Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67

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Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

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Quantification of vesicle characteristics in some diatreme-filling deposits, and the

explosivity levels of magma–water interactions within diatremes
Pierre-Simon Ross a,⁎, James D.L. White b
a
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement, 490, rue de la Couronne, Québec (QC), Canada G1K 9A9
b
Department of Geology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Vesicles within juvenile fragments in mafic pyroclastic deposits contain important information about the state
Received 12 April 2012 of the magma at the time of fragmentation. There have been few vesicle studies of juvenile pyroclasts from
Accepted 9 July 2012 mafic phreatomagmatic deposits, however, and none we can find from maar–diatreme volcanoes. In this
Available online 20 July 2012
paper we document the vesicularity and vesicle-population characteristics of juvenile fragments sampled
from non-bedded lithified deposits of the Coombs Hills diatreme complex, part of the Ferrar large igneous
Keywords:
Vesicularity
province, Antarctica. The diatreme-filling pyroclastic deposits, dominated by lapilli tuffs and tuff breccias, con-
Vesicle volume distributions tain typically abundant lithic clasts derived mostly from the enclosing sedimentary sequence, and several
Fragmentation types of juvenile clasts ranging from blocky to fluidal or “raggy”.
Phreatomagmatic In the samples measured, 77–80% of the juvenile pyroclasts ranging in size from 0.5 mm to fine lapilli is in the
Basalt ‘non-vesicular’ to ‘incipiently vesicular’ range (b20% vesicles). Such low vesicularities are expected for
Explosive pyroclasts from maar–diatreme volcanoes where fragmentation takes place at depth in the diatreme or root
Maar–diatreme zone due to magma–water interaction. A few juvenile clasts, however, are more vesicular, and seven of
Ferrar
these were chosen and sectioned for 2D analysis of vesicle shapes and orientation, vesicle number densities
Antarctica
(Nv), and vesicle volume distributions. The shapes of the vesicles in the studied sections are mostly elliptical
(sometimes polylobate), with mean aspect ratios ranging between 0.67 and 0.72. Circular statistics are used
to test for trends in the vesicle long-axis orientation data; non-uniformity of orientations is found in most
cases, but the trends are weak. Vesicle volume distributions are often bimodal due to variable coalescence.
Total Nv values range from 1.0 × 102 to 5.7 × 103 mm−3; taking the effects of bubble coalescence into account,
these values are similar to those found in pyroclasts from other phreatomagmatic volcanoes, although they
also overlap partly with those seen in fire fountain deposits and some basaltic Plinian eruptions.
Fluidal- or rag-shaped juvenile clasts, some circular vesicles, and the lack of microlites all suggest that the
Coombs Hills magma had a relatively low viscosity prior to fragmentation, despite the basaltic andesite com-
position. This low viscosity allowed parts of the magma to be fragmented in a non-brittle fashion during
phreatomagmatic explosions and to form fluidal clasts. Phreatomagmatic explosions in diatremes can there-
fore produce diverse types of juvenile clasts simultaneously, and the proportions of each will depend on the
explosivity of the magma–water (slurry) interaction and other factors. Recycling of fragments is also thought
to be an important factor in generating mixtures of different types of juvenile fragments in diatremes.
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In mafic pyroclastic deposits, vesicles in juvenile fragments provide
important information about the state of the magma at the time of
fragmentation (e.g., Mangan and Cashman, 1996; Polacci et al., 2006;
Sable et al., 2006; Lautze and Houghton, 2007; Sable et al., 2009;
Schipper et al., 2010; Stovall et al., 2011). It is sometimes difficult, how-
ever, to separate the signatures of pre- vs. post-fragmentation textural
evolution (Gardner et al., 1996). For example, in Hawaiian fire foun-
tains, the pyroclasts are mostly large and still fluid after fragmentation;
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 418 654 3773; fax: +1 418 654 2600.
E-mail address: rossps@ete.inrs.ca (P.-S. Ross).
deposited clasts have larger vesicles and lower uncorrected vesicle
number densities than did the magma at the time of fragmentation
(Stovall et al., 2011). In phreatomagmatic eruptions many of the small-
er juvenile particles are quickly cooled to volcanic glass (sideromelane)
when quenched during interaction with external water (e.g., Fisher
and Schmincke, 1984; Zimanowski et al., 1997; Murtagh and White,
in revision); but post-fragmentation modifications to vesicle size or
shape are probable for larger fragments, even in the studied tholeiitic
basaltic andesite pyroclasts of the Ferrar Province. For alkali basalt,
Schipper et al. (2010) found that vesicle populations were more
evolved a few mm inward from the margins of clasts erupted 1 km un-
derwater. Nevertheless, we infer that post-fragmentation expansion of
the clasts we studied is likely to have been significantly reduced from

0377-0273/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2012.07.006
56 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67

