Bull Volcanol(1986) 48:265-274
Voli ology
On the growth of maars and diatremes and its relevance to the
formation of tuff rings
V Lorenz
tnstitut ftir Geowissenschaften,Johannes-Gutenberg-Universit/it,Saarstrage21, 6500 Mainz, Federal Republicof Germany
Abstract. Small and large maars exist associated with
small and large diatremes, respectively, their subsurface
feeder structures. The problem of size and growth of
maar-diatreme volcanoes is discussed from a phreatomag-
matic point of view from field data, some geophysical data,
and short-lived historic maar eruptions. A hydrostatic pres-
sure barrier of usually about 20-30 bars is assumed to
control the maximum depth level of explosive mag-
ma/groundwater interactions. Similar to the situation in
submarine and subglacial volcanism, initial maar-forming
water vapour explosions are therefore assumed to occur at
shallow depth and to produce a small maar with a shallow
diatreme. Because of limited availability of groundwater
and ejection of groundwater in the form of steam, the con-
fining pressure barrier is displaced downward. Conse-
quently, water vapour explosions can take place at conse-
cutively deeper levels with the result that the diatreme
penetrates downward and grows in size. Since maars are
collapse craters resulting from ejection of wallrocks
fragmented by water vapour explosions at the level of the
diatreme root zone, downward penetration of a diatreme
not only results in increase in size of a diatreme but also in
increase in size of the overlying maar. As availability of
groundwater in limited amounts controls formation of dia-
tremes and their downward penetration, lack of ground-
water enables magma to rise within a diatreme and to form
a scoria cone or lava lake within the maar, as is frequently
found in volcanic fields such as the Eifel area in Germany.
In contrast, availability of large amounts of water in near
surface environments such as shallow marine, lake, water-
rich coastal plains, or water-rich fluviatile gravel beds pre-
vents formation of maars and deep diatremes but causes
formation of tuff rings.
Introduction
Maars are volcanic craters that have been cut into pre-
emption surfaces and pre-eruption rocks. Older rocks are
© Springer-Verlag 1986
thus exposed in the crater walls. Maars are surrounded by
low rims of ejecta beds which accumulated on the surface
and decrease in thickness very rapidly outward. The dia-
meters of maars vary between less than 100 m and in excess
of 1500 m, their depths vary between several tens of metres
and in excess of 200 m, and thickness of ejecta beds in the
upper crater wall vary between less than 10 m and in excess
of 40 m.
Those maars which have been investigated during the
last 20 years have been shown to be phreatomagmatic or,
rarely, and not dealt with in this paper, to be phreatic in ori-
gin (for references see Kienle et al. 1980; Lorenz 1973,
1986).
The numerous (usually several hundred) ejecta beds of
phreatomagmatic maars are between several millimeters
and several decimetres thick, implying multiple eruptions
with a small mass production per individual eruption. The
pyroclastic material consists of a juvenile fraction of
vesicle-free to vesicle-poor pyroclasts and of a large
proportion of country rock clasts [on average 80 % at the
Westeifel maars (Zimanowski 1986)]. Clast size varies be-
tween ash and bomb/block size. Aspects pointing to a
phreatomagmatic origin of these ejecta and thus of the
respective maars have been dealt with in detail by many
authors (e. g. Fisher and Waters 1970; Lorenz 1973, 1974;
Lorenz and Bfichel 1980a; Moore 1967; Ollier 1967;
Schmincke 1977; Fisher and Schmincke 1984).
Diatremes, also called pipes or tuff pipes, are the sub-
surface feeder structures of maars. They are cone-shaped
and most of them propably extend into igneous dykes at
depth (Fig. 1). Maximum diameters of diatremes vary be-
tween several tens of metres and in excess of 1500 m, and
in this respect are similar to the diameters ofmaars. Depths
of diatremes from the Earth's surface at the time of eruption
downward to the diatreme root zones and feeder dykes are
frequently unknown but may reach 2000-2500 m as, for
example, in the largest South African kimberlite diatremes
(Clement 1982) or in the Swabian diatremes, southern Ger-
many (Lorenz 1979, 1982b).
266
Maar with posteruptive sediments ~ r a t e r
Orapa/Botswana E
Jwaneng/Botswana E
Diatreme with subsided pyroclastic
beds, pyroctastic vents, and late
dykes
I
Kimberley diatremes
Diatreme root zone with
wall-rock breccJas
Length to height
about 1:1 Feeder dyke
Many aspects of maars and diatremes have been stud-
ied, especially those dealing with their ejecta and
phreatomagmatic mode of formation, the relationship be-
tween maars and diatremes, and their origin by collapse
processes. One problem which has not been adequately ad-
dressed concerns the growth ofmaars and diatremes during
their eruptive history.
