Nature and efficiency of pyroclast generation from porous magma: Insights from field investigations and laboratory experiments

Enhanced knowledge of pre- and syn-eruptive processes is vital to deal with the increasing threat imposed to population and infrastructure by volcanoes that have been active historically and may potentially erupt in future. For many years, most of this knowledge was received from experiments on analogue materials and/or numerical models. In order to increase their significance and applicability for the “real” case, the natural complexity may not be oversimplified and the input parameters must be reliable and realistic. In the light of this, a close connection of field and laboratory work is essential. Volcanic eruptions may be phreatic, phreatomagmatic or magmatic, the latter scenario of which was addressed in this study. Rising magma is subject to decreasing lithostatic pressure. As a direct consequence, volatiles become increasingly oversaturated and bubbles will nucleate and grow depending on initial volatile content and melt viscosity. Both factors directly influence the diffusivity that limits the rate of bubble growth. Increasing amounts of bubbles increase the buoyancy difference to the surrounding rocks and lead to an acceleration of the rising melt-bubble mixture. Beside these limiting factors, the overpressure in the gas bubbles greatly depends on the magma’s ascent speed as it controls the residence time to conditions favourable to degassing (a combination of lithostatic pressure and magma temperature) and the time of overpressure reduction due to degassing. Volcanic eruptions occur when the bubbly melt can no longer withstand the exerted stress that derives from the overlying weight (lithostatic pressure), the expanding gas bubbles (internal gas overpressure) and different ascent velocities in the conduit (velocity profile). The melt will be fragmented and the gas-pyroclast mixture will be erupted. This study has combined close investigation of the deposits of the 1990-1995 eruption of Unzen volcano, Japan and detailed laboratory investigations on samples of this eruption and other volcanoes. The field work intended to reveal the density distribution of samples from within the eruptive products. Although all samples already underwent one eruption, their physical state (e.g. crystallinity, porosity) mostly remained close to sub-surface pre-eruption conditions due to their high viscosity and accordingly allowed their usage for the analysis of the fragmentation behaviour. In that purpose, rapid decompression experiments that simulate volcanic eruptions triggered by internal gas overpressure have been performed at 850 °C to evaluate fragmentation threshold and fragmentation efficiency. Laboratory investigations of that kind are one approach to bridge the gap between observational field volcanology and risk assessment as they reveal information on what can not be investigated closely but what is essential to know for realistic eruption models and the adjacent hazard mitigation. Changing the experimental conditions and close investigation of the artificial products reveals the influence of physical properties on the fragmentation behaviour. The density distribution inside a dome and the upper part of the conduit is crucial to the eruptive style of an explosive volcano. This information cannot be collected during an ongoing eruption but is important for future hazard assessment via modelling conduit flow and dome collapse/explosion behaviour. Therefore, the percentage of the mass fractions of all rock types in the primary and secondary volcanic deposits must be evaluated. For this purpose and at the lowest logistic effort, field-based density measurements have been performed on Unzen volcano, Japan. The resultant density distribution was found to be generally bimodal at constant peak values but changing peak ratios. The most abundant rock types at Unzen exhibited an open porosity of 8 and 20 vol.%, respectively. The porosity was found to be arranged in layers of cm- to dm-scale that were oriented subparallel to flow direction, i.e. subvertical within the conduit and flank-parallel within the dome lobes. The achieved results allowed for an internal picture of the dome during the last eruption of Unzen volcano. The evaluated picture of the density distribution within the uppermost parts of the conduit and the dome itself allowed for insights into and a better understanding of magma ascent and degassing conditions at Unzen volcano during its last eruption. Knowledge of the density distribution is additionally required to draw conclusions from the results of laboratory investigations on the fragmentation behaviour to the monitored behaviour of Unzen volcano during its last eruption. In the laboratory, the fragmentation behaviour upon rapid decompression has been investigated in a modified fragmentation bomb (Spieler et al., 2004). At 850 °C, initial overpressure conditions as high as 50 MPa have been applied to sample cylinders (25 mm diameter, 60 mm length) drilled from natural samples. In a first step, the minimum overpressure required to cause complete sample fragmentation (= fragmentation threshold, ΔPfr) has been evaluated. Results from samples of several volcanoes (Unzen, Montserrat, Stromboli, and Mt. St. Helens) showed that ΔPfr mainly depended on open porosity and permeability of the specific sample as these parameters were controlling pressure build-up and loss. The experiments further revealed that sample fragmentation was not the result of a single process but the result of a combination of simultaneously occurring processes as indicated by Alidibirov et al. (2000). The degree of influence of a single process to the fragmentation behaviour was found to be porosity-dependent. Further experiments at initial pressure conditions above ΔPfr and close investigation of the artificially generated pyroclasts allowed evaluating the fragmentation efficiency upon changing physical properties of the used samples. The efficiency of sample size reduction was investigated by grain-size analysis (dry sieving for particles bigger than 0.25 mm and wet laser refraction for particles smaller than 0.25 mm) and surface area measurements (by Argon adsorption). Results of experiments with samples of different porosities at different initial pressure values showed that the efficiency of fragmentation increased with increasing energy. The energy available for fragmentation was estimated from the open porosity and the applied pressure. A series of abrasion experiments was performed to shed light on the grain size reduction due to particle-particle interaction during mass movements. The degree of abrasion was found to be primarily depending on porosity and experimental duration. The results showed that abrasion may change the density distribution of block-and-ash flows (BAF) by preferentially abrading porous clasts. However, during the short drying interval prior to the analysis of the experimental pyroclasts, abrasion-induced grain-size reduction only played a minor role and was assumed to be negligible