that affecting similar-sized clasts from ‘dry’ magmatic eruptions of
equivalent composition.
Despite the potential advantages in examining faster-chilled
phreatomagmatic pyroclasts, not many studies have analyzed their ve-
sicularity, vesicle size distributions, and vesicle shapes (e.g., Mattsson,
2010; Murtagh et al., 2011; Murtagh and White, in revision). For
maar–diatreme volcanoes specifically, the perception is typically that
in the phreatomagmatic deposits, vesicles in juvenile fragments will
be rare (e.g., Büchel and Lorenz, 1993, p. 35; White and Ross, 2011)
and small (e.g., Lorenz, 1979). To our knowledge, however, no quantita-
tive vesicle data for this type of volcano has been published.
This paper presents a preliminary study analyzing vesicle popu-
lations of juvenile fragments from Coombs Hills in Antarctica. The
Jurassic Mawson Formation at Coombs Hills is interpreted in part as
a series of coalesced diatremes (White and McClintock, 2001). The
non-bedded volcaniclastic deposits share many characteristics of de-
posits in simpler diatremes (McClintock and White, 2006; White and
Ross, 2011), so conclusions from this study may also be informative
for other maar–diatreme volcanoes. We also discuss the range of
explosivity inferred for magma–water interactions within diatremes.
2. Geological setting
2.1. The Mawson Formation
The Mawson Formation, which contains the Coombs Hills diatreme
complex, is part of the Jurassic Ferrar Large Igneous Province, found
mainly in Antarctica (Elliot and Fleming, 2008, and references therein;
Fig. 1a). The Mawson Formation and other related mafic volcaniclastic
units are found below laterally extensive flood lavas of the Kirkpatrick
Basalt (Hanson and Elliot, 1996; Elliot, 2000; Ross et al., 2005). The
other major component of the Large Igneous Province is the Ferrar
Dolerite, a series of sills and dikes which invade the older sedimentary
rocks of the Beacon Supergroup (Elliot and Fleming, 2008). Lavas in
the Kirkpatrick Basalt, and ‘basaltic’ (lithic and juvenile) fragments
in the volcaniclastic deposits, are mostly tholeiitic basaltic andesite
(Ross et al., 2008a, and references therein), but here clasts, lavas and
intrusions are nevertheless referred to as ‘basaltic’, for simplicity and
in keeping with historical usage.
The Mawson Formation at Coombs Hills and Allan Hills has been
studied extensively in recent years. At Allan Hills, the Mawson Forma-
tion consists of two members: m1 is a ≤180 m-thick debris avalanche
deposit dominated by Beacon-derived material but containing globu-
lar domains of basalt (Reubi et al., 2005; Lockett and White, 2008);
m2 is a mafic volcaniclastic unit which consists mostly of thick,
coarse-grained (lapilli tuff, tuff breccia), poorly sorted layers inferred
to represent the lithified deposits of pyroclastic density currents
(Ross and White, 2005a). Within m2, the main components are non-
vesicular to poorly-vesicular formerly glassy to fine-grained (juvenile
and lithic) basaltic fragments, mixed with abundant country rock ma-
terial (sedimentary rock clasts and sand-sized quartz grains) from the
Beacon Supergroup.
2.2. The Coombs Hills diatreme complex
At nearby Coombs Hills (Fig. 1b), the Mawson Formation is similar
to the m2 rocks at Allan Hills in texture and composition (Ross, 2005),
but much of the formation is non-bedded. Minor layered volcaniclastic
rocks occur at high elevations (McClintock and White, 2006; Ross
et al., 2008a) and wide clastic dikes cross-cut primary volcaniclastic
rocks (Ross and White, 2005b). The non-bedded portion of the Mawson
Formation at Coombs Hills is interpreted as the infill of a diatreme com-
plex, of mostly phreatomagmatic origin (White and McClintock, 2001;
McClintock and White, 2006; Ross and White, 2006). Typical unbedded
volcaniclastic rocks from Coombs Hills are illustrated in Fig. 2.
Several lithofacies, distinct in grain-size and componentry, are
recognized within the coarse-grained unbedded volcaniclastic rocks
mapped at Coombs Hills. Only a brief summary is given here, and
only for the facies from which we present vesicle data (for details
see Ross, 2005; McClintock and White, 2006; Ross and White, 2006;
Ross et al., 2008a). Overall, in these non-bedded deposits, dense to
poorly vesicular juvenile clasts are dominant and more-vesicular clasts
are rare (Ross and White, 2006; vesicularity index of Houghton and
Wilson, 1989; see Fig. 3), as will be demonstrated quantitatively below
for the coarse ash fraction and the smallest lapilli.

a 180o
b 16o0E
o
160 20'

Allan
Hills
v EXPLANATION
v
v v
SEA

v
v
ROSS

tholeiites 76o45'S
vv
v

o
80S ROSS

181 150 235

135oW

136
152
v
v
v

76o50'
90oW

SOUTH N
POLE

West
A
T

Antarctica
M

o
90E o
90W

East 04 2
Antarctica
km
0o

0o 45oW

Fig. 1. Location of the study area. (a) Map of Antarctica showing the distribution of the Ferrar Large Igneous Province (Kirkpatrick Basalt, mafic volcaniclastic deposits, Ferrar
Dolerite) and Beacon Supergroup rocks. TAM = Transantarctic Mountains. (b) Map of the Coombs Hills area in South Victoria Land with the Mawson Formation shaded. The crosses
in (b) show the location of samples discussed herein, with “OU73” missing from each sample number.
 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67 57

a c

C S

Q
Bd
B

B B

Q
B
B

BV

Fig. 2. Typical aspect of non-bedded lapilli tuffs and tuff breccias from the Coombs Hills diatreme complex, focusing on facies LTh (photos a and c) and TBhr (photos b, d, and e); see
text for facies descriptions. (a)–(b) Field photographs showing a poorly sorted mixture of basaltic lapilli (B) and sedimentary rock fragments (S = sandstone, C = coal) in a ashy
matrix. “Rags” are visible in (b): notice the darker margins and the fluidal shapes. The yellow strings in (b) have black marks spaced by 10 cm (used for field clast counts).
(c)–(e) Plane-polarized, transmitted light photomicrographs. (c) Sample OU73136, showing mostly fragments of dense basalt (Bd), and quartz (Q). (d) Sample OU73150 showing
the same components plus vesicular basalt fragments (Bv) and a zeolite cement. (e) Example of the grids applied on juvenile fragments to point-count their vesicularity (OU73150).
Sideromelane (basaltic glass) has been replaced by palagonite and clays. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version
of this article.)