It is the purpose of this paper to present some data relat-
ed to the growth of maars and diatremes, to present a
model for their growth and to make some comparisons with
tuffrings. Tuffrings are phreatomagmatic volcanoes simi-
lar to maars (Lorenz et al. 1970). They have wide craters
(Fig. 9), which, however, do not penetrate into the older
country rocks. Country rock clasts make up only about
1%-5% of the ejected pyroclasts within the hundreds of
their individual ejecta beds. Thus a tuff ring cannot have a
deep diatreme beneath its crater.
Formation of maars and diatremes
Fragmentation of wallrocks by explosive magma/ground-
water interaction (phreatomagmatic water vapour explo-
sions) and ejection of large amounts of these wallrock
c l a s t s - together with juvenile c l a s t s - result in loss of
mass at the level of explosions and consequent wallrock in-
stability and collapse (Lorenz 1986). The zone of collapse
is propagated upward, and at the surface a collapse crater,
a maar forms. The subsurface collapse structure underly-
ing the maar is called the diatreme. It has been inferred
Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes
rim
Fig. L Schematic drawing of a model maar-
diatreme volcano with post-eruptive crater
sediments and feeder dyke. This model has
been integrated from kimberlitic diatremes in
Botswana (Orapa maar and Jwaneng dia-
treme) and diatremes in the Kimberley area of
South Africa. The diatreme root zone has
been taken from Clement (1982). Diameter of
feeder dyke and pycroclastic vents is exag-
gerated in scale
from the study of the Montana diatremes that collapse oc-
curs during eruption and is not a post-eruption phenome-
non (Hearn 1968). This is supported by studies of short-
lived historic maars (Miiller and Veyl 1956; Lorenz 1982a;
Btichel and Lorenz, unpublished data). For example, insta-
bility of the subsurface wallrocks caused crater collapse
and the formation of Ukinrek West Maar, Alaska, during its
three days' total activity (Kienle et al. 1980; Biichet and
Lorenz, unpublished data).
From the time of initial maar collapse, continued erup-
tions will deposit ejecta beds both outside the maar on and
away from the rim as well as inside the maar on the floor
and crater walls. As continued ejection of wallrock clasts
causes continued subsidence inside the crater, pyroclastic
beds accumulate inside the maar in amounts larger than on
the rim and participate in the subsidence processes. With
continued eruptions, more and more ejecta beds will oc-
cupy the interior of the diatreme. Such ejecta beds are
found in nearly all well-exposed large diatremes (Lorenz
!986).
Up to this time it has not been clear what controls the
diameters and depths of maars and diatremes. In the case
of a large maar, does initial collapse cause a large diameter
or does the maar diameter grow with eruption time? Are
diameters and depths of diatremes stable during eruptive
activity, or do they grow? Previous models by the present
author, for example, were based on the assumption of a
stable diatreme depth (Lorenz 1975, Fig. 2).
The study of the volcanological aspects of the numer-
ous rim ejecta beds of many maars clearly shows that
Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes
Length to height
about 1:1
Fig. 2. Schematicdrawing for comparisonof dimensions of a small maar
and its associatedshort diameter and small ejectavolumewith dimensions
of a large maar and its associatedlarge diatreme and large ejecta volume.
Scale: length to height about 1:1;e. g. small maar 400 m in diameter and
large maar 900 m in diameter
phreatomagmatic explosions were responsible not only for
some individual beds but for all or nearly all of the
hundreds of maar ejecta beds. This important fact implies
that groundwater had access to the rising magma during the
entire duration of the eruptive activity of the respective
maars and must be taken into consideration in any model
concerning the growth of maars and diatremes.
In addition to the above processes the following aspects
are relevant to the formation and growth of maars and dia-
tremes:
t. Small maars are in general shallower than large maars
(Lorenz et al. 1970), and this is especially evident when ef-
fects of erosion at the rims and sedimentation on the crater
floors are taken into account.
2. Small maars produce smaller volumes of ejecta beds of
both juvenile and country-rock clasts than larger maars
(e. g. Ukinrek maars, Kienle et al. 1980).
3. Magnetic and gravimetric investigations of the floors of
many Eifel maars show that the larger the diameter of a
maar, the larger is the diameter of the underlying diatreme
(Btichel 1984; Lorenz and Biichel 1980b; Bfichel et al.,
unpublished data).
