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1982 eruption of Mount Cameroon, West Africa

Nature volume 306, pages 327–332 (1983)Cite this article

Abstract

Mount Cameroon erupted in October 1982 after a 23-yr period of quiescence. The eruption lasted for 24 days and produced 107 m3 of basanite lava from a fissure on the south-west flank. The lavas showed a steady variation in chemical composition with the first lavas slightly more evolved than the last. This chemical variation can be explained by mixing a reservoir magma very close in composition to the 1959 lava with new magma slightly more basic than the last 1982 lava. The size of the pre-inflation magma reservoir may be estimated from mass-balance calculations and must lie in the range 2.3×106–1.3×107 m3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grant Institute of Geology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, UK

    J. G. Fitton

  2. University of London Observatory, Mill Hill Park, London, NW7 2QS, UK

    C. R. J. Kilburn

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    M. F. Thirlwall

  4. Department of Geology, Portsmouth Polytechnic, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, UK

    D. J. Hughes

Authors
  1. J. G. Fitton
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  2. C. R. J. Kilburn
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  3. M. F. Thirlwall
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  4. D. J. Hughes
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Fitton, J., Kilburn, C., Thirlwall, M. et al. 1982 eruption of Mount Cameroon, West Africa. Nature 306, 327–332 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/306327a0

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