Insights into eruption dynamics from textural analysis: the case of the May, 2008, Chaitén eruption

The May, 2008, Chaitén (southern Chile) eruption was characterized by several explosive events, each associated with plumes which reached up to about 19km above sea level on May 6. A study of the textural and physical features of the juvenile clasts erupted during the climactic phase of the 2008 eruption of Chaitén is presented. Pumice clasts show unimodal density distribution (main mode at 600kg/m3), average vesicularity of about 69%, a glassy groundmass with no microcrystals, and vesicles with dimension between ∼1μm and ∼2mm. They also show a unimodal vesicle size distribution with most frequent vesicle size in the range 0.05-0.08mm and an estimated vesicle number density of 1.3 ± 0.5 × 105 mm−3 related to a rapid nucleation event produced during the late phases of magma rise. This is confirmed by the absence of microcrystals that could otherwise have delayed vesicle formation and allowed the magma to maintain a low viscosity and a supersaturation in volatiles. Vesiculation and fragmentation were triggered by a sudden decompression of the melt associated with the opening of the volcanic conduit (∼10MPa s−1

Lava Volume from Remote Sensing Data: Comparisons with Reverse Petrological Approaches for Two Types of Effusive Eruption

Five effusive eruptions of Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion) are analyzed to investigate temporal trends of erupted mass and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Daily SO2 emissions are acquired from three ultraviolet (UV) satellite instruments (the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS), and the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI)) and an array of ground-based UV spectrometers (Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change (NOVAC)). Time-averaged lava discharge rates (TADRs) are obtained from two automatic satellite-based hot spot detection systems: MIROVA and MODVOLC. Assuming that the lava volumes measured in the field are accurate, the MIROVA system gave the best estimation of erupted volume among the methods investigated. We use a reverse petrological method to constrain pre-eruptive magmatic sulfur contents based on observed SO2 emissions and lava volumes. We also show that a direct petrological approach using SO2 data might be a viable alternative for TADR estimation during cloudy weather that compromises hot spot detection. In several eruptions we observed a terminal increase in TADR and SO2 emissions after initial emission of evolved degassed magma. We ascribe this to input of deeper, volatile-rich magma into the plumbing system towards the end of these eruptions. Furthermore, we find no evidence of volatile excess in the five eruptions studied, which were thus mostly fed by shallow degassed magma

Conduit Dynamics in Transitional Rhyolitic Activity Recorded by Tuffisite Vein Textures from the 2008–2009 Chaitén Eruption

The mechanisms of hazardous silicic eruptions are controlled by complex, poorly-understood conduit processes. Observations of recent Chilean rhyolite eruptions have revealed the importance of hybrid activity, involving simultaneous explosive and effusive emissions from a common vent. Such behavior hinges upon the ability of gas to decouple from magma in the shallow conduit. Tuffisite veins are increasingly suspected to be a key facilitator of outgassing, as they repeatedly provide a transient permeable escape route for volcanic gases. Intersection of foam domains by tuffisite veins appears critical to efficient outgassing. However, knowledge is currently lacking into textural heterogeneities within shallow conduits, their relationship with tuffisite vein propagation, and the implications for fragmentation and degassing processes. Similarly, the magmatic vesiculation response to upper conduit pressure perturbations, such as those related to the slip of dense magma plugs, remains largely undefined. Here we provide a detailed characterization of an exceptionally large tuffisite vein within a rhyolitic obsidian bomb ejected during transitional explosive-effusive activity at Chaitén, Chile in May 2008. Vein textures and chemistry provide a time-integrated record of the invasion of a dense upper conduit plug by deeper fragmented magma. Quantitative textural analysis reveals diverse vesiculation histories of various juvenile clast types. Using vesicle size distributions, bubble number densities, zones of diffusive water depletion, and glass H2O concentrations, we propose a multi-step degassing/fragmentation history, spanning deep degassing to explosive bomb ejection. Rapid decompression events of ~3–4 MPa are associated with fragmentation of foam and dense magma at ~200–360 m depth in the conduit, permitting vertical gas and pyroclast mobility over hundreds of meters. Permeable pathway occlusion in the dense conduit plug by pyroclast accumulation and sintering preceded ultimate bomb ejection, which then triggered a final bubble nucleation event. Our results highlight how the vesiculation response of magma to decompression events is highly sensitive to the local melt volatile concentration, which is strongly spatially heterogeneous. Repeated opening of pervasive tuffisite vein networks promotes this heterogeneity, allowing juxtaposition of variably volatile-rich magma fragments that are derived from a wide range of depths in the conduit. This process enables efficient but explosive removal of gas from rhyolitic magma and creates a complex textural collage within dense rhyolitic lava, in which neighboring fused clasts may have experienced vastly different degassing histories

A history of deformation within Pietre Cotte rhyolite flow (Vulcano)

International audienc

Análisis de algunas características de las pómez de la caída pliniana de la erupción de 1600 d.C. del volcán Huaynaputina