4. The Bouguer anomalies of about ten investigated West-
eifel maars increase systematically with maar diameter and
diatreme diameter. The small Wallenborn maar, for exam-
ple, with a diatreme diameter of about 430 m, has a Bou-
guer anomaly of --1.2 regal whereas the large Meerfeld
maar, with a diatreme diameter of 1180 m, has a Bouguer
anomaly of about - - 6 mgal (Bfichel 1984; Henk 1984).
267
This relationship implies that the larger the maar and the
diatreme diameter, the greater the depth of the diatreme
root (Bfichel et al., unpublished data) (Fig. 2).
These aspects taken together seem to imply a general
trend: during production of pyroclastic ejecta maars grow
in diameter and depth the longer the eruptions last. The un-
derlying diatremes seem to grow in diameter and depth
likewise and simultaneously.
Volcanoes with an initial m a a r phase
Further support for the model of syn-eruptive growth of
maar diameter and depth comes from the study of a number
of small volcanoes in the Eifel Tertiary (Hocheifel) and
Quaternary (Westeifel) volcanic fields and the Tertiary
Hegau volcanic field, southern Germany. Many of these
volcanoes went through an initial period of phreatomag-
matic explosions which caused collapse of an initial maar.
Uninterrupted but now nonphreatomagmatic activity in a
second phase then resulted in formation of either a scoria
cone or a lava lake within the initial maar (Fig. 3).
Within the ejecta of the initial maar, the outward dip-
ping pyroclastic beds are usually cut by a number of anti-
thetic and mainly normal faults close to the crater wall.
Subsequent to faulting, the maar ejecta and their rim faults
are then covered by scoria or lava. The scoria unconforma-
bly overlies the inner crater wall country rocks and overly-
ing outward dipping maar ejecta and is draped over the rim
edge to lie conformably on the outward-dipping maar ejec-
ta (Fig. 3). As this relationship is very common, collapse
of the maar at this stage must have caused a cut-off in the
groundwater supply during the volcano's eruptive activity,
or the available groundwater had been used up when this
collapse occurred. Continued magma rise with its lava
Length to height
about 1•1
4
Fig. 3. Schematic drawing showing a small scoria cone with an ini-
tial maar as is typical for many Westeifel scoria cones. In an initial
phreatomagmatic phase, rise of magma and its contact with
groundwater led to water vapour explosions and consequent col-
lapse of an initial maar and the underlying diatreme structure. The
maar pyroclastic beds and the underlying wallrocks are frequently
cut by concentric normal faults. In a second phase, magma rose
without contacting groundwater and consequently a scoria cone
formed within the initial maar. In the Tertiary Hocheifel and
Hegau volcanic fields, the second (nonphreatomagmatic) phase
usually led to formation of a lava lake within the initial maar
268 Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes

fountains then covered and thus sealed the specific stage of implies simultaneous growth of the underlying diatreme
maar formation already reached. both in diameter and depth.
There are scoria cones with an initial maar phase where
this sealing off took place earlier than at others, as can be
judged from the variable thickness of the maar ejecta rims
and number of ejecta beds already deposited prior to col- Historic maar eruptions
lapse. This relationship suggests that collapse is initiated
very early in the eruptive activity of maars. Depending on Historic maar eruptions have been rare, and most have not
the time of sealing off of groundwater supply, the eruptive been documented well and their pyroclastic rocks not been
style changes from phreatomagmatic to lava fountaining, studied in detail. Those studied best are the Ukinrek maars,
ending the stage of maar diameter and depth evolution. Alaska, which erupted in 1977 (Kienle et al. 1980; Self et
Initial maars in the Westeifet and in the Tertiary volca- al. 1980).
nic fields of the Hocheifel and Hegau clearly show diame- The two Ukinrek maars formed within 11 days. West
ters which on average are smaller than those of ordinary Maar formed a crater 170 m in diameter and 35 m deep over
maars that erupted phreatomagmatically during the whole a period of 3 days. East Maar formed a crater 300 m in di-
course of the volcanoes' eruptive activity. Consequently, it ameter and 70 m deep within the following 8 days. As both
can be assumed that ordinary maars grow in diameter and maars formed within the same country rocks, it can be as-
depth because of collapse processes which are active fairly sumed that the longer eruptive activity of East Maar result-
continuously during their eruptive activity. And as crater ed in longer growth of its crater diameter and depth. At the
diameter is related to diatreme diameter and depth (see smaller West Maar, collapse had already occurred during
above), growth of maars during their eruptive history the 3 days of eruptive activity, as is indicated by inward dip-
ping younger ejecta lying unconformably on older ejecta
within the inner crater wall. The ejecta sequence also
demonstrates very clearly that initial eruptions at West
Maar ejected country rocks from close to the surface
Ukinrek W . ~ . ~..~ Phase1 whereas later eruptions ejected country rocks from
progressively deeper stratigraphic levels (Fig. 4). Thus,
Moraines,fluvioglacial not only did the crater grow in size: but the diatreme grew
Sed. Mt. Peulik Lahars in depth as well (Lorenz 1982a).
