2011 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Economic Geology, v. 106, pp. 437450

Hydrothermal Breccia Textures and Processes: Lisca Bianca Islet,

Panarea Volcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy
R. CAS,1 G. GIORDANO,2, F. BALSAMO,2 A. ESPOSITO,3 AND S. LO MASTRO2
1 School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
2 Dip. Scienze geologiche, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Largo S. Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146, Rome, Italy
3 Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 503, Rome, Italy

Abstract
Panarea is a largely submarine to partly subaerial Quaternary lava dome complex-stratovolcano with a long-
lived, active, shallow hydrothermal system, located in the Aeolian Islands volcanic arc of southern Italy. The
emergent top of the volcano forms a small archipelago, made up of calc-alkaline basaltic andesite to rhyolite
lava domes (ca. 15020 ka). We document the facies outcropping on Lisca Bianca islet, Panarea archipelago,
based on grain size, clast fabric, and degree of hydrothermal alteration, identifying coherent facies, boulder
breccia facies, cobble breccia facies, pebble breccia facies, and pervasively altered andesite facies (alunite-mar-
casite-sulfur). The breccias all have ubiquitous jigsaw-fit clast textures, and are variably hydrothermally altered.
The breccias are interpreted as hydrothermal breccias and are distinguished from primary volcanic facies based
on their distinguishing characteristics. The breccias formed through a cyclical process, involving the following:
stage 1: progressive build-up of fluid pressure toward the level of the tensile strength of the host andesite; stage
2: incipient fracturing of the andesite when fluid pressure approaches and then exceeds the tensile strength of
the andesite under critical fracturing conditions; stage 3: pervasive fracturing of the host andesite, leading to
an increase in permeability as a network of fractures develops; stage 4: declining pressure, with fluid flow rates
that lead to infilling and sealing of fractures by natroalunite, thereby reducing permeability, leading to pro-
gressive build-up of fluid pressure again, and the beginning of a new cycle.

Introduction building, dynamic fracturing, steady degassing, and final self-

BRECCIAS ARE commonly formed in volcanic environments
through a wide variety of processes, including autobreccia-
tion, quench fragmentation, explosive fragmentation, epiclas-
tic and gravitational processes, and hydrothermal hydraulic
fracturing-related processes, including explosions (Cas and
Wright, 1987). Distinctive criteria for distinguishing some of
these breccia types are reasonably well developed (e.g., Cas
and Wright, 1987; McPhie et al., 1993). Detailed documenta-
tion of textures of hydraulic fracture breccias produced by hy-
drothermal systems and criteria for distinguishing them from
primary volcanic breccias have not been undertaken in depth,
although previous studies have addressed some of the pri-
mary characteristics (e.g., Sillitoe, 1985; Laznicka, 1988;
Jbrak, 1997; Clark and James, 2003; Davies et al., 2008).
The island of Panarea in the Aeolian Islands of Italy has an
active offshore submarine hydrothermal system (Esposito et
al., 2006, 2010, and references therein), and is an ideal loca-
tion to study hydrothermal brecciation processes. Hydrother-
mally altered and brecciated cliff exposures of volcanic rocks
on the nearby Lisca Bianca island preserve products of a pa-
leohydrothermal system, as well as active hydrothermal ac-
tivity, testifying to the longevity of the hydrothermal system
of Panarea volcano. The aim of this paper is to document
the characteristics and origins of hydrothermal hydraulic
fracture breccias that are exposed in cliffs on Lisca Bianca
islet, Panarea volcano, Aeolian Islands, southern Italy. Based
on the breccia characteristics and facies relationships, we
propose a model for their formation as a result of the cyclic
recurrence of a four-stage process that involves pressure
Corresponding author: e-mail, giordano@uniroma3.it
0361-0128/11/3954/437-14
sealing of the newly formed fracture system.
Geologic Setting
Lisca Bianca is a small island located about 2.3 km from
Panarea, a quiescent lava dome system-stratovolcano, located
in the Aeolian Islands, in southern Italy (Fig. 1). The Aeolian
Islands are the emergent part of an active volcanic arc related
to the subduction of the Ionian oceanic crust under the
Calabrian mountain chain. The islands include the active vol-
canoes of Stromboli, Vulcano, Lipari, and Salina (Fig. 1).
Panarea volcano, previously considered extinct, is a dormant
edifice with a known age range of ca. 150 to 20 ka (Calanchi
et al., 1999; Dolfi et al., 2007). It is located south of Stromboli
volcano (Fig. 1) and consists mostly of subaerial lava domes
ranging in composition from high K basaltic andesite to rhyo-
lite (Calanchi et al., 1999). Limited outcrops of pyroclastic
deposits also indicate the occurrence of episodes of explosive
activity (Cimarelli et al., 2008).
Lisca Bianca, together with the nearby islets of Bottaro,
Lisca Nera, Dattilo, and Panarelli, is the remnant of a an-
desite lava dome complex, showing variable degrees of hy-
drothermal alteration (Calanchi et al., 1999; Esposito et al.,
2006). The sea floor surrounding Lisca Bianca was the site of
an intense gas eruption in 2002 to 2003 that produced several
craters (Esposito et al., 2006), giving evidence that Panarea is
an active, quiescent volcano.
Lithofacies and Hydrothermal Alteration at Lisca Bianca
The principal lithofacies exposed on Lisca Bianca include
coherent, flow-banded andesite facies, three types of andesite
breccia facies, and pervasively altered andesite facies. All
Submitted: February 4, 2009
437 Accepted: January 13, 2011
438 CAS ET AL.

