Magma decompression rates during explosive eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai'i, recorded by melt embayments

The decompression rate of magma as it ascends during volcanic eruptions is an important but poorly constrained parameter that controls many of the processes that influence eruptive behaviour. In this study we quantify decompression rates for basaltic magmas using volatile diffusion in olivine-hosted melt tubes (embayments) for three contrasting eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai'i. Incomplete exsolution of H₂O, CO₂ and S from the embayment melts during eruptive ascent creates diffusion profiles that can be measured using microanalytical techniques, and then modelled to infer the average decompression rate. We obtain average rates of ~0.05-0.45 MPa s-1 for eruptions ranging from Hawaiian style fountains to basaltic subplinian, with the more intense eruptions having higher rates. The ascent timescales for these magmas vary from around ~5 to ~36 minutes from depths of ~2 to ~4 km respectively. Decompression-exsolution models based on the embayment data also allow for an estimate of the mass fraction of pre-existing exsolved volatiles within the magma body. In the eruptions studied this varies from 0.1-3.2 wt%, but does not appear to be the key control on eruptive intensity. Our results do not support a direct link between the concentration of pre-eruptive volatiles and eruptive intensity; rather they suggest that for these eruptions decompression rates are proportional to independent estimates of mass discharge rate. Although the intensity of eruptions is defined by the discharge rate, based on the currently available dataset of embayment analyses it does not appear to scale linearly with average decompression rate. This study demonstrates the utility of the embayment method for providing quantitative constraints on magma ascent during explosive basaltic eruptions

Permeability during magma expansion and compaction

Plinian lapilli from the 1060 Common Era Glass Mountain rhyolitic eruption of Medicine Lake Volcano, California, were collected and analyzed for vesicularity and permeability. A subset of the samples were deformed at a temperature of 975°, under shear and normal stress, and postdeformation porosities and permeabilities were measured. Almost all undeformed samples fall within a narrow range of vesicularity (0.7–0.9), encompassing permeabilities between approximately 10−15 m2 and 10−10 m2. A percolation threshold of approximately 0.7 is required to fit the data by a power law, whereas a percolation threshold of approximately 0.5 is estimated by fitting connected and total vesicularity using percolation modeling. The Glass Mountain samples completely overlap with a range of explosively erupted silicic samples, and it remains unclear whether the erupting magmas became permeable at porosities of approximately 0.7 or at lower values. Sample deformation resulted in compaction and vesicle connectivity either increased or decreased. At small strains permeability of some samples increased, but at higher strains permeability decreased. Samples remain permeable down to vesicularities of less than 0.2, consistent with a potential hysteresis in permeability-porosity between expansion (vesiculation) and compaction (outgassing). We attribute this to retention of vesicle interconnectivity, albeit at reduced vesicle size, as well as bubble coalescence during shear deformation. We provide an equation that approximates the change in permeability during compaction. Based on a comparison with data from effusively erupted silicic samples, we propose that this equation can be used to model the change in permeability during compaction of effusively erupting magmas

Stronger or longer: Discriminating between Hawaiian and Strombolian eruption styles

The weakest explosive volcanic eruptions globally, Strombolian explosions and Hawaiian fountaining, are also the most common. Yet, despite over a hundred years of observations, no classifications have offered a convincing, quantitative way of demarcating these two styles. New observations show that the two styles are distinct in their eruptive time scale, with the duration of Hawaiian fountaining exceeding Strombolian explosions by ∼300–10,000 s. This reflects the underlying process of whether shallow-exsolved gas remains trapped in the erupting magma or is decoupled from it. We propose here a classification scheme based on the duration of events (brief explosions versus prolonged fountains) with a cutoff at 300 s that separates transient Strombolian explosions from sustained Hawaiian fountains.The authors wish to acknowledge grants from NSF (EAR-0409303, 0810332, 1145159, 1427357) and ARRA (113153 via the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory), which funded this research.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G37423.