The larger East Maar has some concentric faults in its
O 0 0 0 0 Jurassic Naknek inner northwest upper crater wall which not only cut the
0 0 0 0 0 Formation: ejecta beds but also the crater wall country rocks. This indi-
(Conglomerates,
cates that collapse also played an important role at East
Shales)
It" ;B Maar. In the East Maar rim ejectao wood fragments from
the original surface vegetation are found from the base up-
ward to nearly two-thirds of the total thickness. This indi-
cates continuous collapse, and that again and again the near
Permafrost- Lenses surface rocks and the overlying vegetation participated in
the eruption and ejection processes. As the eruption clouds
within a maar crater usually have no or only little erosive
O 0 I0 0 0 power (Lorenz 1973), as can be judged from the pyroclastic
beds deposited, participation of near surface crater wall
rocks in the eruptions is possible by repeated collapse and
(C.'". . . . 7)~ Phase 3+4 transport of the collapsed material to the feeder vent.
In 1875 the small rhyolitic maar Viti erupted at the end
of the 1875 Askja (Iceland) eruptive cycle (Sigurdsson and
Sparks 1978; Sigvaldason, personal communication 1984).
.]100 m The maar has a diameter of 100 m and a depth of 50 m
(Einarsson 1963). Its phreatomagmatic eruptions clearly
o 200m occurred after the major pumice eruptions of Askja caldera
0 0 ~V/'.) 0
/ vents and produced only minor amounts of ejecta. The du-
ration of the eruptions is unknown but could have been one
Fig. 4. Schematiccross-sectionsthroughUkinrekWestMaarandits coun- or a couple of days at most.
try rocks. Duringthe 3 daysof eruptions in 1977,the siteof phreatomag-
maticexplosionspenetrateddownward, as is indicatedby the appearance In 1724, the maar Viti in the Krafla caldera, northern
in the ejectabeds of wallrocks fromprogressivelygreater depth Iceland erupted during a brief period of time (one to a few
Lorenz: On the growthof maars and diatremes
days) (Noll 1967). Its diameter is 320 m and its depth be-
tween 102 and 53 m (average 75 m). Thus this maar is simi-
lar in size to Ukinrek East Maar.
All these historic maars were short-lived and produced
rather small maars, small in diameter, depth and diatreme
diameter. They also produced ejecta volumes which corre-
late with the crater size as can be judged from the scant field
data. The smaller the crater, the smaller the ejecta volume.
In contrast, many fossil maars, as in the Eifel, Germany,
Massif Central, France, and western United States are
much larger and produced larger ejecta volumes.
Therefore, from an empirical point of view, they should
have been active much longer than the short-lived historic
maars, perhaps for weeks or months.
Consequences of the growth of maars and diatremes
Judging from the above data, maars and diatremes seem to
grow in size during their eruptive activity. This growth has
a number of implications:
1. During eruptive activity of a maar, its crater walls col-
lapse again and again, in part subsiding within the dia-
treme, and in part slumping onto the crater floor. In the
ldmberlite maar/diatreme of Orapa and the kimberlite dia-
treme of Jwaneng, both in Botswana, the subsided bedded
pyroclastic rocks (at Orapa, the beds underlying the lake
beds) which were deposited from eruption clouds contain
interbedded lahars up to several metres thick. These lahars
are reworked pyroclastic material which flowed down the
inner crater walls. The lahars, which are of relatively large
volume, could represent collapsed rim beds which turned
into lahars because of their phreatomagmatically derived
water content. Other diatremes containing lahars interbed-
ded in subsided pyroclastic beds are the diatremes of the
Midland Valley, Scotland (Leys 1982) and the Montosa
maar/diatreme in New Mexico (Aubele et al. 1978).