FIG. 1. Tectonic and geologic setting of Panarea volcano and associated islets in the Aeolian arc of southern Italy; the
picture to the bottom is an oblique aerial view of the setting of Lisca Bianca islet in the Panarea archipelago, seen from
south, also showing the location of the active submarine gas field that erupted in 2002 to 2003. The Stromboli volcano is in
the background.

breccias are monomictic andesite breccias and have grada-
tional to sharp contacts, both laterally and vertically, to the
lithologically similar coherent andesite. We have subdivided
the breccias into three types based on the clast size of the
larger clast population in each: boulder breccia facies, cobble
to coarse pebble breccia facies, and fine pebble breccia facies.
All breccia types are variably altered, varying in matrix con-
tent and in the development of a preferred fabric of aligned
elongate clasts. The term matrix is used here to include
both aggregates of smaller clasts located between the larger
framework clasts, called clastic matrix, and fine-grained do-
mains of alteration minerals, called alteration matrix, which
may include andesite clasts.
Coherent andesite is best preserved at the eastern end of
Lisca Bianca, where there is no evidence of brecciation of the
andesite and a where broadly spaced jointing occurs (Figs. 2,
3a). Farther west along the coastal cliffs of Lisca Bianca, how-
ever, the five lithofacies have a random distribution, although
the degree of hydrothermal alteration increases toward the
western end (Fig. 2), where a 10-m-wide, white dike-like
vertical zone of pervasive alteration occurs, associated with a
fault zone (Fig. 3b). The western end of the island is also clos-
est to the offshore submarine gas vent system that was active
in 2002 to 2003 (Esposito et al., 2006), and it maintains a cur-
rent low level of gas bubble discharge.
Alteration and the pervasively altered andesite facies
The andesite exposed on Lisca Bianca varies from almost
unaltered (Fig. 3a), showing original textures, to highly al-
tered, where original textures are overprinted and obliterated
(Fig. 3b-d). Where unaltered, the coherent andesite is dense,
with no evidence of vesicles, and it is a dark to gray por-
phyritic lava with zoned plagioclase (up to 20%, and up to 6
mm length), clinopyroxene (15%), orthopyroxene, biotite,
and oxide phenocrysts in a groundmass with pilotaxitic to in-
tergranular texture (Fig. 3e). Where alteration is intermediate

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 HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIA TEXTURES AND PROCESSES: LISCA BIANCA ISLET, PANAREA, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY 439

FIG. 2. Coastal profile of Lisca Bianca islet, depicting the variation in alteration of the andesite, which is least altered in
the east (dark color, right side) and progressively more altered to the west (white color, left side). This coincides with the
transition from coherent andesite (dark), to several breccia types (center) and domains of pervasive natroalunite + sulfur al-
teration, recognized as white domains. The length of the cliff exposure is 400 m.

FIG. 3. (a) Massive, almost unaltered, jointed andesite, eastern end of Lisca Bianca island; (b) Vertical zone of pervasive
natroalunite and sulfur alteration crosscutting and replacing andesite, visible to the right. The cliff is about 15 m high. West-
ern end of Lisca Bianca: (c) Close-up view of the right hand contact of the alteration zone in b. Note the contact is grada-
tional, from altered andesite on the right to pervasively replaced andesite on the left, replaced by natroalunite and sulfur; (d)
Close-up view of intense natroalunite and sulfur alteration; (e) Photomicrograph of porphyritic lava with zoned plagioclase,
clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, biotite, and oxide phenocrysts in a groundmass with pilotaxitic to intergranular texture; (f)
Photomicrograph of pervasively altered lava with ghost porphyritic texture; (g) Photomicrograph of completely altered and
oxidized, jigsaw-fit fractured lava.

