Quantifying the Water-to-Melt Mass Ratio and Its Impact on Eruption Plumes During Explosive Hydromagmatic Eruptions

The interaction of magma with external water commonly enhances magma fragmentation through the conversion of thermal to mechanical energy and results in an increased production of fine-grained volcanic tephra. Magma-water interaction is thus of importance for hazard mitigation on both a local and a regional scales. The relative proportion of water that interacts with magma, quantified as the water-to-melt mass ratio, is thought to determine the efficiency of thermal to mechanical energy conversion, termed the fragmentation efficiency. Here, we analyze the pyroclast size distributions from the 10th century Eldgjá fissure eruption in Iceland, where parts of the fissure erupted subglacially and other erupted subaerially. The subglacially erupted magma passed through a column of glacial meltwater, resulting in a larger proportion of finer pyroclast sizes relative to the subaerially erupted, purely magmatic tephra. This finer grain size distribution has been attributed to quench-granulation induced by enhanced cooling upon interaction with external water. We hypothesize that the additional fragmentation (surface) energy required to produce the finer grained hydromagmatic deposits is due to the conversion of thermal to mechanical energy associated with the entrainment of water into the volcanic jet, as it passed through a column of subglacial melt water. Based on field and granulometry data, we estimate that the interaction of the volcanic jet with the meltwater provided an additional fragmentation energy of approximately 3–14 kJ per kg of pyroclasts. We numerically model the hydrofragmentation energy within a jet that passes through a layer of meltwater. We find that the water-to-melt mass ratio of entrained water required to produce the additional fragmentation energy is in the range of 1–2, which requires a minimum ice melting rate of 104 m3 s−1. Our simulation results show that the water-to-melt ratio is an important parameter that controls the ascent of plume in the atmosphere

Reconciling bubble nucleation in explosive eruptions with geospeedometers

The authors simulate bubble nucleation in silica-rich magma with conditions appropriate for Plinian eruptions. They demonstrate that the gap between decompression rate estimates from bubble number density and independent geospeedometers can be largely closed if nucleation is heterogenous facilitated by magnetite crystals and decompression rate is calculated as time-averaged values

Bubble Coalescence and Percolation Threshold in Expanding Rhyolitic Magma

International audienceCoalescence during bubble nucleation and growth in crystal‐free rhyolitic melt was experimentally investigated, and the percolation threshold, defined as the porosity at which the vesicular melt first becomes permeable, was estimated. Experiments with bubble number densities between 1014 and 1015 m−3 were compared to four suites of rhyolitic Plinian pumices, which have approximately equal bubble number densities. At the same total porosity, Plinian samples have a higher percentage of coalesced bubbles compared to their experimental counterparts. Percolation modeling of the experimental samples indicates that all of them are impermeable and have percolation thresholds of approximately 80–90%, irrespective of their porosity. Percolation modeling of the Plinian pumices, all of which have been shown to be permeable, gives a percolation threshold of approximately 60%. The experimental samples fall on a distinct trend in terms of connected versus total porosity relative to the Plinian samples, which also have a greater melt‐bubble structural complexity. The same holds true for experimental samples of lower bubble number densities. We interpret the comparatively higher coalescence within the Plinian samples to be a consequence of shear deformation of the erupting magma, together with an inherently greater structural complexity resulting from a more complex nucleation process

The 2018 reawakening and eruption dynamics of Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest active geyser.

Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin began a prolific sequence of eruptions in March 2018 after 34 y of sporadic activity. We analyze a wide range of datasets to explore triggering mechanisms for Steamboat's reactivation and controls on eruption intervals and height. Prior to Steamboat's renewed activity, Norris Geyser Basin experienced uplift, a slight increase in radiant temperature, and increased regional seismicity, which may indicate that magmatic processes promoted reactivation. However, because the geothermal reservoir temperature did not change, no other dormant geysers became active, and previous periods with greater seismic moment release did not reawaken Steamboat, the reason for reactivation remains ambiguous. Eruption intervals since 2018 (3.16 to 35.45 d) modulate seasonally, with shorter intervals in the summer. Abnormally long intervals coincide with weakening of a shallow seismic source in the geyser basin's hydrothermal system. We find no relation between interval and erupted volume, implying unsteady heat and mass discharge. Finally, using data from geysers worldwide, we find a correlation between eruption height and inferred depth to the shallow reservoir supplying water to eruptions. Steamboat is taller because water is stored deeper there than at other geysers, and, hence, more energy is available to power the eruptions

The 2018 reawakening and eruption dynamics of Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest active geyser.

Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin began a prolific sequence of eruptions in March 2018 after 34 y of sporadic activity. We analyze a wide range of datasets to explore triggering mechanisms for Steamboat's reactivation and controls on eruption intervals and height. Prior to Steamboat's renewed activity, Norris Geyser Basin experienced uplift, a slight increase in radiant temperature, and increased regional seismicity, which may indicate that magmatic processes promoted reactivation. However, because the geothermal reservoir temperature did not change, no other dormant geysers became active, and previous periods with greater seismic moment release did not reawaken Steamboat, the reason for reactivation remains ambiguous. Eruption intervals since 2018 (3.16 to 35.45 d) modulate seasonally, with shorter intervals in the summer. Abnormally long intervals coincide with weakening of a shallow seismic source in the geyser basin's hydrothermal system. We find no relation between interval and erupted volume, implying unsteady heat and mass discharge. Finally, using data from geysers worldwide, we find a correlation between eruption height and inferred depth to the shallow reservoir supplying water to eruptions. Steamboat is taller because water is stored deeper there than at other geysers, and, hence, more energy is available to power the eruptions