2.2.1. Heterolithologic lapilli tuff (LTh)
The dominant diatreme fill is heterolithologic lapilli tuff (LTh),
which locally is coarse enough to be a tuff breccia. Sixteen field clast
counts, each done over 1 m 2 in different areas, indicate an average
of 5% blocks, 59% lapilli and 36% ash. Among the blocks and lapilli,
the average proportions of the components are formerly glassy basal-
tic (juvenile) clasts 77%, Beacon (lithic/accidental) clasts 19%, finely
crystalline basaltic (lithic) clasts 3%, and composite clasts (sensu
White and Houghton, 2006) 1%. Three types of formerly glassy or
very fine-grained juvenile clasts are distinguished in the lapilli-block/
bomb size fractions: (i) medium to dark brown clasts with blocky
shapes; (ii) pale gray/brown to cream-colored clasts with sub-round,
locally amoeboid shapes; (iii) elongate “raggy” clasts (see below). The
blocky ash grains and lapilli in particular are thought to have been pro-
duced directly by phreatomagmatic fragmentation.
LTh contains steeply dipping zones of other non-bedded volcaniclastic
facies, as well as rafts of Beacon sandstone, and rafts of bedded volcaniclastic
rocks. It is cross-cut by clastic dikes as well as by basaltic dikes and plugs.
2.2.2. “Raggy” heterolithologic tuff breccia (TBhr)
Rags are non-equant, variably vesicular clasts, whose emplace-
ment in a hot, plastic state is indicated by bent shapes, delicate spiral
ends, and mutual accommodation of adjacent clasts. Most preserved
rags appear sheetform in 3D, and are longer than 1–2 cm, presumably
58 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67

1
2.2.3. Juvenile-rich tuff breccias and lapilli tuffs (TBj)
0.4 Two non-bedded volcaniclastic facies form steep zones within
0.8
other unbedded rocks: TBj and LTa. Juvenile-rich tuff breccias and
0.3 h lapilli tuffs (TBj) contain an average of 6% blocks, 56% lapilli and 39%
0.6 ash (the total is not 100% due to rounding) according to five clast
0.2 counts. Among the blocks and lapilli, the average proportions of the
0.4 components are formerly glassy basalt clasts 80%, composite clasts
14%, finely crystalline basalt clasts 4%, and Beacon clasts 2%. The pro-
0.1 0.2 portion of composite clasts is much higher than in other facies, and
the proportion of Beacon fragments much smaller. Type (ii) juvenile
0 0 clasts are very abundant, type (i) are variable, and rags were not
1 observed. TBj dominates the diatreme fill in some areas, and it can
contain zones of peperite and pods of coherent basalt. The origins of
0.4
0.8 TBj zones appear varied. Some contain coherent intrusive pods and
hr are peperite-related; others lack intrusions and have evenly dis-
0.3
0.6 persed composite and glassy basalt clasts typical of mixed pyroclastic
deposits in maar–diatremes.
0.2
0.4
2.2.4. Accidental-rich lapilli-tuffs or tuff-breccias (LTa)
0.1 Accidental-rich lapilli-tuffs or tuff-breccias (LTa) have an average of
0.2
5% blocks, 50% lapilli and 45% ash (13 clast counts). Among the blocks
0 0
and lapilli, the average proportions of the components are Beacon clasts
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 65%, formerly glassy basalt clasts 33%, finely crystalline basalt clasts 1%,
and composite clasts 1%. Type (i) juvenile clasts are more abundant
than type (ii), and rags were not observed. The LTa zones are interpreted
as formed by upward passage of accidental-rich debris jets within
Non-vesicular

pre-existing heterolithologic diatreme fill (Ross and White, 2006; Ross

et al., 2008b,c).