Rapid ascent of rhyolitic magma at Chaitén volcano, Chile

International audienceAlthough rhyolite magma has fuelled some of the Earth's largest explosive volcanic eruptions, our understanding of these events is incomplete due to the previous lack of direct observation of these eruptions. On 1 May 2008, Chaitén volcano in Chile erupted rhyolite magma unexpectedly and explosively. Here, petrological and experimental data are presented that indicate that the hydrous rhyolite magma at Chaitén ascended very rapidly from storage depth to near-surface, with velocities of the order of one metre per second

Nickel and helium evidence for melt above the core–mantle boundary

High ^(3)He/^(4)He ratios in some basalts have generally been interpreted as originating in an incompletely degassed lower-mantle source. This helium source may have been isolated at the core–mantle boundary region since Earth’s accretion. Alternatively, it may have taken part in whole-mantle convection and crust production over the age of the Earth; if so, it is now either a primitive refugium at the core–mantle boundary or is distributed throughout the lower mantle. Here we constrain the problem using lavas from Baffin Island, West Greenland, the Ontong Java Plateau, Isla Gorgona and Fernandina (Galapagos). Olivine phenocryst compositions show that these lavas originated from a peridotite source that was about 20 per cent higher in nickel content than in the modern mid-ocean-ridge basalt source. Where data are available, these lavas also have high ^(3)He/^(4)He. We propose that a less-degassed nickel-rich source formed by core–mantle interaction during the crystallization of a melt-rich layer or basal magma ocean, and that this source continues to be sampled by mantle plumes. The spatial distribution of this source may be constrained by nickel partitioning experiments at the pressures of the core–mantle boundary

Textural and geochemical constraints on andesitic plug emplacement prior to the 2004–2010 vulcanian explosions at Galeras volcano, Colombia

Hazardous sequences of vulcanian explosions are thought to result from the repeated emplacement and destruction of degassed, highly crystalline magma plugs in the shallow conduit of arc volcanoes. The processes governing the timing and magnitude of these explosions are thought to be related to magma ascent rate and efficiency of degassing and crystallisation. We study a rare suite of time-constrained ballistic bombs from the 2004–2010 period of activity of Galeras volcano to reconstruct magma plug architecture prior to six individual vulcanian explosions. We find that each plug was vertically stratified with respect to crystallinity, vesicularity and melt volatile content, melt composition and viscosity. We interpret this structure as resulting from multiple bubble nucleation events and degassing-driven crystallisation during multi-step ascent of the magma forming the plug, followed by spatially variable crystallisation within the plug under contrasting conditions of effective undercooling created by degassing. We propose that the shallow conduit evolved from more open degassing conditions during 2004–2008 to more closed conditions during 2009–2010. This resulted in explosions becoming smaller and less frequent over time during 2004–2008, then larger and more frequent over time during 2009–2010. This evolution was controlled by changing average ascent rates and is recorded by systematic changes in plagioclase microlite textures. Our results suggest that small volume vulcanian explosions (~ 105 m3) should generally be associated with longer repose times (hundreds of days) and produce ballistics characterised by small numbers of large, prismatic plagioclase microlites. Larger volume vulcanian explosions (~ 106 m3) should be associated with shorter repose times (tens of days) and produce ballistics characterised by high numbers of small, more tabular plagioclase microlites

Using dissolved H₂O in rhyolitic glasses to estimate palaeo-ice thickness during a subglacial eruption at Bláhnúkur(Torfajökull, Iceland)