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440 CAS ET AL.
in intensity, the rock shows ghost textures (Fig. 3f). Where al-
teration is pervasive, the rock is brecciated (Fig. 3g), and as-
sociated with the breccia facies described herein. It is not the
aim of this paper to document in detail the alteration assem-
blages and their paragenesis, which has been done in many
studies of other hydrothermal systems (e.g., Gemmell et al.,
1999; Petersen et al., 2002; Deyell et al., 2005; Davies et al.,
2008). Our aim is to consider the effects of alteration on pre-
served lithofacies textures and to understand the origins of
these textures. Several samples were, therefore, collected
from both Lisca Bianca and nearby islets as well as offshore to
document the hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of
the andesite lava. Samples have been analyzed with the XR
Diffractometer Scintag mod. X1 with Cu-anticathode and at
the Scanning Electron Microprobe Phillips XL30 connected
with an EDAX for microanalyses (at Universit di Roma Tre).
X-ray diffraction of the alteration domains shows that they
consist largely of natroalunite (Fig. 4a, c, e, g), marcasite (Fig.
4b, c, e, h, i), and native sulfur (Fig. 4f). Alteration minerals
occur in two styles. First, they commonly fill fractures, defin-
ing a pervasive network of white alteration veins that separate
clasts of andesite in the breccias, almost always defining an in
situ jigsaw-fit texture of the breccia clasts. Secondly, alter-
ation minerals also define more widespread domains of vari-
ably intense alteration. In these cases, there is a gradation
from pervasive alteration to altered andesite with cryptic pri-
mary textures preserved, to progressively less altered andesite
breccia (Fig. 3). In slightly altered andesite, most of the orig-
inal textures are preserved (Fig. 3f).
At one offshore subaqueous locality, one gas vent is located
at the bottom of a crater 125 m in diameter and few meters
deep, at the center of which a dark red mound stands out from
the sea floor. The analyses of the dark-red crust from this
mound have identified alunite, marcasite, and Fe hydroxides.
Below the crust, the main body of the mound contains marca-
site with traces of alunite and hematite (Fig. 4b, d, h-j). Mar-
casite is also found in trace quantities associated with alunite
infillings and Fe hydroxides. Plagioclase, pyrite, lepidocrocite,
and pyrolusite are also associated with the black crust.
Coherent andesite facies
The coherent andesite of Lisca Bianca varies from massive
to flow banded (Figs. 3a, 5), and from unaltered to perva-
sively altered (Figs. 2, 3, 5). Cliff exposures of coherent an-
desite at the eastern end of Lisca Bianca show subvertical
columnar jointing. Toward the western end of the island, co-
herent domains, from boulder size to many meters in dimen-
sion, occur as horizons, pods, lenses, and pseudoclasts within
more widespread breccias, with abrupt to gradational con-
tacts with the surrounding breccias (Fig. 6a), making it diffi-
cult to classify the rocks as coherent or breccia. Even through
the breccia textures, vertical columnar jointing and subhori-
zontal flow banding is recognizable (e.g., Fig. 6b, c).
Boulder breccia facies
This facies can be subdivided into three subfacies, includ-
ing matrix-poor breccias (Fig. 6a), matrix-rich breccias (Fig.
6c), and apparent or pseudomatrix breccias (Fig. 6c). All sub-
facies contain boulder-sized, round to angular, fresh to slightly
altered blocks of andesite separated by veins and more diffuse
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domains of natroalunite (Fig. 6a-c). Blocks are up to several
meters in maximum dimension. The matrix-poor boulder
breccias define clear in situ jigsaw-fit clast arrangements with
thin veins of natroalunite separating the andesite blocks (Fig.
6a). Close examination of the matrix texture and matrix clast
population shows that clast aggregates also have in situ, jig-
saw-fit textures, although the matrix-rich breccias locally
shows disorganized textures (Fig. 6b). There is no evidence of
clast rotation or clast transport in these breccias.
The boulder breccias commonly have a preferred fabric
marked by an alignment of the long axes of clasts that form
trains and clusters. Clasts in such trains are equant, or elon-
gate, with long axes of clasts parallel to the orientation of
bounding fractures, which are columnar joints and/or vein
and fracture sets (Fig. 6a), or parallel to the flow banding,
which is commonly subhorizontal (Fig 6c).
Breccia clast shapes vary from polygonal to rounded. In
many places round to spherical shaped boulders occur at the
core of polygonal columnar joint sets, with the corners of the
columns occupied by jigsaw fit clusters of angular cobble- to
pebble-size clasts (Fig. 6a, b). The shape of the core boulders
varies from round and equant to elongate with curviplanar to
planar margins, depending on the aspect of the exposure rel-
ative to the orientation of subvertical columnar joints or frac-
tures. Similar relationships are present where original colum-
nar joints intersect well-defined flow banding. The boulders
generally have a 1- to 2-cm-thick rind with closely spaced pla-
nar fractures that are orthogonal to the surface of the boul-
ders (Fig. 6b). In cross section, the spacing of these small
fractures is equal to the thickness of the rind of the boulders
and the platy clasts. In plan view, the orthogonal fractures
sometimes form a polygonal network of fractures, with the di-
ameter of polygons approximately equal to the thickness of
the plates (Fig. 6c).
The margins of blocks do not have a chilled rim but are usu-
ally marked by a set of planar, (sub)concentric curviplanar
fractures (Fig. 6b). Thin veins of alunite separate clusters of
jigsaw-fit blade-like to slightly curviplanar slices or plates of
andesite that surround the source boulder. The orientation of
the blade-like clasts is parallel to the margins of the core boul-
ders and concentric fracture sets. The fine matrix of the boul-
der breccia facies is made of millimeter- to decimeter-size
clasts of andesite permeated by fine-grained white to yellow
alunite (Fig. 6a, b).
The apparent or pseudoboulder breccia subfacies consists
of large, dark, apparent clasts of andesite in a pale-colored ap-
parent matrix (Fig. 6c), giving the appearance of a matrix-sup-
ported breccia. Close examination of the apparent matrix,
however, shows that it consists of altered coherent andesite
(Fig. 7b), without the clearly brecciated appearance of the
matrix-poor and matrix-rich boulder breccia subfacies de-
scribed above. The only hint of brecciation occurs in the form
of narrow to hairline, discontinuous veinlets of alunite in the
apparent matrix. Dark, unaltered domains that appear to be
boulders are suspended in altered coherent andesite, produc-
ing a pseudoclastic texture. By contrast, the other subfacies
have been subjected to penetrative brecciation of the an-
desite, producing in situ jigsaw-fit clast aggregates in which
the bounding fractures have been filled by veins and domains
of alunite.
440
 HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIA TEXTURES AND PROCESSES: LISCA BIANCA ISLET, PANAREA, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY 441

g h

i j

k FIG. 4. Selection of scanning electron microprobe images, energy dispersive

X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction analyses of epithermal mineral-
ization associated with the Panarea active hydrothermal system, both from sub-
aerial and subaqueous locations: (a) alunite crystals filling a vein (andesite lava
with fractures filled by alunite, marcasite, and quartz); (b) marcasite crystals
(metallic core below the red crust of subaqueous chimney); (c) association of mar-
casite (pale) with alunite infillings (dark); (d) association of alunite (dark) with
marcasite infillings (pale); (e) Fe-Cr oxides on marcasite; (f) small droplets of col-
loidal sulfur; (g) EDS analysis of alunite; (h) XRD spectrum of alunite with minor
marcasite; (i) EDS analysis of marcasite; (j) XRD spectrum of marcasite with
minor greigite; (k) EDS analysis of Fe-Cr oxides.