3. Vesicularity of juvenile fragments

0 5 20 40 60 80
Capelas
Fig. 3. Point-counted vesicularity of 30 basaltic clasts larger than 0.5 mm in average
dimension in a series of digital photomicrographs for two Coombs Hills samples. The
bottom part of figure displays, for comparison, the vesicularity index of Houghton
and Wilson (1989) and the range of vesicularities typical of Hawaiian fire fountaining
(e.g., Kileauea Iki 1959 episode 1 after Stovall et al., 2011) and Strombolian activity
(e.g., Stromboli 2002 from Lautze and Houghton, 2007). Also shown is the range of
vesicularities found in juvenile fragments from two tuff cones, Ilchulbong and Capelas
(after Mattsson, 2010; Murtagh et al., 2011).
because smaller clasts having similar sheetlike shapes would not hold
sufficient heat to behave plastically during transport and deposition.
“Raggy” heterolithologic tuff breccia (TBhr) is a local variant of LTh
distinguished by a coarser grain-size, a lower proportion of Beacon-
sourced material, and an abundance of “rags”, reaching 40–50% in
places. No clast counts were done in this facies. The rags are in places
aligned sub-horizontally or along planes dipping up to 25–30°, and in
rare cases aligned vertically. These alignments are inconsistent between
outcrops, e.g., the outcrop next to one displaying sub-horizontally
aligned rags may show nearly random rag orientation, even for out-
crops close to one another at the same topographic level. Domains of
TBhr have gradational contacts with the surrounding LTh rocks.
The “rags” are interpreted to result from tearing apart of vesiculating
melt in a subterranean (within-diatreme) or subaerial syn-eruptive cra-
ter environment; the details of fragmentation and transport are not
clear for this type of clast, but the tearing apart is somewhat reminiscent
of clast-forming processes during littoral interactions (Fisher, 1968;
Mattox and Mangan, 1997).
3.1. Method
100
Two thin sections from the Coombs Hills complex were chosen for
vesicularity studies: OU73136 (facies LTh) and OU73150 (facies TBhr).
These are stored in the permanent collection at the University of
Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. The goal was to determine quantita-
tively the proportions of juvenile clasts having different vesicularities.
In each case, a series of digital photomicrographs was acquired with a
slight overlap between the photographs in order to cover about half
the total surface of the thin section. This represents 25–30 photomi-
crographs per thin section. The first thirty juvenile fragments larger
than 0.5 mm in average diameter to be found in the photographs
were then each subjected to a point count – filled vesicles versus for-
mer glass – of 100–300 points, using a grid superimposed on the
images (e.g., Fig. 2e). Smaller juvenile fragments did not provide a
large enough surface for meaningful point counts. The largest frag-
ment studied measured 2.9 × 3.4 mm: most fragments studied are
coarse ash- to small lapilli-sized, and therefore are not representative
of the whole facies, which contains fragments up to coarse lapilli and
blocks. Vesicle studies typically focus on fragments from restricted
size ranges (e.g., the 16–32 mm fraction is popular: Houghton and
Wilson, 1989; Sable et al., 2006; Murtagh et al., 2011). Clast-density
determinations were not possible for these clasts in lithified deposits,
but our point-counting results are comparable to image-derived ve-
sicularities reported in other studies.
3.2. Results and interpretation
In the two studied thin sections, most juvenile clasts larger than
0.5 mm contain less than 20% vesicles (80% of clasts in sample
OU73136 and 77% of clasts in sample OU73150; Fig. 3). This corre-
sponds to ‘non-vesicular’ to ‘incipiently vesicular’ clasts in the index
of Houghton and Wilson (1989). The point-counted mean and median
vesicularity values are all below 15% (Fig. 3); the median is less than
6% in OU73136 (that is, half of the basaltic clasts contain no more
 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67
than 6% vesicles). The standard deviations are high, indicating a rela-
tively wide range in vesicularity.
For comparison, scoria produced in Hawaiian fire fountains con-
tains 70–85% vesicles (‘highly’ to ‘extremely vesicular’ in the vesicu-
larity index; Mangan and Cashman, 1996). The Kilauea Iki 1969
episode 1 fountaining activity produced scoria with mean vesicular-
ities mostly in the 60–70% range (Stovall et al., 2011). The Strombolian
eruptive episodes studied by Lautze and Houghton (2007) produced
pyroclasts with mean vesicularities between 55% and 67% (see also
Fig. 3 for the full range of vesicularities for these eruptive episodes).
Generally ‘magmatic’ fragmentation, particularly in Hawaiian erup-
tions, has been inferred to require at least 60% gas bubbles in a basaltic
magma (Houghton et al., 1999; Vergniolle and Mangan, 2000); only
one clast studied here had over 60% vesicles in sample OU73136 and
none in OU73150. Again, note that the fragments examined are mostly
of coarse ash to small lapilli size, in samples that also contain coarse
lapilli and blocks; these larger clasts may be more vesicular than
those studied.
The very low mean and median vesicularity values imply that
magma was quenched and fragmented with far less than the propor-
tion of bubbles needed for ‘classic magmatic’ fragmentation due to
vesicle expansion. This low vesicularity may reflect either degassing
before the magma was quenched, or quenching-in of volatiles be-
cause fragmentation and solidification took place before volatiles
were exsolved (Houghton and Wilson, 1989).
4. Vesicle shapes and sizes: typical non-vesicular to incipiently
vesicular juvenile clasts
The non-vesicular to incipiently vesicular juvenile fragments typ-
ical of the studied deposits do not contain enough vesicles to charac-
terize vesicle shapes or size distributions in a statistically valid
manner. The atypical more-vesicular clasts do, and have been studied
quantitatively (Section 5). Here we briefly describe the vesicles from
non-vesicular to incipiently vesicular clasts larger than 0.5 mm in
samples OU73136 and OU73150 (those used for vesicularity studies),
for the sake of completeness. As shown in Fig. 2 these vesicles, when
present, tend to be isolated, small, and circular or nearly so in section.
The vast majority are smaller than 70 μm in 2D (uncorrected) diame-
ter. Many clasts smaller than 0.5 mm contain no discernible vesicles.
These observations give the impression that the magma had just
started to form bubbles when it was fragmented.
5. Vesicle shapes and volume distributions: atypical
more-vesicular juvenile clasts
Although most juvenile clasts in the Coombs Hills diatreme com-
plex have a very low vesicularity, we were interested in better defin-
ing the vesiculation history of the more vesicular juvenile clasts, and
performed a quantitative study of vesicles in seven such clasts.
5.1. Methods
Seven clasts from four thin sections covering different volcaniclastic
facies were chosen for determination of their vesicle volume distribu-
tions (VVDs) and vesicle shapes. These thin sections are OU73136 (fa-
cies LTh), OU73152 (facies TBhr), OU73181 (facies LTa) and OU73235
(facies TBj). The chosen clasts are much more vesicular (43–66%) than
average and large enough to contain at least 100 vesicles (up to 500).
Given the altered nature of the basaltic fragments (glass altered to
palagonite and clays; vesicles filled by secondary minerals), the study
used only one digital photomicrograph per clast (no scanning elec-
tron microscope images were included). The smallest vesicles identi-
fied are about 10 μm across on the 2D images, but vesicles b20 μm
across were generally difficult to distinguish from white specs in the
alteration products of glass. However, our VVD plots do not appear
59
truncated on the left side (see below), since the very small vesicles
make a negligible contribution to gas volumes. The largest vesicles
present in the magma before fragmentation (at least several mm
across, based on field observations of bombs and fragments in
peperite) were truncated by fragment boundaries, and are not pre-
served in individual smaller sized juvenile clasts in our thin sections,
but this is a limitation common to most pyroclast studies.
The altered glass and infilled vesicles prevented image analysis
software (e.g., Shea et al., 2010) from effectively isolating vesicles.
Instead, vesicles were outlined manually using drawing software
(Figs. 4 and 5). No attempts were made to de-coalesce vesicles except
in very straightforward cases (e.g., two circular vesicles barely touch-
ing each other). High-resolution TIFF files containing the outlined ves-
icles were analyzed in Scion Image; measured parameters included
vesicle surface area, long axis, and short axis. From the lengths of the
axes, the aspect ratios (minor/major axis) were calculated. The 2D
equivalent diameters were calculated from the surface area data for
each vesicle.
For each image, the 2D equivalent diameters of vesicles were clas-
sified into geometric size classes following Sahagian and Proussevitch
(1998). The number of bubbles per surface area (NA) was computed
for each size class. Stereology allows calculation of the number of
bubbles per unit volume (NV) for each class by treating them as
spheres. From the NV values we calculated the relative volume of gas
in each size class based on a typical sphere volume for this class; this
constitutes the vesicle volume distributions (VVDs). The sum of the
NV values for all classes (excluding negative values) is referred to as
NVtot and is typically inferred to indicate eruption intensity (Shea et
al., 2010). High values of NVtot generally require that there be a large
number of small vesicles; because alteration prevented us from iden-
tifying the smallest vesicles, our values for NVtot are likely minima.
5.2. Results and interpretation
5.2.1. Vesicle number densities
The total vesicle number densities obtained in this study range
from 1.0 × 10 2 to 5.7 × 10 3 mm −3 (Table 1). These values are com-
pared to those obtained for the products of other basaltic eruptions,
namely Strombolian, Hawaiian, sub-Plinian and Plinian eruptions,
two tuff cones (Capelas and Ilchulbong), and a mostly subaqueous
Surtseyan volcano (Black Point), in Fig. 6. The NVtot values obtained
in this study span a very broad range and overlap with many other
eruptive styles, which makes inference of eruption style difficult.
This wide range of values is very likely controlled in part by variable
amounts of bubble coalescence, as further discussed below.
5.2.2. Vesicle volume distributions (VVDs)
The only clearly unimodal vesicle volume distribution is that of
juvenile fragment OU73136-7, with a mode near 0.18 mm (Fig. 7,
Table 1). This clast displays very limited textural evidence of vesicle
coalescence (Fig. 4), so the VVD may be interpreted as the result of
simple vesicle nucleation and growth. This clast also has one the
highest NVtot values obtained in this study.
Several clasts have bimodal VVDs: OU73136-3, OU73152-25,
OU73181-2 and OU73235-6 (Fig. 7). The first mode corresponds to cir-
cular to ellipsoidal bubbles, and is interpreted as the result of vesicle
nucleation and growth; it occurs between 0.07 and 0.18 mm, with
three samples having primary modes between 0.07 and 0.13 mm.
The second mode is interpreted to result from vesicle coalescence,
and occurs between 0.23 and 0.55 mm. The VVDs for these fragments
resemble the typical distribution attributed to vesicle coalescence by
Shea et al. (2010).
Finally two clasts (OU73152-5 and OU73235-4) have messy VVDs.
Examination of the vesicle drawings reveals extensive coalescence,
with few small bubbles remaining (Figs. 4 and 5). Therefore the
VSDs are thought to be strongly influenced by coalescence.
60 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67