The last decade has seen the refinement of a technique for reconstructing palaeo-ice thicknesses based on using the retained H2O and CO2 content in glassy eruptive deposits to infer quenching pressures and therefore ice thicknesses. The method is here applied to Bláhnúkur, a subglacially erupted rhyolitic edifice in Iceland. A decrease in water content from ~0.7 wt.% at the base to ~0.3 wt.% at the top of the edifice suggests that the ice was 400 m thick at the time of the eruption. As Bláhnúkur rises 350 m above the surrounding terrain, this implies that the eruption occurred entirely within ice, which corroborates evidence obtained from earlier lithofacies studies. This paper presents the largest data set (40 samples) so far obtained for the retained volatile contents of deposits from a subglacial eruption. An important consequence is that it enables subtle but significant variations in water content to become evident. In particular, there are anomalous samples which are either water-rich (up to 1 wt.%) or water-poor (~0.2 wt.%), with the former being interpreted as forming intrusively within hyaloclastite and the latter representing batches of magma that were volatile-poor prior to eruption. The large data set also provides further insights into the strengths and weaknesses of using volatiles to infer palaeo-ice thicknesses and highlights many of the uncertainties involved. By using examples from Bláhnúkur, the quantitative use of this technique is evaluated. However, the relative pressure conditions which have shed light on Bláhnúkur’s eruption mechanisms and syn-eruptive glacier response show that, despite uncertainties in absolute values, the volatile approach can provide useful insight into the mechanisms of subglacial rhyolitic eruptions, which have never been observed

Controls on explosive-effusive volcanic eruption styles

One of the biggest challenges in volcanic hazard assessment is to understand how and why eruptive style changes within the same eruptive period or even from one eruption to the next at a given volcano. This review evaluates the competing processes that lead to explosive and effusive eruptions of silicic magmas. Eruptive style depends on a set of feedbacks involving interrelated magmatic properties and processes. Foremost of these are magma viscosity, gas loss, and external properties such as conduit geometry. Ultimately, these parameters control the speed at which magmas ascend, decompress and outgas en route to the surface, and thus determine eruptive style and evolution

Pre- and syn-eruptive degassing and crystallisation processes of the 2010 and 2006 eruptions of Merapi volcano, Indonesia

The 2010 eruption of Merapi (VEI 4) was the volcano’s largest since 1872. In contrast to the prolonged and effusive dome-forming eruptions typical of Merapi’s recent activity, the 2010 eruption began explosively, before a new dome was rapidly emplaced. This new dome was subsequently destroyed by explosions, generating pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), predominantly consisting of dark coloured, dense blocks of basaltic andesite dome lava. A shift towards open-vent conditions in the later stages of the eruption culminated in multiple explosions and the generation of PDCs with conspicuous grey scoria and white pumice clasts resulting from sub-plinian convective column collapse. This paper presents geochemical data for melt inclusions and their clinopyroxene hosts extracted from dense dome lava, grey scoria and white pumice generated during the peak of the 2010 eruption. These are compared with clinopyroxene-hosted melt inclusions from scoriaceous dome fragments from the prolonged dome-forming 2006 eruption, to elucidate any relationship between pre-eruptive degassing and crystallisation processes and eruptive style. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of volatiles (H2O, CO2) and light lithophile elements (Li, B, Be) is augmented by electron microprobe analysis of major elements and volatiles (Cl, S, F) in melt inclusions and groundmass glass. Geobarometric analysis shows that the clinopyroxene phenocrysts crystallised at depths of up to 20 km, with the greatest calculated depths associated with phenocrysts from the white pumice. Based on their volatile contents, melt inclusions have re-equilibrated during shallower storage and/or ascent, at depths of ~0.6–9.7 km, where the Merapi magma system is interpreted to be highly interconnected and not formed of discrete magma reservoirs. Melt inclusions enriched in Li show uniform “buffered” Cl concentrations, indicating the presence of an exsolved brine phase. Boron-enriched inclusions also support the presence of a brine phase, which helped to stabilise B in the melt. Calculations based on S concentrations in melt inclusions and groundmass glass require a degassing melt volume of 0.36 km3 in order to produce the mass of SO2 emitted during the 2010 eruption. This volume is approximately an order of magnitude higher than the erupted magma (DRE) volume. The transition between the contrasting eruptive styles in 2010 and 2006 is linked to changes in magmatic flux and changes in degassing style, with the explosive activity in 2010 driven by an influx of deep magma, which overwhelmed the shallower magma system and ascended rapidly, accompanied by closed-system degassing