The diameter of the underlying diatreme grows simul-
taneously with the enlargement of the maar. Therefore, the
diameter of the ring fault surrounding the diatreme has to
enlarge or, more likely, new and larger ringfaults are
established consecutively. Camus (1975) shows maars in
cross-section with a series of hypothetical ring faults
beneath the crater floor. Hearn (1968) shows a series offing
faults surrounding the Montana diatremes. In those dia-
tremes, a thick sequence of bedded pyroclastic rocks is sur-
rounded by a collar of subsided country rocks. Within this
collar rocks from the highest stratigraphic levels are
nearest to the centre of the diatreme and rocks from in-
creasingly deep stratigraphic levels subsided increasingly
less and lie closer to the diatreme wall. The country rocks
are not present in their original thickness but as a con-
densed section with only part of the original thicknesses
preserved between a series of ring faults.
269
2. Larger Bouguer anomalies associated with larger maars
and larger diatreme diameters indicate deeper diatremes in
the Westeifel. This suggests that during evolution ofa maar-
diatreme volcano the diatreme root zone penetrates down-
ward. It seems logical that downward penetration of a dia-
treme can account for consecutive enlargement of the col-
lapse structure and collapse crater because of mechanical
instability of the diatreme walls.
If downward penetration of diatremes is accepted it
has important consequences for models of magma/
groundwater interaction. It implies that explosive interac-
tion occurs initially at rather shallow depth, giving rise to
a small maar and a small shallow diatreme. Later explo-
sions may have occurred at progressively greater depth ac-
counting for the increasingly larger structures.
The downward penetration of the level of explosive
magma/goundwater interaction in turn could imply that
groundwater is restricted to high structural levels and with
continuing eruptions must percolate down the feeder in
order to supply the explosion sites with water. Alternative-
ly, the rising magma may penetrate hydraulically active
zones of structural weakness and rise through some
groundwater at depth without explosive interaction, and
only upon further rise interacts explosively with ground-
water at rather shallow depth. Later explosions should then
occur consecutively further down to account for the growth
of the maar-diatreme volcano.
In the Hegau volcanic field, there is evidence that some
diatremes did penetrate water-bearing Molasse sediments
but not the water-bearing underlying Mesozoic sediments
which contain several distinct water-rich acquifers (Vii-
linger 1982; Lorenz, unpublished data). This indicates that
the Mesozoic sediments are cut by the feeder dykes of the
diatremes and that phreatomagmatic explosions did not oc-
cur at these depths despite the fact that the rising magma
should have contacted groundwater in sufficient quantities.
During formation of a volcanic island, explosive inter-
action between the rising magma and external water (sea
water or glacial meltwater) occurs usually at a depth of less
than 200-300 m below sea or lake level (Fisher and
Schmincke 1984). Thus, the magma erupts explosively
only at pressures below a certain confining pressure, i. e.
approximately 20-30 bars, whereas at greater water depth
contact between magma and sea or lake water usually leads
to formation of pillow lavas. In experiments on molten salt
and metallic melts interacting explosively with water
(Fr6hlich 1978), a confining pressure barrier of about
20-30 bars is found (Hohmann et al. 1982; Fr6hlich,
personal communication 1984). Up to this pressure,
melt/water interactions leading to water vapour explosions
occur rather easily or can be triggered easily (e. g. by a
shock wave). Above this pressure, it is more difficult to
achieve explosive interaction, and higher trigger energies
must be applied. The reason for this pressure barrier seems
to be that, at pressures below 20-30 bars, water vapour has
270
a much larger specific volume than at higher pressures
(Kennedy and Holser 1966); consequently, hot water at
high temperature and pressure can expand explosively into
steam only at rather low confining pressures.
If confining pressure controls the level of explosive in-
teraction between magma and water, then downward
penetration of the diatreme root with time may reflect
simultaneous downward migration of the level at which the
confining pressure is about 20-30 bars. The problem now
arises as to how such a migration of the confining pressure
from about 200-300 m below the surface down to depths of
2000-2500 m is possible.
Groundwater is usually available only in limited quan-
tities, either as pore water or as joint water on hydraulically
active zones of structural weakness. During explosive in-
teraction between rising magma and groundwater, a certain
amount of the groundwater participates in the eruptions, of
course, and leaves the system as steam. The amount of
groundwater lost during the explosions will not always be
replenished fast enough to keep the confining pressure of
20-30 bars at a specific depth below the surface. If ground-
water is not replenished rapidly, a cone of depression forms
within the groundwater and the 20-30 bar isobaric surface
is lowered to slightly greater depth, Magma can then inter-
act explosively with groundwater at a slightly greater depth
than previously, and the diatreme root consequently pene-
trates downward by fragmentation and ejection of new wall-
rocks (Fig. 5).