OU73136-3

ce d
les
co a
not
coalesced

OU73136-7

OU73152-25

OU73152-5

Fig. 4. Drawing of vesicle outlines for four of the seven studied juvenile clasts. Before being analyzed in Scion Image, the vesicles that are in contact on the presented drawings were
separated. Clast outlines are not shown.

As a group, clast OU73136-7 and the four bimodal clasts display
the highest total vesicle number densities, whereas the two clasts
that show extensive coalescence have lower NVtot values (Fig. 6) as
expected.
5.2.3. Vesicle shapes and orientations
The vesicle drawings show that the vesicles are not strongly elon-
gate, but few look perfectly circular. This is reflected in the mean ves-
icle aspect ratios ranging between 0.67 and 0.72 (Fig. 8). The standard
deviations of the aspect ratios for individual clasts are either 0.15 or
0.16. The median values are slightly more variable, ranging from
0.66 to 0.74. There is no correlation between 2D vesicle diameters
and vesicle aspect ratios (Fig. 9).
The orientation of the vesicle long axes was plotted in 10° bins for
each clast (Fig. 10). The values vary from 0 to 180°, being orientations
rather than directions. 1 To test for a trend (or lack thereof) in the ves-
icle long axis orientation data, a Rayleigh Test (Davis, 2002) was
performed for each clast; this evaluates the null hypothesis that the
distribution is circularly uniform (“random” vesicle orientations).
Using a confidence level of 0.05, the null hypothesis in rejected in
five out of seven cases. This means that for these clasts, the vesicle
1
About the distinction between orientations and direction, Davis (2002), following
the practice of geographers, gives the following example: “Suppose a car is travelling
north along a highway; the car's motion has direction, while the highway itself has
only a north–south orientation.” The long axis of a vesicle clearly has an orientation
but no direction.
 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67 61

OU73181-2 OU73235-4

OU73235-6

Fig. 5. Drawing of vesicle outlines for the three other studied juvenile clasts. Clast outlines are not shown.