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442
FIG. 5. Flow-banded, jointed, and variably altered andesite. Note the closely spaced flow-banding, dipping gently to the
right. Vertical height of cliff is 5 m.
Cobble to coarse pebble breccia facies
The cobble to coarse pebble breccia facies occupies large
domains many meters in diameter to small domains only tens
of centimeters in diameter, and grades into domains of boul-
der and pebble breccia. Clasts are greater than 20 mm in
maximum dimension, and are most commonly inequant, with
elongate platy, wedge, triangular, blade, and irregular shapes
common. Although some equant and round clast forms may
occur, the latter are minor (Fig. 8). The aggregate texture of
the cobble to coarse pebble breccia facies is generally jigsaw-
fit (Fig. 8a-d), although where alteration is intense a matrix-
supported texture is developed (Fig. 8e, f). Although the
breccia fabric is occasionally isotropic (Fig. 8a), it usually has
a well-defined vertical fabric with vertical alignment of long
axes of elongate clasts (Fig. 8b-d). Clast-bounding fractures
are usually planar to curviplanar and in some outcrops define
apparent subvertical conjugate fracture patterns (Fig. 8b, c).
Where closely associated groups of clasts have an internal
flow banding, the flow banding is always aligned through the
cluster of clasts, even where the breccia texture is matrix sup-
ported (Fig. 8f), indicating that clasts are in situ and have not
moved since the fracturing and alteration occurred. The flow
banding and vein fabric is usually subhorizontal, even though
the overall clast fabric and large vein orientation in the out-
crop is markedly vertical (Fig. 8f).
As for the boulder breccia facies, some large cobble clasts
have developed an equant to round form (Fig. 8e). Such
clasts may also have a concentric vein network parallel to the
margins of the clast and platy slivers that have spalled or been
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CAS ET AL.
split from the clast margin by vein growth, but are still in situ
and have not been transported laterally (Fig. 8e).
Internally, clasts vary from massive to flow banded, and in
places are pervaded by millimeter- to centimeter-wide veins
of alunite or a network of fractures (Fig. 8a, c-e). In clasts cut
by veins of alunite, the orientation of the veins is generally
random (Fig. 8a). In places, however, multiple veins in single
clasts are parallel to each other (Fig. 8c), and if flow banding
is present, they are parallel to the flow banding. Internally,
clasts also show diffuse, patchy to pervasive alteration, repre-
sented by varying degrees of replacement by alunite. Fresh
clasts are black (Fig 8a, b), whereas altered clasts range from
gray to pale brown or pink, green to yellow to white (Fig. 8c-
f), representing progressively increasing degrees of alteration.
Where alteration is significant, the breccias develop in-
creasing areas of alunite matrix and a matrix-supported tex-
ture (Fig. 8e, f). In areas of abundant alunite matrix, clasts en-
closed in the alunite matrix have very irregular margins,
highly altered clasts have patchy colors and, in some cases,
even barely visible ghost outlines (Fig. 8e, f).
Fine pebble breccia facies
The fine pebble breccia facies is defined by domains
where clast size is generally 20 mm or less (Fig. 7). This fa-
cies is usually the most altered, and clast margins are often
diffuse and gradational into alunite alteration matrix, clast
shapes are irregular to equant, and a preferred fabric is less
visible than in the other breccia facies. The texture is com-
monly defined by heterogeneous alunite alteration on a local
442
 HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIA TEXTURES AND PROCESSES: LISCA BIANCA ISLET, PANAREA, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY
c FIG. 7. Pebble breccia facies: (a) Clast-rich pebble breccia in the center,
FIG. 6. Boulder breccia facies: (a) Brecciated andesite consisting of angu-
lar, subrounded, and irregular in situ blocks of andesite, separated by veins
and large domains of alunite; blocks vary from fresh to variably altered, and
some show a diffuse subhorizontal flow banding; a subvertical fabric is de-
fined by vein fracture orientations and elongate blocks of andesite; the verti-
cal jointing-fractures could mimic original columnar jointing; large white
phenocrysts of plagioclase are visible in the freshest andesite block; (b) Block
breccia with an in situ texture; veins define an early polygonal fracture sys-
tem; the margins of the block on the right hand side consist of spalled splin-
ter-shaped fragments separated by very thin veins of alunite; the spalling has
produced a spherical core block; note also the micropolygonal fracture pat-
tern in the surface of the left block; (c) Subhorizontal, elongate domains or
apparent clasts (dark) in a lighter colored apparent matrix, crisscrossed by
fractures and overprinted by alteration; the subhorizontal fabric is controlled
by the original orientation of flow banding that is still visible in the right cen-
ter of the field of view; exposure is 2 m high.
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443
between large cobble clasts, grading into alunite matrix-rich or matrix-sup-
ported pebble breccia in the center left; locally jigsaw-fit clast clusters are vis-
ible; (b) Pseudo-pebble breccia, showing highly irregular, pebble-size do-
mains of andesite, embedded in pale yellow alunite; some clasts contain
patches of alunite; clast margins vary from sharply defined to diffusely de-
fined.
scale. In places, clusters of closely spaced dark, relatively un-
altered clasts are dispersed in a gray to yellow matrix of alu-
nite. Some such aggregates appear to be finer-grained ver-
sions of the cobble breccia facies, in which veining has
caused fracturing of the original andesite; many occurrences
of this facies are essentially the matrix to the cobble breccia
facies (Fig. 7a). However, close examination of some pebble
breccia facies domains shows that the clusters of dark clasts
define the remains of larger polygonal clasts that have been
invaded and largely replaced by alunite. Many dark clasts are
highly irregular pseudoclasts, defined by areas of alteration
around their margins rather than clast-bounding fractures
(Fig. 7b).
Alunite domains vary from discrete parallel veins to do-
mains with no preferred orientation to pervasive domains en-
closing few clasts. The diffuse and pervasive alteration patches
are not associated with flow-banding or vein fractures, but
permeate the andesite, presumably utilizing intergranular
textural heterogeneities such as, perhaps, crystal margins.
443
444 CAS ET AL.

FIG. 8. Cobble to coarse pebble breccia facies: (a) In situ, jigsaw-fit polygonal clast breccia with an isotropic fabric; clasts
are relatively fresh (dark gray), have planar to curviplanar margins, are separated by alunite veins, and internally also have
networks of veins; (b) In situ, jigsaw-fit, generally polygonal clast breccia with a strong subvertical fabric defined by elongate
clasts with long axes that are either vertical or steeply dipping from left to right; clasts are separated by alunite veins and are
also veined internally; (c) Close-up view of top left quadrant of 7b, showing the subvertical orientation of elongate clasts, sep-
arated by alunite veins, internally veined themselves, and some altered to the point of becoming ghost like; (d) Jigsaw-fit tex-
ture of angular equant to elongate clasts separated by alunite veins, internally veined and variably altered; (e) Equant to
round andesite clast with concentric veins of alunite; some smaller clasts have been separated from the main clast by alunite
veins but are still in jigsaw-fit relationship to it; in areas of abundant alunite matrix (e.g., left of the main clast), enclosed clasts
have irregular diffuse boundaries, and some are ghosted in definition as a result of aggressive alunite alteration and replace-
ment; (f) Matrix-supported breccia with abundant alteration alunite matrix. Many visible clasts of andesite preserve subhor-
izontal flow banding, defining a still-in situ fabric; larger clasts have a subvertical long axis orientation, even though the flow
banding is subhorizontal; clast margins vary from sharply to diffusely defined.

