Influence of pre-eruptive storage conditions and volatile contents on explosive Plinian style eruptions of basic magma

Sub-Plinian to Plinian eruptions of basic magma present a challenge to modeling volcanic behavior because many models rely on magma becoming viscous enough during ascent to behave brittlely and cause fragmentation. Such models are unable, however, to strain low viscosity magma fast enough for it to behave brittlely. That assumes that such magmas actually have low viscosities, but the rare Plinian eruptions of basic magma may in fact result from them being anomalously viscous. Here, we examine two such eruptions, the 122 B.C. eruption of hawaiitic basalt from Mt. Etna and the late Pleistocene eruption of basaltic andesite from Masaya Caldera, to test whether they were anomalously viscous. We carried out hydrothermal experiments on both magmas and analyzed glass inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts from each to determine their most likely pre-eruptive temperatures and water contents. We find that the hawaiite was last stored at 1,000–1,020°C, whereas the basaltic andesite was last stored at 1,010–1,060°C, and that both were water saturated with ∼3.0 wt.% water dissolved in them. Such water contents are not high enough to trigger Plinian explosive behavior, as much more hydrous basic magmas erupt less violently. In addition, despite being relatively cool, the viscosities of both magmas would range from ∼10^2.2–2.5 Pa s before erupting to ∼10⁴ Pa s when essentially degassed, all of which are too fluid to cause brittle disruption. Without invoking special external forces to explain all such eruptions, one of the more plausible explanations is that when the bubble content reaches some critical value the fragile foam-like magma disrupts. The rarity of Plinian eruptions of basic magma may be because such magmas must ascend fast enough to retain their bubbles.     

Bubble size distribution in magma chambers and dynamics of basaltic eruptions

In the shallow magma chambers of volcanoes, the CO₂ content of most basaltic melts is above the solubility limit. This implies that the chamber contains gas bubbles, which rise through the magma and expand. Thus, the volume of the chamber, its gas volume fraction and the gas flux into the conduit change with time in a systematic manner as a function of the size and number of gas bubbles. Changes in gas flux and gas volume are calculated for a bubble size distribution and related to changes in eruption regimes. Fire fountain activity, only present during the first quarter of the eruption, requires that the bubbles are larger than a certain size, which depends on the gas flux and on the bubble content[1]. As the chamber degasses, it loses its largest gas bubbles and the gas flux decreases, eventually suppressing the fire fountaining activity. Ultimately, an eruption stops when the chamber contains only a few tiny bubbles. More generally, the evolution of basaltic eruptions is governed by a dimensionless number, τ * ≈ τgΔρa_O²/(18μh_c), where τ = a characteristic time for degassing; a₀ = the initial bubble diameter; μ = the magma viscosity; and h_c = the thickness of the degassing layer. Two eruptions of the Kilauea volcano, Mauna Ulu (1969–1971) and Puu O'o (1983—present), provide data on erupted gas volume and the inflation rate of the edifice, which help constrain the spatial distribution of bubbles in the magma chamber: bubbles come mainly from the bottom of the reservoir, either by in situ nucleation long before the eruption or within a vesiculated liquid. Although the gas flux at the roof of the chamber takes similar values for both eruptions, the duration of both the fire fountaining activity and the entire eruption was 6 times shorter at Mauna Ulu than during the Puu O'o eruption. The dimensionless analysis explains the difference by a degassing layer 6 times thinner in the former than the latter, due to a 2 year delay in starting the Mauna Ulu eruption compared to the Puu O'o eruption.     

