Numerical investigation of permeability models for low viscosity magmas: application to the 2007 Stromboli effusive eruption.

Magma permeability is the most important factor controlling the transition between effusive and explosive styles during magma ascent at active volcanoes. When magma permeability is low, gas bubbles in the melt expand as the pressure decreases; above a critical gas volume fraction threshold, magma fragments, generating an explosive eruption. On the contrary, if magma is sufficiently permeable, gas ascends through the conduit towards the surface faster than the magma ascent speed, producing decoupling of gas and magma and reducing the maximum vesicularity. This decoupled flow inhibits fragmentation and leads to either an effusive eruption or quiescent degassing. Accurate modelling of permeability behaviour is therefore fundamental when simulating magma ascent processes. In this work, we compare different permeability models for low viscosity magmas using a 1D steady-state model. We use, as a test case, the 2007 effusive eruption at Stromboli volcano, Italy. We compare the numerical solutions computed using the linear Darcy's law with those obtained using the non-linear Forchheimer relation. Our numerical results show that, using Darcy's law and appropriate permeability models, it is possible to obtain an effusive eruption in agreement with observations. However, we found that, in the shallow conduit, the limit of applicability of Darcy's law (that is the modified Reynolds number Rem < 10) is exceeded due to high gas flow rates. Furthermore, we show that using Forchheimer's law and some parametric expressions for viscous and inertial permeabilities, results can be compatible with an effusive eruption, once appropriate values are chosen. However, one of the parameters required to obtain an effusive eruption, the friction coefficient between gas and melt, is several orders of magnitude lower than that determined from measurements of solid erupted samples. This result requires further experimental verification. We propose that our novel permeability modelling regime is suitable for basaltic volcanism. We highlight that permeabilities derived from studying solid samples are not representative of the actual permeability of a molten magma, at least in the case of low viscosity basaltic magmas. These findings have fundamental implications for the quantification of permeability, modelling of volcanic processes and volcanic eruption dynamics, and the forecasting of volcanic eruptions.Published279-2905V. Dinamica dei processi eruttivi e post-eruttiviJCR Journa

An immersed boundary method for compressible multiphase flows: application to the dynamics of pyroclastic density currents

An immersed boundary technique suitable for the solution of multiphase compressible equations of gas-particle flows of volcanic origin over complex 2D and 3D topographies has been developed and applied. This procedure combines and extends different existing methods designed for incompressible flows. Furthermore, the extension to compressible multiphase flows is achieved through a flux correction term in the mass continuity equations of the immersed cells that accounts for density variations in the partial volumes. The technique is computationally accurate and inexpensive, if compared to the use and implementation of the finite-volume technique on unstructured meshes. The first applications that we consider are the simulations of pyroclastic density currents generated by the collapse of a volcanic column in 2D axisymmetric geometry and by a dome explosion in 3D. Results show that the immersed boundary technique can significantly improve the description of the no-slip flow condition on an irregular topography even with relatively coarse meshes. Although the net effect of the present technique on the results is difficult to quantify in general terms, its adoption is recommended any time that cartesian grids are used to describe the large-scale dynamics of pyroclastic density currents over volcano topographies

Transient 3D numerical simulations of column collapse and pyroclastic density current scenarios at Vesuvius

Numerical simulations of column collapse and pyroclastic density current (PDC) scenarios at Vesuvius were carried out using a transient 3D flow model based on multiphase transport laws. The model describes the dynamics of the collapse as well as the effects of the 3D topography of the volcano on PDC propagation. Source conditions refer to a medium-scale sub-Plinian event and consider a pressure-balanced jet. Simulation results provide new insights into the complex dynamics of these phenomena. In particular: 1) column collapse can be characterized by different regimes, from incipient collapse to partial or nearly total collapse, thus confirming the possibility of a transitional field of behaviour of the column characterized by the contemporaneous and/or intermittent occurrence of ash fallout and PDCs; 2) the collapse regime can be characterized by its fraction of eruptive mass reaching the ground and generating PDCs; 3) within the range of the investigated source conditions, the propagation and hazard potential of PDCs appear to be directly correlated with the flow-rate of the mass collapsing to the ground, rather than to the collapse height of the column (this finding is in contrast with predictions based on the energy-line concept, which simply correlates the PDC runout and kinetic energy with the collapse height of the column); 4) first-order values of hazard variables associated with PDCs (i.e., dynamic pressure, temperature, airborne ash concentration) can be derived from simulation results, thereby providing initial estimates for the quantification of damage scenarios; 5) for scenarios assuming a location of the central vent coinciding with that of the present Gran Cono, Mount Somma significantly influences the propagation of PDCs, largely reducing their propagation in the northern sector, and diverting mass toward the west and southeast, accentuating runouts and hazard variables for these sectors; 6) the 2D modelling approximation can force an artificial radial propagation of the PDCs since it ignores azimuthal flows produced by real topographies that therefore need to be simulated in fully 3D conditions