Revisiting the statistical analysis of pyroclast density and porosity data

Explosive volcanic eruptions are commonly characterized based on a thorough analysis of the generated deposits. Amongst other characteristics in physical volcanology, density and porosity of juvenile clasts are some of the most frequently used to constrain eruptive dynamics. In this study, we evaluate the sensitivity of density and porosity data to statistical methods and introduce a weighting parameter to correct issues raised by the use of frequency analysis. Results of textural investigation can be biased by clast selection. Using statistical tools as presented here, the meaningfulness of a conclusion can be checked for any data set easily. This is necessary to define whether or not a sample has met the requirements for statistical relevance, i.e. whether a data set is large enough to allow for reproducible results. Graphical statistics are used to describe density and porosity distributions, similar to those used for grain-size analysis. This approach helps with the interpretation of volcanic deposits. To illustrate this methodology, we chose two large data sets: (1) directed blast deposits of the 3640-3510 BC eruption of Chachimbiro volcano (Ecuador) and (2) block-and-ash-flow deposits of the 1990-1995 eruption of Unzen volcano (Japan). We propose the incorporation of this analysis into future investigations to check the objectivity of results achieved by different working groups and guarantee the meaningfulness of the interpretation

Complex geometry of volcanic vents and asymmetric particle ejection: experimental insights

Explosive volcanic eruptions eject a gas-particle mixture into the atmosphere. The characteristics of this mixture in the near-vent region are a direct consequence of the underlying initial conditions at fragmentation and the geometry of the shallow plumbing system. Yet, it is not possible to observe directly the sub-surface parameters that drive such eruptions. Here, we use scaled shock-tube experiments mimicking volcanic explosions in order to elucidate the effects of a number of initial conditions. As volcanic vents can be expected to possess an irregular geometry, we utilise three vent designs, two complex vents and a vent with a real volcanic geometry. The defining geometry elements of the complex vents are a bilateral symmetry with a slanted top plane. The real geometry is based on a photogrammetric 3D model of an active volcanic vent with a steep and a diverging vent side. Particle size and density as well as experimental pressure are varied. Our results reveal a strong influence of the vent geometry, on both the direction and the magnitude of particle spreading and the velocity of particles. The overpressure at the vent herby controls the direction of the asymmetry of the gas-particle jet. These findings have implications for the distribution of volcanic ejecta and resulting areas at risk

Acoustic analysis of starting jets in an anechoic chamber: implications for volcano monitoring

Explosive volcanic eruptions are associated with a plethora of geophysical signals. Among them, acoustic signals provide ample information about eruptive dynamics and are widely used for monitoring purposes. However, a mechanistic correlation of monitoring signals, underlying source processes and reasons for short-term variations is incomplete. Scaled laboratory experiments can mimic a wide range of explosive volcanic eruption conditions. Here, starting (non-steady) compressible gas jets are created using a shock tube in an anechoic chamber and their acoustic signature is recorded with a microphone array. Noise sources are mapped in time and frequency using wavelet analysis and their dependence from pressure ratio, non-dimensional mass supply and exit-to-throat area ratio is deciphered. We observed that the pressure ratio controls the establishment of supersonic conditions and their duration, and influences the interaction between shock, shear layer, and vortex ring. The non-dimensional mass supply affects the duration of the discharge, the maximum velocity of the flow, and the existence of a trailing jet. Lower values of exit-to-throat area ratio induce a faster decay of the acoustic fingerprint of the jet flow. The simplistic experiments presented here, and their acoustic analysis will serve as an essential starting point to infer source conditions prior to and during impulsive volcanic eruptions