The evolution of bubble size distributions in volcanic eruptions

We review observations of bubble size distributions (BSDs) generated during explosive volcanic eruptions and laboratory explosions, as inferred from vesicle size distributions found in the end products. Unimodal, polymodal, exponential and power law BSDs are common, even in the absence of coalescence, and both power law and exponential distributions have been generated in the same eruption. To date theoretical models have proposed incompatible mechanisms for producing the various distributions. We here present a unifying mechanism. Data from our laboratory analogue experiments suggest that power law distributions are associated with highly non-equilibrium degassing. A numerical model is developed in which bubbles nucleate repeatedly and grow in the spaces between those of previous generations, where, in a non-equilibrium degassing scenario, the volatile concentration remains high. This process causes the BSD to evolve from unimodal, through exponential, into a power law. The exponent of the power law is a measure of the number of nucleation events, or the duration of the nucleation period compared with the timescale of bubble growth. The mathematical inevitability of the evolution from unimodal (Poissonian) to power law is discussed. The findings may resolve the apparent contradiction between the equilibrium degassing conduit flow models and the non-equilibrium degassing conditions derived from bubble growth models of explosive volcanic eruptions. The process of ongoing nucleation is the mechanism whereby the volcanic system maintains near-equilibrium in the case of rapid depressurisation and slow volatile diffusion.     

Abrupt transitions during sustained explosive eruptions: examples from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, Alaska

Plinian/ignimbrite activity stopped briefly and abruptly 16 and 45 h after commencement of the 1912 Novarupta eruption defining three episodes of explosive volcanism before finally giving way after 60 h to effusion of lava domes. We focus here on the processes leading to the termination of the second and third of these three episodes. Early erupted pumice from both episodes show a very similar range in bulk vesicularity, but the modal values markedly decrease and the vesicularity range widens toward the end of Episode III. Clasts erupted at the end of each episode represent textural extremes; at the end of Episode II, clasts have very thin glass walls and a predominance of large bubbles, whereas at the end of Episode III, clasts have thick interstices and more small bubbles. Quantitatively, all clasts have very similar vesicle size distributions which show a division in the bubble population at 30 μm vesicle diameter and cumulative number densities ranging from 10⁷–10⁹ cm^–3. Patterns seen in histograms of volume fraction and the trends in the vesicle size data can be explained by coalescence signatures superimposed on an interval of prolonged nucleation and free growth of bubbles. Compared to experimental data for bubble growth in silicic melts, the high 1912 number densities suggest homogeneous nucleation was a significant if not dominant mechanism of bubble nucleation in the dacitic magma. The most distinct clast populations occurred toward the end of Plinian activity preceding effusive dome growth. Distributions skewed toward small sizes, thick walls, and teardrop vesicle shapes are indicative of bubble wall collapse marking maturation of the melt and onset of processes of outgassing. The data suggest that the superficially similar pauses in the 1912 eruption which marked the ends of episodes II and III had very different causes. Through Episode III, the trend in vesicle size data reflects a progressive shift in the degassing process from rapid magma ascent and coupled gas exsolution to slower ascent with partial open-system outgassing as a precursor to effusive dome growth. No such trend is visible in the Episode II clast assemblages; we suggest that external changes involving failure of the conduit/vent walls are more likely to have effected the break in explosive activity at 45 h.     

Vesiculation path of ascending magma in the 1983 and the 2000 eruptions of Miyakejima volcano, Japan

The vesiculation of magma during the 1983 eruption of Miyakejima Volcano, Japan, is discussed based on systematic investigations of water content, vesicularity, and bubble size distribution for the products. The eruption is characterized by simultaneous lava effusion and explosive sub-plinian (‘dry’) eruptions with phreatomagmatic (‘wet’) explosions. The magmas are homogeneous in composition (basaltic andesite) and in initial water content (H₂O = 3.9±0.9 wt%), and residual groundmass water contents for all eruption styles are low (H₂O <0.4 wt%) suggestive of extensive dehydration of magma. For the scoria erupted during simultaneous ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ explosive eruptions, inverse correlation was observed between vesicularity and residual water content. This relation can be explained by equilibrium exsolution and expansion of ca. 0.3 wt% H₂O at shallow level with different times of quenching, and suggests that each scoria with different vesicularity, which was quenched at a different time, provides a snapshot of the vesiculation process near the point of fragmentation. The bubble size distribution (BSD) varies systematically with vesicularity, and total bubble number density reaches a maximum value at vesicularity Φ ∼ 0.5. At Φ  ∼ 0.5, a large number of bubbles are connected with each other, and the average thickness of bubble walls reaches the minimum value below which they would rupture. These facts suggest that vesiculation advanced by nucleation and growth of bubbles when Φ < 0.5, and then by expansion of large bubbles with coalescence of small ones for Φ > 0.5, when bubble connection becomes effective. Low vesicularity and low residual water content of lava and spatter (Φ  < 0.1, H₂O  < 0.1 wt%), and systematic decrease in bubble number density from scoria through spatter to lava with decrease in vesicularity suggest that effusive eruption is a consequence of complete degassing by bubble coalescence and separation from magma at shallow levels when magma ascent rate is slow.