Facies Relationships
The four breccia facies defined herein show no consistent
stratigraphic relationship to each other. At the largest scale,
they occur randomly distributed relative to each other
throughout the cliff exposure and there is no stratification
within or between them (Fig. 2). At a more detailed outcrop
scale, relationships are gradational or abrupt, and both lateral
and vertical (Figs. 68). The transition between coherent and
breccia facies is marked by increasing alteration at the mar-
gins of the coherent domains. The contact is usually grada-
tional and irregular in shape.
Quantitative Analysis of Breccia Fabric
Here we quantitatively analyze the dimensions, shape, and
orientation of clasts in order to define the processes of brec-
cia formation. We have selected photos representative of the
described lithofacies. Photos have been scanned and trans-
formed into grayscale and then into black and white in order
to highlight the clasts (black) from the alunite-dominated ma-
trix (white; Fig. 9a, b). We have selected photos of cross sec-
tions parallel to the long axis of elongate clasts, generally ver-
tical, in order to better account for the 2-D shapes displayed
by the breccias. Grain-size analysis has been performed by cal-
culating the 2-D area of clasts transformed into an equivalent
diameter. The selected example shown in Figure 9 is repre-
sentative of the most diffuse lithofacies that is, based on the
computed grain-size distribution, the cobble to coarse pebble
breccia (Fig. 9c). The population of particles analyzed (total n
= 481) varies from elongate to equant in shape. The aspect
ratio of the long/small axes varies between 1 (equant) and 5.4
(very elongate). The average aspect ratio is 1.4 0.3 (Fig. 9d).
Orientations of long axes have been measured counterclock-
wise, with respect to the horizontal, from 0 to 180. Orienta-
tions of all particle long axes show a random scattering (Fig.
9e). Plotting particle equivalent diameter vs. the orientation
of particle long axis (Fig. 9f) shows that clast orientation ap-
parently depends on dimensions. Small clasts (<3.2 cm) are
subequant (average aspect ratio of 1.4 0.3; Fig. 9g), are the
largest population (n = 397), and show scattered orientations
(Fig. 9h). By contrast, clasts larger than 3.2 cm show two dis-
tinct mean values of aspect ratio at 1.4 0.2 and at 2.2 0.5
(Fig. 9i). The 1.4 0.2 population mimics that of the total
population and of the small clasts. The 2.2 0.5 peak defines
clearly elongate clasts. The orientation of clasts larger than
3.2 cm is not random and clearly shows a preferred trend of

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 HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIA TEXTURES AND PROCESSES: LISCA BIANCA ISLET, PANAREA, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY 445

FIG. 9. Quantitative characterization of hydrothermal breccia facies (OPTIMAS software): (a) Original image of cobble
to coarse pebble breccia; (b) Transformation of the photo into black and white in order to highlight the clasts (black) from
the alunite-dominated matrix (white); (c) Grain size analysis by 2-D image area of clasts transformed into equivalent diame-
ter; (d) Distribution of aspect ratio of the long/small axes; (e) Rose diagram of orientations of long axis of clasts; (f) Particle
equivalent diameter vs. the orientation of particle long axis; (g) Aspect ratio of particles with equivalent diameter (Deq) <3.2
cm unimodal distribution; (h) Orientation of particles with Deq<3.2 cm; (i) Aspect ratio of particles with Deq>3.2 cm; note
the bimodal distribution; (j) orientation of particles with Deq >3.2 cm; (k, l, m, n) Distribution of the orientation of particles
according to the 1.8 aspect ratio threshold.