orientation is not uniform (i.e., there is a trend). The greater the cal- LTh), 73181‐2 (facies LTa), and 73235‐4 (facies TBj). This is not es-
culated R value, relative to the critical value (see Fig. 10 for an illustra- pecially obvious when looking at the drawing of vesicle outlines
tion), the further the distribution is from being uniform. The clasts (e.g., Fig. 4), so the trends are not strong (the vesicles are much less
with the most strongly oriented vesicles (R  ≥ 0.2) are 73136‐7 (facies elongate and aligned than in tube pumice, for example). To our knowl-
edge, circular statistics have not been used previously to quantify the
Table 1 alignment of vesicles.
Total vesicle number densities per area (NAtot) and volume (NVtot) in the more vesicu- The vesicle aspect-ratio data and the analysis of vesicle elongation
lar clasts studied in detail, together with information on modes observed in the vesicle trends indicate that although most vesicles are not circular in cross-
volume distributions.
section (definitely less circular than those of the Hawaiian “vent
Clast NAtot NVtota Mode in volume fraction vs. vesicle lava” shown by Mangan et al., 1993), they are only slightly stretched
(mm−2) (mm−3) size graphs (Fig. 7) and relatively weakly aligned to non-aligned. Three scenarios can
(mm)
be considered to explain these observations: (i) only minor shearing
OU73136-3 93 2.1 × 103 Bimodal (~0.13; ~0.55) of gas bubbles occurred during magma flow, and the magma was
OU73136-7 111 2.6 × 103 Unimodal ~0.18
quenched and fragmented before the bubbles could return to a spher-
OU73152-5 44 8.5 × 102 Polymodal
OU73152-25 90 2.2 × 103 Bimodal (~0.070; ~0.24) ical shape; (ii) during magma ascent bubbles were strongly deformed,
OU73181-2 200 5.7 × 103 Bimodal (~0.075; ~0.23) but they had time to relax towards spherical shapes before magma
OU73235-4 10 1.0 × 102 Unimodal ~0.6 or perhaps polymodal? was quenched; and (iii) the magma was too fluid to transmit much
OU73235-6 56 1.2 × 103 Bimodal (~0.18; ~0.40) shear to the bubbles. It is not possible to decide among the three op-
a
These are not melt-corrected values. tions using only the present data set, though (i) is considered least
62 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67
Fontana
152-25
235-4
152-5
235-6
136-3
136-7
181-2
101 102 103 104
NVtot(mm-3)
Fig. 6. Compilation of total vesicle number densities (NVtot) for different basaltic explo-
sive eruptions; none are melt-corrected values. For the new data from Coombs Hills,
“OU73” is missing from each sample number.
Stromboli 2002 data from Lautze and Houghton (2007) — a series of typical Strombolian
eruptions from the type area in Italy; Kilauea Iki 1959 episode 1 data from Stovall et al.
(2011) — a typical Hawaiian fire fountain from the type area; Black Point data from
Murtagh and White, in revision — a Pleistocene Surtseyan volcano from California;
Capelas data from Mattsson (2010) — a tuff cone from the Azores; Fontana data from
Costantini et al. (2010) — a Pleistocene Plinian eruption from Nicaragua; Etna 122 BC
data from Sable et al. (2006) — a Plinian eruption from Italy; Tarawera 1886 data
from Sable et al. (2009) — a sub-Plinian eruption from New Zealand; Ilchulbong data
from Murtagh et al. (2011) — a tuff cone from South Korea.
likely because the irregular pyroclasts studied are unlike conchoidally
fractured mafic quench grains (e.g. Fisher and Schmincke, 1984).
6. Discussion
6.1. Type of magma fragmentation for the Coombs Hills diatreme complex
We have argued at length in previous publications that the pre-
dominant style of eruption was phreatomagmatic in the Coombs
Hills complex (White and McClintock, 2001; McClintock and White,
2006; Ross and White, 2006). Arguments in favor of maar–diatreme-
style phreatomagmatism include the abundance of country rock frag-
ments in the non-bedded deposits (see for example Barberi et al.,
1989; Heiken and Wohletz, 1991; Houghton et al., 1999; White and
Ross, 2011). Ross (2005) calculated that explosive volcanism was ac-
companied by fragmentation or disruption of over 1 km 3 of Beacon
Supergroup country rocks at Coombs Hills. Up to 97% of blocks and
lapilli in one LTa zone are Beacon country rock fragments, as measured
by a field clast count. Even in the most Beacon-depleted TBj samples, a
few grains of Beacon-derived quartz are petrographically visible,
indicating thorough mixing of lithic components at all scales (from
Beacon “rafts” hundreds of meters across in the diatreme fill, to
engulfed quartz grains in juvenile clasts). In the combined block and
lapilli fractions of the dominant non-bedded volcaniclastic facies,
LTh, the average Beacon content is about 20%. Some of the lithic frag-
ments were derived from depths greater than 500 m. The most con-
vincing way to produce this result is through maar–diatreme-style
phreatomagmatism on a grand scale.
Another feature consistent with phreatomagmatism is the abundance
of rather dense, formerly glassy blocky clasts in most volcaniclastic facies,
indicating brittle fragmentation and rapid cooling of non-vesiculated
or incipiently vesiculated melt (Fisher and Schmincke, 1984; Wohletz,
1986; White, 1996; Houghton et al., 1999). We elaborate further on
the vesicularity below.
In contrast, ‘magmatic’ fragmentation of basaltic magma, for
example in scoria cones, tends to produce pyroclastic deposits with
fewer lithic fragments, and would not excavate several hundred me-
ters into the country rock. Pyroclastic fall deposits of Plinian basaltic
eruptions can contain significant volumes of lithic fragments, but the
Coombs Hills deposits lack the layering, sorting, and high particle ve-
sicularity of Plinian fall deposits; they also have much higher lithic-
fragment abundances and grain‐size ranges.
6.2. Vesiculation state of the magma at the time of fragmentation at
Coombs Hills
In summary, juvenile fragments from non-bedded poorly sorted
volcaniclastic rocks in the Coombs Hills complex range from non-
vesicular to highly vesicular, but 77–80% of juvenile clasts studied
(mostly coarse ash- and small lapilli-sized) are non- to incipiently ve-
sicular. The mean vesicularity of these clasts ranges from 12 to 14%,
105 but the medians are as low as 6%. Such low vesicularities seem typical
of pyroclasts from maar–diatreme volcanoes where fragmentation
takes place at depth in the diatreme or root zone (White and Ross,
2011) due to magma–water interaction. The low vesicularity can
indicate either outgassing of magmatic volatiles prior to fragmenta-
tion, or quenching-in of volatiles upon fragmentation at depth if the
original volatile budget was small. Regardless of which was the
cause of low vesicularity in this case, we infer that explosive eruptions
of Ferrar mafic melts were due to phreatomagmatism, with early
phreatomagmatic eruptions followed by more-effusive activity (flood
lavas) a common theme in mafic large igneous provinces (Ross et al.,
2005).
Rare, more-vesicular clasts examined in detail for Coombs Hills
have total vesicle number densities similar to those found in other
phreatomagmatic pyroclasts, when the effects of coalescence are
taken into account, although they also overlap partly with those seen
in fire fountain deposits and some basaltic Plinian eruptions. The shapes
of the vesicles are similar in appearance to those in Hawaiian pyroclasts,
which also lack abundant microlites (unlike the Ilchulbong or Tarawera
pyroclasts which are microlite-rich). The paucity of microlites in the
Coombs Hills pyroclasts, and the clast and vesicle shapes, suggest a rel-
atively fluidal magma, in contrast to the relatively high magma viscosity
inferred by Murtagh et al. (2011) to have aided in preservation of
polylobate coalesced vesicles in microlite-packed pyroclasts.
The inferred low-viscosity magmas at Coombs Hills would have
allowed tearing apart of fluid magma as happens in fountains or litto-
ral explosions, with the rarity of highly vesicular fragments favoring
the latter. High accompanying proportions of heterolithic matrix indi-
cate that sites of fragmentation were within the diatreme fill.
We also found that most vesicles are elliptical in cross-section and
their mean aspect ratio (short/long axis) is about 0.7, so the vesicles
are not strongly elongate. Vesicle orientation trends exist, but they
are weak.
6.3. Fluidity of basaltic andesite
Because of the basaltic andesite composition of Coombs Hills
magmas, to get such an apparently low magma viscosity, one may
ask whether the magma was exceptionally hot or water-rich. To
answer this question we use the viscosity model of Giordano et al.
(2008) and the average of Coombs Hills magma compositions
reported by Ross et al. (2008a) excluding one high-silica sample, We
evaluate the temperatures and volatile concentrations necessary to
obtain viscosities between 100 and 1000 Pa.s. With no water, temper-
ature has to be between 1255 and 1128 °C. However, the presence of
vesicular clasts at Coombs Hills demonstrates that at least some vola-
tiles were present in the melt. With only 1% dissolved water, the
allowable temperature range decreases to 1134–1006 °C. With 2%
water, we get 1086–959 °C and with 3% water, 1053–927 °C. For com-
parison, Self et al. (1996) estimated that the Columbia River Basalts,
which formed lavas that flowed hundreds of kilometers, had viscosi-
ties of 500–700 Pa.s at temperatures of 1070–1090 °C. Kirkpatrick
Basalt lavas are inferred to have had similar extents and emplacement
dynamics, with Ferrar Dolerite sills also extending over hundreds of
 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67 63