Volcanological evolution of the Rivi–Capo Volcanic Complex at Salina,Aeolian Islands: magma storage processes and ascent dynamics

Critical to understanding explosive eruptions is establishing how accurately representative pyroclasts are of processes during magma vesiculation and fragmentation. Here, we present data on densities, and vesicle size and number characteristics, for representative pyroclasts from six silicic eruptions of contrasting size and style from Raoul volcano (Kermadec arc). We use these data to evaluate histories of bubble nucleation, coalescence, and growth in explosive eruptions and to provide comparisons with pumiceous dome carapace material. Density/vesicularity distributions show a scarcity of pyroclasts with ～65–75 % vesicularity; however, pyroclasts closest to this vesicularity range have the highest bubble number density (BND) values regardless of eruptive intensity or style. Clasts with vesicularities greater than this 65–75 % “pivotal” vesicularity range have decreasing BNDs with increasing vesicularities, interpreted to reflect continuing bubble growth and coalescence. Clasts with vesicularities less than the pivotal range have BNDs that decrease with decreasing vesicularity and preserve textures indicative of processes such as stalling and open system degassing prior to vesiculation in a microlite-rich magma, or vesiculation during slow ascent of degassing magma. Bubble size distributions (BSDs) and BNDs show variations consistent with 65–75 % representing the vesicularity at which vesiculating magma is most likely to undergo fragmentation, consistent with the closest packing of spheres. We consider that the observed vesicularity range may reflect the development of permeability in the magma through shearing as it flows through the conduit. These processes can act in concert with multiple nucleation events, generating a situation of heterogeneous bubble populations that permit some regions of the magma to expand and bubbles to coalesce with other regions in which permeable networks are formed. Fragmentation preserves the range in vesicularity seen as well as any post-fragmentation/pre-quenching expansion which may have occurred. We demonstrate that differing density pyroclasts from a single eruption interval can have widely varying BND values corresponding to the degree of bubble maturation that has occurred. The modal density clasts (the usual targets for vesicularity studies) have likely undergone some degree of bubble maturation and are therefore may not be representative of the magma at the onset of fragmentation.     

Breadcrust bombs as indicators of Vulcanian eruption dynamics at Guagua Pichincha volcano,Ecuador