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446 CAS ET AL.
85.4 32.8; the average of two main subvertical clusters
(Fig. 9j). The data suggest that orientations of clasts with
higher aspect ratios are better clustered. We arbitrarily con-
sider an aspect ratio threshold at 1.8; the average value be-
tween the aspect ratio peaks at 1.4 and 2.2 shown by clasts
larger than 3.2 cm. Clasts with aspect ratios >1.8 represent
25.9 percent of the <3.2 cm subpopulation, and 29.8 percent
of the >3.2 cm subpopulation. We have recalculated the ori-
entation of particles according to the 1.8 aspect ratio thresh-
old in Figure 9k-n. Small and subequant clasts (n = 295) are
randomly oriented (Fig. 9k). Small and elongated clasts (n
=102) are less scattered and show two distinct gaussian peaks
of orientation at 62.3 13.5 and at 112.6 12.2 (Fig. 9l). dence of this at Lisca Bianca. At Lisca Bianca there is a total lack
Large and subequant clasts (n = 59) show a weakly defined
clustering with subvertical orientation and two peaks of ori-
entation at 57.7 38.6 and at 104.1 22 (Fig. 9m). Large are characteristic of autobreccias (Cas et al., 1987).
and elongate (n = 25) clasts show a well-defined clustering of
orientation at 77.5 32.3 (Fig. 9n).
Discussion
Origin of the alteration mineral assemblage
Given the absence of any evidence of thermal or dynamic
metamorphism and the youthfulness of Panarea and the pres-
ence of the nearby submarine gas vent system (Esposito et al.,
2006), the alteration on Panarea island can be confidently in-
terpreted to be entirely hydrothermal in origin. The outlined
mineral assemblage of alunite, marcasite, pyrite, Fe hydrox-
ides, and native sulfur is consistent with a hydrothermal ori-
gin. Percolation of hydrothermal fluids along the pervasive
and open fracture system of the andesite of the islets was re-
sponsible for the widespread alunite infillings, as a result of
efficient water-rock interaction reflecting the selective re-
placement of feldspars in the host rock (Deyell et al., 2005).
By contrast, localized occurrences of reducing conditions, as-
sociated likely with the most intense degassing, justify the de-
position of pure sulfur as well as marcasite and pyrite; the oc-
currence of Fe hydroxides can be interpreted as the
subsequent oxidation of sufides in subaqueous conditions.
Even though there are no stable isotopic data available, the
coexistence of alunite and pyrite-marcasite (Fig. 4) suggest
deposition of mineralization from H2S-dominated magmatic
fluids, as suggested by several recent studies on gas erupted
from Panarea during the 2002 to 2003 (e.g., Caliro et al.,
2004; Capaccioni et al., 2005, 2007). The association of alu-
nite, marcasite, and native sulfur are commonly associated
with high-sulfidation mineralization systems, including epi-
thermal, VMS, and even porphyry-style systems (e.g., Heden-
quist and Lowenstern, 1994; Gemmell et al., 1999; Petersen
et al., 2002; Deyell et al., 2005).
Origin of the breccias
Lack of stratigraphic relationships and stratification and the
presence of ubiquitous jigsaw-fit textures indicate that breccias
at Lisca Bianca were not emplaced by pyroclastic or sedi-
mentary processes; rather, they formed by an in situ fragmen-
tation process. Explosive volcanic and surface sedimentary
processes do not produce jigsaw-fit clast textures due to the
lateral dispersal and transport of the clast populations away
from source (e.g., Cas and Wright, 1987; McPhie et al., 1993).
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Furthermore, the breccias exposed on Lisca Bianca do not
conform consistently with autobreccia (e.g., Cas and Wright,
1987; McPhie et al., 1993), hyaloclastite (e.g., Cas and Wright,
1987; Cas, 1992; McPhie et al., 1993; Scutter et al., 1998; De
Rita et al., 2001), or tectonic breccia (e.g., Sibson, 1987, 1996).
The Lisca Bianca breccias are not autobreccia because jigsaw-
fit texture is pervasive on Lisca Bianca, whereas in autobrec-
ciating lavas jigsaw-fit textures may occur locally in the transi-
tion from the coherent core of a lava to the clast-rotated
carapace, but are not pervasive (Cas et al., 1987). At the margins
of an autobrecciating lava, clasts will tumble and rotate from
their original orientation (Cas et al., 1987), but there is no evi-
of clast rotated breccias, there is abundant matrix and there is a
well-defined anisotropic clast and fracture fabric, none of which
Hyaloclastites originate from the rapid cooling and quench
fragmentation of magma in contact with external water (e.g.,
Cas and Wright, 1987; Cas, 1992; McPhie et al., 1993; Scut-
ter et al., 1998). The fragmentation results from the forma-
tion of cooling contractional fractures that propagate from the
margin into the interior of the lava. In quench fragmented
lava, there is also commonly a gradation from the coherent in-
terior of the lava to a jigsaw-fit texture domain into a clast-ro-
tated to resedimented outer margin. Jigsaw-fit textural do-
mains are extremely widespread (Cas and Wright, 1987; Cas,
1992; McPhie et al., 1993). The networks of contractional
fractures generally have no preferred orientation producing a
breccia with an isotropic fabric, unless there is already a
strong syn-emplacement fabric such as flow-banding in which
case many quench fractures may propagate along flow band
planes. Clasts are typically blocky in shape, with bounding
planar to curviplanar fracture surfaces, reflecting the brittle
fracturing mechanism. Quench fragmentation is pervasive,
producing a clast grain size range from boulders to coarse silt.
The Lisca Bianca breccias are not the product of quench frag-
mentation that produces hyaloclastite because there is a strong
preferred subvertical clast fabric almost orthogonal to the
synemplacement subhorizontal flow banding. If quench frag-
mentation was the principal fragmentation mechanism and a
clast fabric existed, it would be expected to also be subhori-
zontal. Instead, the bounding fractures and the long axes of
elongate clasts define an overall subvertical fracture pattern.
The Lisca Bianca breccias are also not tectonic breccias be-
cause there is clearly no shear fabric, clasts show no evidence
of stretching or strain, nor is there a strain gradient across the
outcrop (Sibson, 1990a).
In the absence of any evidence that the Lisca Bianca breccias
formed through any known volcanic, tectonic or sedimentary
process, and given the pervasive hydrothermal alteration and
the presence of a nearby shallow marine hydrothermal field,
we conclude that the Lisca Bianca breccias are the result of
hydrothermal, fluid-assisted fracturing (Jbrak, 1997) in a sub-
surface setting. The andesite was probably part of a large orig-
inal lava dome or subvolcanic sill, the overlying parts of which
have been eroded, preserving the current cliff exposures.
Fracturing mechanisms
Jbrak (1997) has identified a range of physical and chemi-
cal fragmentation processes associated with hydrothermal
 HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIA TEXTURES AND PROCESSES: LISCA BIANCA ISLET, PANAREA, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY
settings. Physical brecciation occurs when the stress exceeds the
brittle resistance of the materials, which may be preceded by