If pressure-controlled downward penetration of dia-
treme roots could not occur, then deep diatremes would
have their roots at levels of 2000-2500 m below the original
1500m
Naar with take
ndwater table
atreme
zone
Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes
surface right from the beginning of their eruptive activity.
Such a deep original level of explosions is difficult to con-
ceive with phreatomagmatic water vapour explosions, be-
cause at these depths, assuming normal groundwater con-
ditions with a water table close to the Earth's surface, the
hydrostatic pressure of the groundwater is close to the criti-
cal pressure of water. At these depths, no explosive expan-
sion of water of high temperature, and high pressure into
steam of low density and large volume with resulting large
transport capacity and velocity will therefore be possible as
long as the confining pressure is high.
3. Many diatremes are located on dykes which are cut by
the diatreme wall (Fig. 6); thus, the diatremes are con-
sidered younger than these dykes (Clement 1982; Lorenz
1986). The close spatial relationship clearly points to a
genetic relationship. The frequent location of the diatreme
on the dyke where the dyke intersects a zone of structural
weakness suggests that the magma in the dyke fissure en-
countered groundwater within the zone of structural weak-
ness and thus only locally erupted phreatomagmatically.
As the diatreme cleanly cuts the precursor dyke over a cer-
tain depth range, it seems highly probable that the diatreme
penetrated downward and, therefore, intersected the dyke
over the given depth range (Fig. 7).
4. Many diatremes contain a very high proportion of sub-
sided bedded pyroclastic rocks in their upper and middle
levels (e. g. the Montana diatremes (Hearn 1968), the
Midland Valley diatremes (Francis 1970: Leys 1982), the
Saar-Nahe diatremes of southwest Germany (Lorenz
1971), or the Sydney Basin diatremes (Crawford et al.
1980) and the Botswana kimberlite Orapa and Jwaneng
Fig. 5. Schematic drawing showing evo-
lution of a maar-diatreme volcano by
confining pressure control assuming re-
stricted availability of groundwater and
thus formation of a cone of depression
during phreatomagmatic activity. Be-
cause of hydrostatic pressure depen-
dance of the water vapour explosions -- a
confining pressure barrier of about
20-30 bars is a s s u m e d - - t h e diatreme
penetrates downward with time, leading
potentially to a diatreme 2000-2500 m
deep. X gives assumed maximum depth
of groundwater column on water vapour
explosion site. After the eruptions cease,
the groundwater table may restore itself
to the original levels, usually leading to
formation of a maar lake
Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes 271

ing relationship could be the result of downward pene-

Fracture zone
II
ii
mber[ite diatreme
~ ~ Kimbertite - dyke
1 tive lowering of the level of explosions, then initially not
il
Fig. 6. Relationship between some kimberlite diatremes (filled with clas-
tic rocks) and associated igneous kimberlite dykes (called precursor dyke;
Clement 1982). The diatreme is located where the dyke intersects a zone
of structural weakness. The diatreme is assumed to have formed where
magma rising within the dyke fissure intersected groundwater circulating
within the zone of structural weakness at the time of volcanism. For com-
parison see Fig. 7
diatremes (Fig. 1). Further down, as indicated by the
South African kimberlite diatremes at and near Kimber-
ley, the diatremes still contain a very large proportion of
pyroclastic rocks but evidence of primary bedding is
scant. In addition, large slabs of subsided wallrocks rarely
make up a small proportion of diatreme rocks. This intrigu-
tration of the diatreme root. The deepest pyroclastic rocks
might have been closest to the explosion site for the longest
period of time and might have subsided furthest. Thus, it is
to be expected that their bedding features are largely lost.
On the other hand, the bedded tuffs in higher levels in many
diatremes would have subsided the smallest amount and
thus would be expected to be less disturbed. The scarcity
of large subsided slabs of wallrocks depends in part on their
rock mechanical parameters (soft rocks, hard rocks:
Lorenz 1986) and probably in part also on the diatreme
penetration process. If a diatreme penetrates by consecu-
very many wallrocks were located above this level of explo-
sion. Deepening of the diatreme leads to fragmentation and
ejection of the wallrock clasts so that only a relatively small
volume of large slabs and wallrocks will subside leaving a
collar surrounding the bedded pyroclastic rocks, as in the
Montana diatremes (Hearn 1968). This process, however,
is not well understood.
5. Within many diatremes there exist late intrusive dykes
and plugs which may or may not have reached the floor of
the maar and caused formation of a scoria cone or a lava
l a k e - - or an extrusive dome or spine in the case of inter-
mediate to acid magmas. The rise of magma within the
diatreme is suggestive of lack of sufficient groundwater
during the final part of magma rise along the feeder dyke.