Vulcanian eruptions are common at many volcanoes around the world. Vulcanian activity occurs as either isolated sequences of eruptions or as precursors to sustained explosive events and is interpreted as clearing of shallow plugs from volcanic conduits. Breadcrust bombs characteristic of Vulcanian eruptions represent samples of different parts of these plugs and preserve information that can be used to infer parameters of pre-eruption magma ascent. The morphology and preserved volatile contents of breadcrust bombs erupted in 1999 from Guagua Pichincha volcano, Ecuador, thus allow us to constrain the physical processes responsible for Vulcanian eruption sequences of this volcano. Morphologically, breadcrust bombs differ in the thickness of glassy surface rinds and in the orientation and density of crack networks. Thick rinds fracture to create deep, widely spaced cracks that form large rectangular domains of surface crust. In contrast, thin rinds form polygonal networks of closely spaced shallow cracks. Rind thickness, in turn, is inversely correlated with matrix glass water content in the rind. Assuming that all rinds cooled at the same rate, this correlation suggests increasing bubble nucleation delay times with decreasing pre-fragmentation water content of the melt. A critical bubble nucleation threshold of 0.4–0.9 wt% water exists, below which bubble nucleation does not occur and resultant bombs are dense. At pre-fragmentation melt H₂O contents of >∼0.9 wt%, only glassy rinds are dense and bomb interiors vesiculate after fragmentation. For matrix glass H₂O contents of ≥1.4 wt%, rinds are thin and vesicular instead of thick and non-vesicular. A maximum measured H₂O content of 3.1 wt% establishes the maximum pressure (63 MPa) and depth (2.5 km) of magma that may have been tapped during a single eruptive event. More common H₂O contents of ≤1.5 wt% suggest that most eruptions involved evacuation of ≤1.5 km of the conduit. As we expect that substantial overpressures existed in the conduit prior to eruption, these depth estimates based on magmastatic pressure are maxima. Moreover, the presence of measurable CO₂ (≤17 ppm) in quenched glass of highly degassed magma is inconsistent with simple models of either open- or closed-system degassing, and leads us instead to suggest re-equilibration of the melt with gas derived from a deeper magmatic source. Together, these observations suggest a model for the repeated Vulcanian eruptions that includes (1) evacuation of the shallow conduit during an individual eruption, (2) depressurization of magma remaining in the conduit accompanied by open-system degassing through permeable bubble networks, (3) rapid conduit re-filling, and (4) dome formation prior to the subsequent explosion. An important part of this process is densification of upper conduit magma to allow repressurization between explosions. At a critical overpressure, trapped pressurized gas fragments the nascent impermeable cap to repeat the process.     

Complex changes in eruption dynamics during the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius

The 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius included 8 eruption units (EU1–8) and several complex transitions in eruptive style. This study focuses on two important transitions: (1) the abrupt change from white to gray pumice during the Plinian phase of the eruption (EU2 to EU3) and (2) the shift from sustained Plinian activity to the onset of caldera collapse (EU3 to EU4). Quantification of the textural features within individual pumice clasts reveals important changes in both the vesicles and groundmass crystals across each transition boundary. Clasts from the white Plinian fall deposit (EU2) present a simple story of decompression-driven crystallization followed by continuous bubble nucleation, growth and coalescence in the eruptive conduit. In contrast, pumices from the overlying gray Plinian fall deposit (EU3) are heterogeneous and show a wide range in both bubble and crystal textures. Extensive bubble growth, coalescence, and the onset of bubble collapse in pumices at the base of EU3 suggest that the early EU3 magma experienced protracted vesiculation that began during eruption of the EU2 phase and was modified by the physical effects of syn-eruptive mingling-mixing. Pumice clasts from higher in EU3 show higher bubble and crystal number densities and less evidence of bubble collapse, textural features that are interpreted to reflect more thorough mixing of two magmas by this stage of the eruption, with consequent increases in both vesiculation and crystallization. Pumice clasts from a short-lived, high column at the onset of caldera collapse (EU4) continue the trend of increasing crystallization (enhanced by mixing) but, unexpectedly, the melt in these clasts is more vesicular than in EU3 and, in the extreme, can be classified as reticulite. We suggest that the high melt vesicularity of EU4 reflects strong decompression following the partial collapse of the magma chamber.Editorial responsibility: D.B. Dingwell     

Constraints on eruption dynamics of basaltic explosive activity derived from chemical and microtextural study: The example of the Fontana Lapilli Plinian eruption,Nicaragua

The Fontana Lapilli deposit is one of very few examples of basaltic Plinian eruptions discovered so far. Juvenile clasts have uniform chemical composition and moderate ranges of density and bulk vesicularity. However, clast populations include two textural varieties which are microlite-poor and microlite-rich respectively. These two clast types have the same clast density range, making a distinction impossible on that base alone. The high bubble number density (～ 10⁷ cm^? 3) and small bubble population of the Fontana clasts suggest that the magma underwent coupled degassing following rapid decompression and fast ascent rate, leading to non-equilibrium degassing with continuous nucleation as it is common for silicic analogues. The Fontana products have lower microlite contents (10–60 vol.%) with respect to the other documented basaltic Plinian eruptions suggesting that the brittle fragmentation, implied for the other basaltic Plinian deposits, does not apply to the Fontana products and another fragmentation mechanism led the basaltic magma to erupt in a Plinian fashion.     

