e s
( m i x e d p y r o c l a s t i c - e p i c l a s t i c )
t u f f a c e o u s c o n g l o m e r a t e ,
t u f f a c e o u s b r e c c i a
e p i c l a s t i c
volcanic and/or noz
vQlcanic
c o n g l o m e r a t e ,
b r e c c i a
t u f f a c e o u s s a n d s t o n e s a n d s t o n e
t u f f a c e o u s s i l t s t o n e s i l t s t o n e
t u f f a c e o u s m u d s t o n e , s h a l e m u d s t o n e , shal e
average
clast size
in mm
64
2
?16
~ 2 5 6
1 O O % 75%
*) t e r m s a c c o r d i n g to t a b l e I
25 % 0% ~7 w ~ - ,
p y r o c l a s t s
> v o l c a n i c + n o n v o l c a n i c e p i c l a s t s
(+ m i n o r a m o u n t s of b i o g e n i c ,
c h e m i c a l s e d i m e n t a r y a n d
a u t h i g e n i c c o n s t i t u e n t s )
Acknowl edgement s
We gratefully acknowledge t he hel p of al l col l eagues who answered the question-
naires, and regret that i t is not possi bl e to ci t e al l of their names because of their large
number.
Thanks go to Prof. Dr. H. -U. SCnMINCKE (Bochum) for discussions on some critical
points, and to Dr. P. C. BATEMAN (Menlo Park) who revi ewed the text for styl e and
grammar.
The f ol l owi ng col l eagues participated i n t he Worki ng Meetings duri ng whi ch the
answers on preceedi ng questionnaires were discussed and subsequent questionnaires
were outlined:
C. D. BRANCa (Australia), J. W. COLE ( New Zealand), W. DUF~IELD (USA), A. M.
GOODWIN (Canada), H. HONNOREZ (USA), M. J. LE BAS (UK), V. LORENZ (BRD), V. E.
NEAL ( New Zealand), R. SCHMIO (Switzerland), V. Sz~xY-Fnx (Hungary), M. E. TErtUGC~
(Argentine), P. M. VINCENT (France).
799