subcritical crack growth. This allows cracks to propagate below
the strength limit of fresh, unaltered rock by the combined
effects of chemical and physical processes. Chemical breccia-
tion, also called corrosive wearhere, simply hydrothermal
alterationinvolves selective or pervasive dissolution.
Fluid-assisted brecciation involves two types, hydraulic
fracturing and critical fracturing (Sibson, 1990b, Clark and
James, 2003). If a fluid system in the subsurface develops a
pressure that exceeds the tensile strength of the enclosing
rock and the minimum principal stress component of the
lithostatic pressure regime, then that fluid has the capacity to
propagate a fracture system in the country rock, and to open
it in a tensile manner (Secor, 1969; Phillips, 1972; Shaw,
1980). The rock is essentially shattered in brittle, tensile fash-
ion by the overpressured fluids, which then significantly re-
duces the effective pressure. Critical fracturing occurs in-
stead when the balance between fluid pressure and regional
stress is destroyed by hydraulic fracturing, which causes a
sudden pressure reduction, especially in the fracture-filling
fluid (Jbrak, 1997). This may induce spontaneous spalling
(implosion) of rock debris from the country rock (Jbrak,
1997), much like rock bursts. Hydraulic fracturing and crit-
ical fracturing are closely related, and both produce jigsaw-fit
breccias with little clast rotation, although critical fracture
breccias may produce some clast rotation (Jbrak, 1997).
Clast populations are monomictic, unless transported through
the system, leading in some cases to a heterogeneous mixture
of clast rock units.
The Lisca Bianca breccias are monomictic and overwhelm-
ingly jigsaw-fit, with very minor evidence of clast rotation, and
no evidence of clast transport. Spalling of rock debris from
the margins of large clasts is common and fragments are usu-
ally angular, to blocky and splintery in shape (Figs. 6, 8).
Quantitative analysis of shape and orientation of clasts indi-
cates that the Lisca Bianca breccia is composed of two types
of clast shapes. Approximately 70 to 75 percent are subequant
and 25 to 30 percent are elongate (Fig. 9g, j). Where jigsaw-
fit texture is well developed, it appears clear that elongate
clasts formed as a result of propagation of conjugate crosscut-
ting and anastomosing subvertical fractures through the
rocks. Below 3.2 cm clasts are preferentially equant and ran-
domly oriented, suggesting enough flow pressure for small
clast rotation during fluid raising within fractures and inter-
clast spaces.
Based on the facies association and the quantitative analy-
sis of clast shape and orientation, we therefore conclude that
critical fracturing is the likely condition for the formation of
the Lisca Bianca breccias.
Fractures and interclast spaces at Lisca Bianca are perva-
sively filled with natroalunite veins and clasts are variably al-
tered (Fig. 8). The precipitation of natroalunite involves oxi-
dizing conditions (e.g., Ross and Ber, 1968) and is likely
related to the dilational conditions subsequent to critical frac-
turing, when the hydrothermal fluid flow pressure suddenly
wanes and seawater can largely flood the fracture system.
The presence of rounded cores to large clasts (Figs. 6, 8b,
e) indicates the effects of both pressure fluctuations (hypo-
gene exfoliation; Sillitoe, 1985) and chemical alteration. At
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447
Lisca Bianca, hydrothermal alteration of the andesite clasts
varies from limited to the clast boundaries (e.g., in the Boul-
der breccia facies; Fig. 6a, b), to patchy (e.g., Fig. 8b-e) or
pervasively altered areas, with a highly irregular distribution
pattern of clasts and matrix (e.g., Figs. 7b, 8f).
These different types of hydrothermal alteration patterns
correspond to the diffusion limited regime and the kinetic
regime (Jbrak, 1997). In the first case, there is a marked
chemical disequilibrium between host rock and the hy-
drothermal fluids. The fluids pervade the exposed surface
area of host rock along fractures and permeability pathways
and progressively dissolve ions and alter the rock inward from
the permeable fluid pathways (Jbrak, 1997). Corners where
fractures intersect are more easily altered than a continuous
planar surface because multiple alteration fronts are active.
Originally polygonal fracture blocks begin to develop round
cores of unaltered rock as alteration advances into the joint-
bounded block (Figs. 6, 8d), as happens with spheroidal
weathering. The fresh, unaltered domains are the apparent
clasts, whereas the altered rinds adjacent to the fractures are
the apparent matrix. In the kinetic regime, the rate of alter-
ation is controlled by a less vigorous or pervasive rate of
chemical reaction. Alteration can be even more irregular than
in the diffusion-limited regime, producing highly irregular
apparent clasts and a highly irregular distribution pattern of
clasts and matrix (e.g., Figs. 7b, 8f).
The alteration involves ion diffusion and fluid migration.
Neither is necessarily pervasive in its coverage, leading to
variation in the intensity of the alteration from barely percep-
tible to patchy and, in the extreme, to pervasive. The second
of these stages may cause the most significant complications
in recognizing original textures and rock types. Patchy alter-
ation may produce an apparent, pseudoclastic texture (Figs.
7b, 8f), wherein the relic patches of original rock appear as
clasts in a differently colored, mineralogically altered rock
that is the apparent matrix. The apparent clast margins may
not coincide with a physical fracture or surface.
A multistage model for hydraulic brecciation at Lisca Bianca
In Figure 10, we propose a model for the development of
hydraulic breccias at Lisca Bianca in the environment of the
active hydrothermal system, based on a three-stage model
proposed by Jbrak (1997). Breccia evolution is complex, but
may involve four stages of evolution, from coherent rock to
fractured medium-to-fluid percolating stage, separated by a
mechanical discontinuity threshold, when the rock becomes a
noncontinuous solid, and a hydraulic continuity threshold,
when the fluid forms a continuously connected phase
throughout a fracture system, respectively. In a hydrothermal
system, the four stages can repeat in a cyclical way, allowing
for very complex brecciation processes to occur. This cyclical
behavior may be triggered by occlusion of fractures by pre-
cipitation of hydrothermal minerals and alteration of country
rock, which then causes build-up of fluid pressure, which
then may initiate a new phase of hydraulic fracturing. This is
analogous to crack-seal vein formation in deformational
zones, proposed by Ramsay (1980).
In this model, we assume a vertical hydrothermal fluid
pressure gradient, which is consistent with the subvertical
fracture and clast fabric. Stage 1 is the equilibrium stage (Fig.
448
Stage 1
equilibrium condition
Stage 3
development of hydrofractured breccia
2nd and 3rd order fractures
FIG. 10. Four-stage model for the formation of hydrothermal hydraulic breccias at Lisca Bianca. Stage 1: fluid pressure
equilibrium stage; stage 2: incipient fracturing stage; stage 3: fracturing stage; stage 4: waning pressure stage. See text for