Eruptive history and magmatic evolution of the 1.9 kyr Plinian dacitic Chiltepe Tephra from Apoyeque volcano in west-central Nicaragua

The youngest dacitic Plinian eruption in west-central Nicaragua, forming the 18 km³ Chiltepe Tephra (CT), occurred about nineteen hundred years ago at Apoyeque stratovolcano, which dominates the Chiltepe volcanic complex 15 km north of the capital Managua, where the CT is 2 m thick. We have traced the CT from its proximal facies at the crater rim, through the medial facies in the lowlands around Apoyeque, and to the distal facies up to 550 km offshore in the Pacific. While medial and distal facies consist of widespread Plinian fall deposits, the proximal facies reveals the complexity of this eruption, which we divide into four phases (I–IV). Interaction of rising magma with a pre-existing crater lake generated the phreatomagmatic opening phase I of the eruption, which produced ash fall with accretionary lapilli. Phase II marked a rapid change to persistent magmatic activity that yielded several large Plinian eruptions, declining through a period of unstable eruption conditions, followed by a short hiatus. Phase III began with unstable conditions, probably as a result of eastward migration and widening of the vent, leading to a second period of Plinian eruptions with three major events reaching magma discharge rates five times larger than those of phase II. Phase III again declined through unstable eruption conditions before magmatic activity terminated. Numerous explosions in the shallow hydrothermal system during the final phase IV resulted in the formation of a phreatic tuff ring on the rim of Apoyeque crater. The white, highly-vesicular, dacitic CT pumice contains plagioclase (An_45–68), orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and minor hornblende, apatite and titanomagnetite phenocrysts. A very subordinate fraction of gray pumice has the highest crystal content, the least evolved bulk-rock, but the most evolved matrix-glass composition. The CT dacite has two unusual compositional features: (1) all white dacite has the same melt (matrix-glass) composition such that variations in bulk-rock compositions (64–68 wt% SiO₂) simply reflect different phenocryst contents of 10–35%, interpreted as the result of gradual phenocryst settling in the magma chamber. (2) Abundant olivine crystals with a bimodal distribution in Mg# (modes at Mg# = 0.75 and Mg# = 0.8) are dispersed throughout the erupted dacite. These are clearly out of equilibrium with the dacitic melt and are interpreted as xenocrysts derived from the basaltic Nejapa-Miraflores volcanic lineament that intersects the Chiltepe volcanic complex and was contemporaneously active. Thermobarometric estimates place the dacitic CT magma reservoir in the upper crust (<250 MPa), with a temperature of about 890°C and about 5 wt% water dissolved in the melt. Comparing water and chlorine contents with respective solubility models suggests that volatile degassing began in the magma reservoir and triggered the CT eruption. From the vertical compositional variation pattern of the CT we deduce that the conduit tapped the magma chamber not at the top but from the side, at some deeper level, and that subsequent magma withdrawal was governed by both variations in discharge rate and possible upward migration and/or widening of the conduit entrance.     

Bubble growth in visco-elastic magma: implications to magma fragmentation and bubble nucleation

We present a visco-elastic bubble growth model, accounting for viscous and elastic deformations and for volatile mass transfer between bubbles and melt. We define the borders between previous bubble growth models accounting for incompressible viscous melt, and our new model accounting also for elastic deformation; this is done by a set of end-member analytical solutions and numerical simulations. Elastic deformation is most prominent for magma of small vesicularity, where the growth regime depends on the shear modulus. For high shear modulus, bubble growth is slow and follows an exponential law in a viscous growth regime, while for low shear modulus bubbles quickly follow a square-root diffusive solution. Our model provides all the elastic components (stresses, strains and strain rates) required for defining criteria for failure and magma fragmentation. We suggest two failure criteria, a stress related one based on the internal friction and the Mohr-Coulomb failure theory, and a strain related one based on fibre elongation experiments. We argue that both criteria are equivalent if we consider their shear modulus dependency and its effect on magma rheology. Last, we apply our model to the process of bubble nucleation. In the incompressible case, following nucleation, growth is slow and leads to long incubation times during which bubbles may be dissolved back into the melt. The elastic response in magmas with low shear modulus results in a short incubation time, increasing the probability of survival. The above effects emphasize the significance of visco-elasticity for the dynamic processes occurring in magmas during volcanic activity.     