Entre las características de los depósitos volcánicos y sobre todo piroclásticos, la densidad y la porosidad de los clastos juveniles son los parámetros más usados para reconstruir la dinámica eruptiva de una erupción volcánica a través del tipo de magma, comenzando con el cálculo de la densidad volumétrica y la densidad específica del depósito Pliniano, para que posteriormente se junte con otros parámetros físicos y texturales se infieren la dinámica eruptiva a través del tipo de magma. En el año de 1600 CE se registró la erupción del volcán Huaynaputina (Moquegua), con un Índice de Explosividad Volcánica de 6, considerándose la mayor erupción volcánica del tipo pliniana ocurrida en Sudamérica en tiempos históricos (Thouret et al., 1997, 1999, 2002; Adams et al. 2001). La caída Pliniana de pómez fue el primer depósito en emplazarse de los 5 tipos de depósitos que se produjo en la erupción del volcán Huaynaputina. La pómez de composición dacítica constituye el componente principal (hasta 80%) del depósito de caída pliniana de la erupción de 1600. Se han analizado 528 muestras localizadas desde zonas ultra proximales (1-5 km), proximales (5-15 km), mediales (19-25 km) y upwind – en contra del viento y eje de dispersión (8 km) con respecto al cráter, con tamaños entre 1 cm y 2.5 cm. La medida de la densidad de las pómez se realizó en el Laboratorio de Magmas y Volcanes de la Universidad de Clermont-Auvergne (Francia), utilizando el Analizador GeoPyc 1360, cuyos resultados se representaron en gráficas estadísticas de distribución de densidad, similares a los utilizados para el análisis de tamaño de grano. Los datos obtenidos muestran valores de densidad comprendidos entre de 0.4 y 1.1 g/cm3, cuyo valor aumenta linealmente con la distancia al cráter. También se puede apreciar un aumento vertical en cada sección tomada, desde la base al techo del depósito

The viscosity of pāhoehoe lava: In situ syn-eruptive measurements from Kilauea, Hawaii

Viscosity is one of the most important physical properties controlling lava flow dynamics. Usually, viscosity is measured in the laboratory where key parameters can be controlled but can never reproduce the natural environment and original state of the lava in terms of crystal and bubble contents, dissolved volatiles, and oxygen fugacity. The most promising approach for quantifying the rheology of molten lava in its natural state is therefore to carry out direct field measurements by inserting a viscometer into the lava while it is flowing. Such in-situ syn-eruptive viscosity measurements are notoriously difficult to perform due to the lack of appropriate instrumentation and the difficulty of working on or near an active lava flow. In the field, rotational viscometer measurements are of particular value as they have the potential to measure the properties of the flow interior rather than an integration of the viscosity of the viscoelastic crust + flow interior. To our knowledge only one field rotational viscometer is available, but logistical constraints have meant that it has not been used for 20 years. Here, we describe new viscosity measurements made using the refurbished version of this custom-built rotational viscometer, as performed on active pāhoehoe lobes from the 61G lava flow of Kilauea’s Pu’u ‘Ō‘ō eruption in 2016. We successfully measured a viscosity of ~380 Pa s at strain-rates between 1.6 and 5 s-1 28 and at 1144 °C. Additionally, synchronous lava sampling allowed us to provide detailed textural and chemical characterization of quenched samples. Application of current physico-chemical models based on this characterization (16±4 vol.% crystals; 50±6 vol.% vesicles), gave viscosity estimates that were approximately compatible with the measured values, highlighting the sensitivity of model-based viscosity estimates on the effect of deformable bubbles. Our measurements also agree on the range of viscosities in comparison to previous field experiments on Hawaiian lavas. Conversely, direct comparison with sub-liquidus rheological laboratory measurements on natural lavas was unsuccessful because recreating field conditions (in particular volatile and bubble content) is so far inaccessible in the laboratory. Our work shows the value of field rotational viscometry fully integrated with sample characterization to quantify three-phase lava viscosity. Finally, this work suggests the need for the development of a more versatile instrument capable of recording precise measurements at low torque and low strain rate, and with synchronous temperature measurements

Photon correlation in GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

We report on photon coincidence measurement in a single GaAs self-assembled quantum dot (QD) using a pulsed excitation light source. At low excitation, when a neutral exciton line was present in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, we observed nearly perfect single photon emission from an isolated QD at 670 nm wavelength. For higher excitation, multiple PL lines appeared on the spectra, reflecting the formation of exciton complexes. Cross-correlation functions between these lines showed either bunching or antibunching behavior, depending on whether the relevant emission was from a biexciton cascade or a charged exciton recombination.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Micro-photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs triple concentric quantum rings

A systematic optical study, including micro, ensemble and time resolved photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs triple concentric quantum rings, self-assembled via droplet epitaxy, is presented. Clear emission from localized states belonging to the ring structures is reported. The triple rings show a fast decay dynamics, around 40 ps, which is expected to be useful for ultrafast optical switching applications