discussion.
10), when fluid pressure (P1) in the hydrothermal fluid reser-
voir (a) is lower than the tensile strength () of the imperme-
able country rock (b) at the given lithostatic conditions, which
may also include the influence of any external tectonic-vol-
canotectonic stress regime. With the widespread nature of
alteration at Lisca Bianca, it is likely that even at this stage hy-
drothermal fluids would have been percolating along preex-
isting first-order fractures, such as the columnar joints that
would have provided an immediate fracture porosity and per-
meability for hydrothermal fluids to percolate along.
Stage 2 is the incipient fracturing stage (Fig. 10), when the
fluid pressure (P2) in the hydrothermal system increases to
equal, and eventually exceed, . The presence at Lisca Bianca
of conjugate sets of fractures, highlighted by the shape analy-
sis of jigsaw-fit breccia domains (Fig. 9), indicates the pres-
ence of an oriented stress regime at the time of fracturing,
likely related to critical fracturing conditions. Increasing
fluid pressure may have been caused by increasing levels of
activity in the hydrothermal system and/or because perme-
ability in the columnar joint fractures began to decrease due
to growth of secondary alteration minerals such as alunite in
the joints by precipitation from the hydrothermal fluids.
Stage 3 involves the fracturing of the andesite of Lisca
Bianca (Fig. 10); domains of hydraulic breccias are produced
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CAS ET AL.
Stage 2
incipient fractures 1st order fractures
Stage 4
hydrothermal mineralization and
alteration, self-sealing
along fractures, increasing the permeability of the country
rock and causing a pressure drop, able to trigger gas bursts
where the hydrothermal system is at a shallow depth and
where lithostatic pressure is low. This type of event occurred
and was witnessed at Lisca Bianca on November 3, 2002 (Es-
posito et al., 2006). The resulting fracture system produced
the spectrum of breccias described. Fractures around the
margins of columnar joint core blocks are planar to slightly
curviplanar, often forming fracture sets and clast populations
that are generally concentric around the massive core block
(e.g., Fig. 6a, b), indicating a tangential spalling type of frac-
turing. This suggests that there was both a fluid pressure gra-
dient around the core block as well as a strength gradient in
the core block. Such brecciation can be explained by the fo-
cusing of the fluid pressures at the edges of the core blocks
that have become weakened by hydrothermally altered,
and/or by pressure fluctuations causing hypogene exfoliation.
Stage 4 is the waning pressure stage (Fig. 10), when fluid
pressures decrease (P4), allowing a much milder percolation
of fluids along fractures in breccias, deposition of natroalu-
nite veins and matrix, and fracture-controlled alteration in
the boulder breccia domains and patchy to pervasive alter-
ation in finer brecciated domains. Hydrothermal mineral de-
position may eventually lead to the sealing of the fractures
448
 HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIA TEXTURES AND PROCESSES: LISCA BIANCA ISLET, PANAREA, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY
and breccia porosity, allowing the cyclic repetition of the
stages outlined above. Esposito et al. (2006) have reported
tens to hundreds of gas burst craters on the sea floor around
Lisca Bianca, many of which are old and cannot be ascribed
to the 2002 event, suggesting previous cycles of fluid pressure
build-up, culminating in gas bursts.
Summary of hydraulic breccias characteristics
and relevance for exploration
The definition of the origin of fragmental facies in volcanic
environments is not always an easy task, and it requires the
detailed documentation of the textural characteristics and of
the facies relationships (e.g., Cas and Wright, 1987; McPhie
et al., 1993). The recognition of hydraulic breccias associated
with hydrothermal systems is essential in mineral exploration,
as it reveals the main pathways for the hydrothermal fluids
and helps in locating epithermal mineralization. We have
identified at Lisca Bianca the main characteristics associated
with the hydraulic breccias, which can be summarized as fol-
lows: (1) breccias are ubiquitously monomictic; (2) there ex-
ists a dimensional threshold that divides small, rotated clasts
and larger jigsaw-fit clasts within the same breccia domain;
(3) clasts are angular and often show triangular shapes in
cross section, which parallel the angle between adjacent con-
jugate fractures; (4) grain-size of breccias may vary abruptly
and over short distances; (5) breccias are largely confined
within originally subvertical domains in abrupt contacts with
the country rock.
We believe that such characteristics are indicative and,
where occurring all together, unique to hydraulic breccias
and can be used to distinguish them from other types of brec-
cias formed in volcanic environments.
Conclusions
The islet of Lisca Bianca, a satellite of the larger island vol-
cano of Panarea, shows evidence of a long-lived hydrothermal
system, evidenced by both a recent sea-floor gas eruption in
2002 to 2003 and ongoing gas escape, as well as evidence of
pervasive alunite hydrothermal alteration of andesite in the
cliffs of Lisca Bianca.
Five lithofacies are preserved on Lisca Bianca: coherent
(unbrecciated) andesite, boulder-, cobble to coarse pebble,
and fine pebble andesite breccia, and pervasively altered an-
desite facies. All lithofacies consist of petrologically identical
andesite, which has been variably fragmented and altered.
Documentation and interpretation of the characteristics of
the spectrum of andesite breccias exposed on Lisca Bianca in-
dicate that they are not primary volcanic, tectonic, or sedi-
mentary breccias, and could only have formed in the subsur-
face by means of hydraulic fracturing by hydrothermal fluids.
All breccias are characterized by ubiquitous jigsaw-fit textures,
with clasts separated by alunite veins or pervaded irregularly
by alunite.
Brecciation occurred after emplacement of an andesite lava
dome or sill through fluid-assisted brecciation, involving both
physical fracturing as well as chemical alteration. Both hy-
draulic fracturing (first) and subsequent critical fracturing
contributed to the brecciation. Diffusion-limited and kinetic-
limited alteration led to both vein-confined and more irregu-
lar and pervasive alunite alteration, clasts that are bounded by
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449
planar to curviplanar fractures, and irregular domains of alu-
nite, producing pseudoclasts.
Four stages of development of breccias have been identi-
fied: stage 1: fluid pressure equilibrium stage, stage 2: incipi-
ent fracturing stage; stage 3: fracturing stage; stage 4: waning
pressure stage. The cycle can be repeated owing to occlusion
of fractures by precipitation of hydrothermal minerals, which
then leads to fluid pressure build-up and activation of a new
cycle of fracturing.
Acknowledgments
We thank Andrew Davies, Stephen Piercey and Larry
Meinert for their very helpful reviews.
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