0.3 0.3
OU73136-3 OU73181-2

0.2 0.2
C
C
0.1 0.1

0 0
0.3 0.3 C
OU73136-7 OU73235-4

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0 0
0.3
C 0.3
OU73152-5 OU73235-6

0.2 0.2
C

0.1 0.1

0 0
10

100

1000
0.3
OU73152-25

0.2 C

0.1

0
10

100

1000

Fig. 7. Vesicle volume distributions (VVDs) for the seven studied juvenile clasts from Coombs Hills. The dashed lines show normal distributions or combination of normal distri-
butions, fitted by trial and error, to estimate the modes listed in Table 1. Count is the number of vesicles included in the analysis.

kilometers. So the Coombs Hills magmas were not exceptionally hot or
water-rich: 1–2% dissolved water yields reasonable temperatures con-
sistent with eruptive behaviors.
6.4. Phreatomagmatic fragmentation at Coombs Hills
6.4.1. Fluidal and composite clasts
We have argued above that fragmentation of magma at Coombs
Hills was mostly phreatomagmatic, and used the dense blocky juve-
nile fragments (“type i” clasts) typical of the dominant diatreme-
filling facies to support this, among other arguments. But the non-
bedded volcaniclastic deposits also contain variable amounts of
other types of juvenile clasts, such as (ii) sub-round, locally amoeboid
clasts and (iii) elongate “raggy” clasts. There are also composite clasts
present. How are these other types of clasts formed? Can they also be
explained by magma–water interaction?
Fluidal crystallite-poor fragments are formed where hot, typically
undegassed, magma is disrupted and dispersed as clots or ribbons of in-
candescent melt. Hawaiian fire fountains provide spectacular examples
of such disruption, but the resultant almost purely juvenile population
of fragments is radically different from the multicomponent mixtures
at Coombs Hills.
Fluidal clasts can also form – together with other types of juvenile
clasts – in littoral explosions, which are a weakly explosive type of
magma–water interaction (Mattox and Mangan, 1997). But Coombs
Hills clearly was not on the coast, and littoral explosions do not pro-
duce deposits that may be dominated by country-rock debris. Yet lit-
toral explosions illustrate part of the range of juvenile clast types and
explosivities possible from phreatomagmatic interactions.
Another way in which the fluidal clasts may have formed, in a
phreatomagmatic model, is as byproducts of violent phreatomagmatic
explosions. The fluidal clasts from littoral explosions and more violent
forms of molten fuel–coolant interactions form because individual
magma–water explosions or jets disrupt still fluid magma that did not
participate directly in explosive magma–water interaction (Büttner et
al., 2002). This explains the presence of fluidal or raggy clasts (types ii
and iii) in the Coombs Hills complex and perhaps in other diatreme
structures as well (McClintock et al., 2008; Lefebvre et al., 2012). It is
worth noting, however, that recycling is increasingly thought to play a
major role in diatremes, so juvenile clasts deposited together may
not have been generated together (e.g., Lorenz, 1985; White, 1991;
64 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67

0.30
OU73136-3 OU73136-7 OU73152-5
0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
0.30
OU73152-25 OU73181-2 OU73235-4
0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
0.30
OU73235-6
0.25

0.20 ASPECT RATIO

0.15

0.10 1 .8 .6 .4 .2

0.05

0.00
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

Fig. 8. Histograms of the aspect ratio (minor/major axis) of vesicles in the juvenile fragments for which vesicle volume distribution was determined. Bell-shaped curves are normal
distributions having the same means and standard deviations as the data.