Release characteristics of overpressurised gas from complex vents: implications for volcanic hazards

Many explosive volcanic eruptions produce underexpanded starting gas-particle jets. The dynamics of the accompanying pyroclast ejection can be affected by several parameters, including magma texture, gas overpressure, erupted volume and geometry. With respect to the latter, volcanic craters and vents are often highly asymmetrical. Here, we experimentally evaluate the effect of vent asymmetry on gas expansion behaviour and gas jet dynamics directly above the vent. The vent geometries chosen for this study are based on field observations. The novel element of the vent geometry investigated herein is an inclined exit plane (5, 15, 30° slant angle) in combination with cylindrical and diverging inner geometries. In a vertical setup, these modifications yield both laterally variable spreading angles as well as a diversion of the jets, where inner geometry (cylindrical/diverging) controls the direction of the inclination. Both the spreading angle and the inclination of the jet are highly sensitive to reservoir (conduit) pressure and slant angle. Increasing starting reservoir pressure and slant angle yield (1) a maximum spreading angle (up to 62°) and (2) a maximum jet inclination for cylindrical vents (up to 13°). Our experiments thus constrain geometric contributions to the mechanisms controlling eruption jet dynamics with implications for the generation of asymmetrical distributions of proximal hazards around volcanic vents

Volcanic ash melting under conditions relevant to ash turbine interactions

The ingestion of volcanic ash by jet engines is widely recognized as a potentially fatal hazard for aircraft operation. The high temperatures (1,200-2,000 degrees C) typical of jet engines exacerbate the impact of ash by provoking its melting and sticking to turbine parts. Estimation of this potential hazard is complicated by the fact that chemical composition, which affects the temperature at which volcanic ash becomes liquid, can vary widely amongst volcanoes. Here, based on experiments, we parameterize ash behaviour and develop a model to predict melting and sticking conditions for its global compositional range. The results of our experiments confirm that the common use of sand or dust proxy is wholly inadequate for the prediction of the behaviour of volcanic ash, leading to overestimates of sticking temperature and thus severe underestimates of the thermal hazard. Our model can be used to assess the deposition probability of volcanic ash in jet engines

Volcanic ash melting under conditions relevant to ash turbine interactions

The ingestion of volcanic ash by jet engines is widely recognized as a potentially fatal hazard for aircraft operation. The high temperatures (1,200-2,000 degrees C) typical of jet engines exacerbate the impact of ash by provoking its melting and sticking to turbine parts. Estimation of this potential hazard is complicated by the fact that chemical composition, which affects the temperature at which volcanic ash becomes liquid, can vary widely amongst volcanoes. Here, based on experiments, we parameterize ash behaviour and develop a model to predict melting and sticking conditions for its global compositional range. The results of our experiments confirm that the common use of sand or dust proxy is wholly inadequate for the prediction of the behaviour of volcanic ash, leading to overestimates of sticking temperature and thus severe underestimates of the thermal hazard. Our model can be used to assess the deposition probability of volcanic ash in jet engines

EAC-1A: A novel large-volume lunar regolith simulant

The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is currently constructing the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA), a large training and operations facility to be located adjacent to EAC at the DLR (German Aerospace Centre) campus in Cologne, Germany. With an estimated representative lunar testbed area of approximately 660 m(2), a large volume of lunar regolith simulant material is needed for this purpose. In this study, a basanitic sandy silt from a quarry located in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field is evaluated as a large-volume source of material. The focus of this project has been to conduct a physical and chemical characterisation of the fine-grained material to be used in LUNA;the European Astronaut Centre lunar regolith simulant 1 (EAC-1A). The physical characterisation tests undertaken include sphericity, density measurements, cohesion and static angle of repose, with mineralogical investigations via petrographical analysis with optical microscope and SEM, XRF, XRD and DSC measurements. The results of the EAC-1A tests are compared to published data on existing widely used lunar regolith simulants, namely JSC-1A, JSC-2A, NU-LHT-3M, DNA and FJS-1

A Geoscientific Perspective on Silicate Melt Interactions with TBCs

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