Groundwater influx obviously could not provide the ex-

r
1. f o r m a t i o n of
scoria c o n e s
J from a fissure
system
J
Fig, 7. Schematic vertical and hori-
zontal sections along a volcanic sys-
tem with scoria cones and a maar
fed from the same dyke system. The
Bad Bertrich volcanic system of the
Westeifel volcanic field (Lorenz and
Biichel 1980a) has been taken as ba-
2. f o r m a t i o n of
sis for this diagram. Formation of a
maQr maar followed formation of the sco-
ria cones when magma rose within
the dyke fissure into a hydraulically
active zone of structural weakness
level of (represented at the surface by a val-
-- h o r i z o n t a l cut ley) and contacted groundwater. If
for instance 300 m of surface rocks
were to be eroded, a map would show
the volcanic system as a dyke system
with a diatreme located where the
Jl f r Q c t u r e zone dyke intersects a zone of structural
1 weakness. Thus, in the Eifel, erosion
horizontal cut . .~..~,2 would lead to a dyke-diatreme rela-
through dyke-diatreme tionship as is found in the kimberlite
system diatremes and dykes in South Africa
,I (see Fig. 6)
272 Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes

plosion site within the diatreme root with water fast

enough to keep the eruptions explosive. Continued magma
rise, therefore, occurred without magma/groundwater in-
teraction. Thus the system had "run dry" finally.
vent
At a number of diatreme fields, diatremes penetrated a Root zone
sedimentary sequence which probably provided the
Dyke
groundwater and then terminated downward within the
rather dry basement. Examples are the kimberlite dia-
tremes of South Africa (Karroo sediments above basement) Fig. 9. Schematicdiagramofa tuffring and its supposedshallowdiatreme.
A shallowdiatreme is assumedbecausetuff ring ejecta usually contain
and the Swabian diatremes (Mesozoic and Permian sedi- less than 5 % of countryrockclastsonly. Diameter(1 kin) and height (150
ments above basement (Lorenz 1982b)). It seems conceiva- m) of the drawntuffring are takenfromthe Hverl]alltuff ring in northern
ble that the diatremes could not be supplied fast enough Iceland
with groundwater from the sedimentary cover of the base-
ment and thus finally "ran dry" after downward penetra-
tion into the dry basement rocks (Fig. 8). amounts of external water participating in their eruptions.
6. The model of confining pressure control on the explo- Camus et al. (1981) suggested that tuff rings form in shallow
sivity of maars can also be used to explain the differences water bodies such as shallows seas or lakes. However, they
between maars and tuff rings as defined above (Fig. 9). As also form in other water-rich environments such as coastal
country rock clasts make up only 1%-5 % of their ejected reefs or alluvial plains and fluviatile gravel beds (Lorenz
pyroclasts, a tuff ring cannot have a deep diatreme beneath 1986). The availability of large amounts of water to replen-
its crater. The occurrence of vesicle-poor juvenile clasts, ish the explosion site probably prevents lowering of the
of frequently many accretionary lapilli and vesiculated confining pressure of water during ongoing eruptions and,
tuffs (Lorenz 1974) points to the availability of large therefore, the diatreme root cannot penetrate far downward
from its initial shallow depth. A typical example is Surtsey,
which erupted very little country rock clasts from the sea
. ' . " . " , " . " . " . ' . " . Cover rocks with aquifer(s) floor which is at a depth of 130 m below sea level. Thus ac-
. . . . . . . . and groundwater table
cording to this model of pressure-controlled diatreme
X X X X X X X X Basement, rather dry
penetration, large quantities of external water prevent dia-
XXXXXXX treme penetration, with the consequence that no deep dia-
tremes should have formed in deep marine or deep lake
_ _ e,2
• . _-'-,, ¢,:-'-.--.--.--
environments.
Magma / groundwater interaction
at shatlow depth 7. This growth model for maars and diatremes is based on
Formation of cone of depression
the assumption that a confining pressure barrier of usually
X X X iYi X X X 20-30 bars controls deepening of diatremes and thus con-
x x x/x x x trols the growth of maars. It is suggested that lack of water
causes termination of maar-diatreme formation and intru-
sion of the diatreme by rising magma. On the other hand,
Continued interaction:
further deepening of cone it is also suggested that availability of too much external
of depression water prevents diatreme penetration, but could result in
XxXxXxXI XxXxXxX formation of a tuff ring. Thus, a critical magma/water ratio
is apparently required for the formation of maar-diatreme
volcanoes. (Very high or very low magma/groundwater ra-
tios are likely to suppress phreatomagmatic maar-diatreme
Magma finally "RUNS DRY" construction).