Kurszlaukis et al., 1998; current studies by the authors and collaborators
in other volcanic fields).
Because the fluidal particles at Coombs Hills have a range of vesic-
ularity, it follows that the melt was strongly inhomogeneous in terms
of vesicularity. This most probably reflects degassing-related vesicu-
larity changes across dikes, small conduits, and peperitic or welded
coherent masses disrupted by explosions.
Composite clasts have complex histories involving repeated frag-
mentation or/and mingling with diatreme-filling debris (White and
McClintock, 2001; McClintock and White, 2006; Ross and White,
2006). They are present in most of the same lithofacies as the fluidal
and vesicular clasts described here, many of which have country
rock-rich matrices, and provide additional information useful in
interpreting the clast suite as a whole. Composite clasts form stepwise,
through mingling followed by disruption (White, 1991; Lorenz et al.,
2002; McClintock and White, 2006; Ross and White, 2006), or by
returning clasts to a vent where they are incorporated into magma
or/and welded together and refragmented (Rosseel et al., 2006;
Lefebvre et al., 2012). Peperitic pre-fragmentation mingling is unlikely
for fire-fountaining vents, as is return to the vent of both juvenile and
abundant country-rock clasts subsequently re-ejected as composites.
Most composite clasts at Coombs Hills are interpreted as recycled
peperite, and peperite is commonly thought of as a non-explosive
form of interaction between magma and wet ‘sediment’ (in this case,
diatreme-filling volcaniclastic debris).
6.4.2. Subaerial or subterranean?
Another question for diatreme deposits is whether a given volume
of the deposit was once at the depositional surface of a syn-eruptive
crater (White and Ross, 2011), or whether some features have formed
entirely beneath the surface, within the diatreme fill. Dispersion
of fragments to form layers is typically the signature of subaerial
eruption and deposition of fragments onto a surface, and these sur-
face deposits may be buried within the diatreme fill or subside into
it so that they are preserved “within” the lower diatreme. Most of
the Coombs Hills volcaniclastic deposits are not bedded, but domains
of one to a few meters extent within which elongate clasts such as
rags are in shared alignment are found locally. These domains could
be remnants of bedding formed on a crater floor then disrupted during
subsidence, or alternatively may have formed through shear layering
or other alignment processes.
“Subterranean” cavities can be formed during eruptions, however,
either semi-static ones (Lorenz and Kurszlaukis, 2007) or ephemeral
ones opened during explosions (Ross et al., 2008b,c). Within such
cavities clasts can be dispersed and deposited in a subaerial-like man-
ner. Distinguishing between these two options in diatreme deposits is
difficult. One-sided tests include wide dispersion (unlikely within
cavities) and emplacement as crosscutting bodies (possible only in
collapsing cavities or from direct injection of gas–particle mixture
via hydrofractures into the host). For these deposits, with limited dis-
persal and lacking clear crosscutting relationships, field relationships
do not unambiguously distinguish between these origins.
7. Conclusions
Vesicle-population studies of juvenile clasts are popular, but they
are perhaps not as useful as workers originally hoped because sim-
ple statistics overlap for products from a range of eruptive styles
(e.g., Murtagh et al., 2011). They are, however, useful in gaining a
better understanding of the state of magma at the time of fragmen-
tation, and help to constrain interpretations of eruption style when
combined with other lines of evidence. In this study of pyroclasts
from the Coombs Hills diatreme complex, we have largely followed ex-
isting methodological protocols when looking as vesicle characteristics,
 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67 65

1000
OU73136-3 OU73136-7 OU73152-5

100

10
1000
OU73152-25 OU73181-2 OU73235-4

100

10
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
1000
OU73235-6

100

10
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

Fig. 9. Two-dimensional vesicle equivalent diameter (as measured on the images) plotted against vesicle aspect ratio. No correlation is apparent — neither large nor small vesicles
are more elongate than average.

but we have proposed one innovation, the use of circular statistics to
quantify trends in the orientation of vesicle long axes.
In the samples studied, the vast majority of the juvenile pyroclasts
examined are in the ‘non-vesicular’ to ‘incipiently vesicular’ range
(b20% vesicles). Such low vesicularities seem typical of pyroclasts
from maar–diatreme volcanoes where fragmentation takes place at
depth in the diatreme or root zone due to magma–water interaction.
The question of whether low vesicularities mean fragmentation of
degassed magma, or fragmentation of a more volatile-rich magma
prior to vesiculation cannot be further addressed in the altered
pyroclasts studied here.
A few juvenile clasts are more vesicular, and some of these were
chosen to characterize vesicle parameters. The shapes of the vesicles
in the studied clasts are mostly elliptical (sometimes polylobate),
with mean aspect ratios of about 0.7. Circular statistics reveal weak
trends in vesicle orientations in most cases. Vesicle volume distribu-
tions are often bimodal due to varied amounts of coalescence. Total
vesicle number density values are similar to those found in pyroclasts
from other phreatomagmatic volcanoes (taking the effects of coales-
cence into account), although they also overlap partly with those
obtained from a range of ‘magmatic’ explosive eruptions in other
studies.
Phreatomagmatic explosions in diatremes can produce diverse
types of juvenile clasts simultaneously. The diversity of juvenile and
composite particles in the diatreme-filling deposits at Coombs Hills
are also the result of a complex protracted sequence of events,
where interactions of water (or slurries) and magma had different
levels of explosivity, ranging from non-explosive peperite to mild
explosions and fully explosive interactions.
Acknowledgments
The field and laboratory work described here was performed when
the senior author was a PhD student at the University of Otago. We ac-
knowledge support from this university, Antarctica New Zealand, GNS
Science through subcontract support of White's work, and the Fonds
de Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (Quebec, Canada) in rela-
tion to the research presented here. B. Pooley prepared the thin sec-
tions and A. Picard contributed to vesicle drawing. We thank Nicole
Lautze and Volker Lorenz for helpful journal reviews.
66 P.-S. Ross, J.D.L. White / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 245-246 (2012) 55–67

0.25
_
OU73136-3 _
OU73136-7 OU73152-5
_
0.2
_ _ _
crit crit crit
0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0.25
OU73152-25 OU73181-2 OU73235-4
_ _
0.2 _
_ _
crit crit
_
0.15 crit

0.1

0.05

0
0 20 40 60 80 100120140 160 180 0 20 40 60 80 100120140 160 180 0 20 40 60 80 100120140 160 180
0.25
OU73235-6
_
0.2
_
crit
0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 20 40 60 80 100120140 160 180

Fig. 10. Orientation of vesicle long axis. The horizontal dashed lines show a theoretical uniform distribution (normalized frequency of 0.111 for nine bins). R  is the calculated mean
resultant length for the data (after doubling of angles to avoid inflating the dispersion of measurements); this is a measure of dispersion analogous to variance, where higher R  values
indicate tightly bunched observations (Davis, 2002). R  for Rayleigh's test using a significance level of 0.05, calculated using a power law derived from Table
 crit is the critical value of R
A.10 of Davis (2002). For Rayleigh's test of randomness, the null hypothesis is a circular uniform distribution, and the alternative hypothesis is a preferred trend; if R  >R crit , the null
hypothesis is rejected. “Circ. Var.” is the circular variance, calculated as 1 −R,  and it can vary from zero (observations are tightly bunched together with small dispersion) to one (wide
dispersion of vectors). Examples of dispersions are shown with the corresponding R  values (after Davis, 2002).

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