• i ::}'-. ; i• A critical magma/water ratio for the formation of
XxXxX~XxXx X maars is also advocated by Wohletz and McQueen (1984),
who investigated thermite melt/water interactions under
variable melt/water ratios. For maar-type explosions they
,:.-- _ favour a melt/water ratio of 3:1, whereas for explosions lead-
T ~ Without interaction magma rises ing to formation oftuffrings a ratio of 1:1 is favoured. Thus,
and forms lava lake or scoria cone
XxXx x XxXxX Watertable restores itself the experimental studies are suitable for explaining
the different types of phreatomagmatic volcanoes, the criti-
cal magma/water ratio advocated for formation of
Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of penetrative diatreme evolution in areas
where sedimentaryrocks with one or severalaquifers overlierather dry maar-diatreme volcanoes, and their growth by diatreme
basement rocks penetration in areas of limited availability of groundwater.
Lorenz: On the growth of maars and diatremes
Conclusions
1. Maars and their subsurface feeder structures, i. e. dia-
tremes, form by water vapour explosions when magma of
any chemistry contacts groundwater close to the Earth's
surface.
2. The longer the duration of explosive activity (days to
months), the larger the diameter and depth of the maar
craters, the thicker their ejecta rims, and the larger the di-
ameter and the depth of the associated diatremes.
3. The growth of maars and diatremes is related to: (a) ex-
plosive fragmentation of the wallrocks at the level of explo-
sions, ejection of these wallrock clasts, and consequent col-
lapse of the overlying wallrocks and already deposited
pyroclastic beds; (b) to lowering of the level of explosive
magma/groundwater interaction and thus downward
penetration of the diatremes.
4. Similar to the situation in submarine and subglacial vol-
canism, the level of water vapour explosions is restricted to
hydrostatic pressures of usually less than 20-30 bars.
5. Downward penetration of diatremes is possibly only
when this ambient pressure is displaced downward, i. e.
because of the eruptions a cone of depression forms within
the groundwater. This is typical for the case of ordinary
groundwater situations.
6. In environments with a low magma/water ratio, e. g. in
shallow marine, lake, and fluviatile environments, enough
water replenishes the explosion site, so that no cone of
depression forms. Instead of a maar, a tuff ring volcano
forms.
Suggested studies
1. The growth of maars should be studied in future maar
eruptions, as only such syn-eruptive studies will provide
undisputable data.
2. The growth of Quaternary and Tertiary maars should be
studied especially in such areas where there is a well-
known country-rock stratigraphy with distinct lithological
beds. Only then will it be possible to find out if wallrock
clasts from deeper and deeper stratigraphic beds only show
up in consecutively later ejecta beds.
3. The study of the growth relationships should include in-
vestigation of the Bouguer anomaly of the diatremes in
order to work out the diameter/depth systematics.
4. Investigations of tuff rings should be initiated as their
systematics and diatreme structures are less well known
than those of maars.
5. Kimberlite and carbonatite maars and diatremes should
be investigated in order to find out to what extent their
mode of formation is identical to that of other maars and
diatremes.
Acknowledgements.This paper is based on studies ofmaars, tuff rings and
diatremes in Britain, France, Germany, Iceland, southern Africa, and the
USA. It has greatly benefited from discussions on the subject of
273
phreatomagmatism and related aspects with colleagues and friends from
many institutions. At Mainz the model for the growth of maars and dia-
tremes presented here has been discussed with G. Biichel and B.
Zimanowski. G. Fr6hlich, Stuttgart, contributed very much in discus-
sions on water vapour explosions. Kimberlite maars and diatremes were
extensively discussed in the field with R. Clement, J. Bristow, B. Haw-
thorne, J. Robey, M. Skinner, and M. de Witt. The Montosa maar/dia-
treme in New Mexico was shown to the author by J. C. Aubele and L. S.
Crumpler. W. Rose, J.T. Gutmann, and Craig B. Smith reviewed the
manuscript. Their help is gratefully acknowledged. Financial support for
the study on maars, tuff rings and diatremes was granted over the years by
the University of Mainz and its Department of Earth Sciences, the Max-
Planck-Institute in Mainz, DAAD and DFG, NASA, and DeBeers of
South Africa.
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Received February 9, 1986~AcceptedJuly 10, 1986