Fragmentation of magma during Plinian volcanic eruptions

 The ratio of the volume of vesicles (gas) to that of glass (liquid) in pumice clasts (V _G /V _L ) reflects the degassing and dynamic history experienced by a magma during an explosive eruption. V _G /V _L in pumices from a large number of Plinian eruption deposits is shown here to vary by two orders of magnitude, even between pumices at a given level in a deposit. These variations in V _G /V _L do not correlate with crystallinity or initial water content of the magmas or their eruptive intensities, despite large ranges in these variables. Gas volume ratios of pumices do, however, vary systematically with magma viscosity estimated at the point of fragmentation, and we infer that pumices do not quench at the level of fragmentation but undergo some post-fragmentary evolution. On the timescale of Plinian eruptions, pumices with viscosities <10⁹ Pa s can expand after fragmentation, as long as their bubbles retain gas, at a rate inversely proportional to their viscosity. Once the bubbles connect to form a permeable network and lose their gas, expansion halts and pumices with viscosities <10⁵ Pa s can collapse under the action of surface tension. Textural evidence from bubble sizes and shapes in pumices indicates that both expansion and collapse have taken place. The magnitudes of expansion and collapse, therefore, depend critically on the timing of bubble connectivity relative to the final moment of quenching. We propose that bubbles in different pumices become connected at different times throughout the time span between fragmentation and quenching. After accounting for these effects, we derive new information on the fragmentation process from two characteristics of pumices. The most important is a relatively constant minimum value of V _G /V _L of ∼1.78 (64 vol.% vesicularity) in all samples with viscosities >10⁵ Pa s. This value is independent of magma composition and thus reflects a property of the eruptive mechanism. The other characteristic is that highly expanded pumices (>85 vol.% vesicularities) are common, which argues against overpressure in bubbles as a mechanism for fragmenting magma. We suggest that magma fragments when it reaches a vesicularity of ∼64 vol.%, but only if sheared sufficiently strongly. The intensity of shear varies as a function of velocity in the conduit, which is related to overpressure in the chamber, so that changes in overpressure with time are important in controlling the common progression from explosive to effusive activity at volcanoes. Received: 19 April 1995 / Accepted: 3 April 1996     

Vesiculation and crystallization under instantaneous decompression: Numerical study and comparison with laboratory experiments

Vesiculation and crystallization in ascending magmas are key processes that control the eruption behavior, and they interplay each other through the water exsolution process. We conducted a numerical study in order to quantitatively understand the water exsolution and crystallization processes in natural eruptions (decompression history is unknown) and in laboratory experiments (the amount of decompression is constant with time). The numerical results, which take into account homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation and growth of bubbles with varying diffusivity of water, viscosity, and the amount of decompression, provide a quantitative understanding of their control on bubble formation and water exsolution in the constant amount of decompression. The bubble nucleation in the homogeneous nucleation can be divided into two regimes – the diffusion control regime and viscosity control regime – depending on the modified Peclet number and the effective supersaturation. In the cases of both homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleations, the bubble growth is controlled by diffusion or viscosity, depending on the modified Peclet number and bubble number density. The water exsolution rate, which is controlled by the modified Peclet number in the viscosity control regime and by the bubble number density and diffusive driving force in the diffusion control regime, acts as an effective cooling rate in a decompression-induced crystallization process. A comparison of the numerical results with the results of laboratory experiments suggests that water exsolution proceeds by the diffusion-limited growth of bubbles under disequilibrium vesiculation through the heterogeneous nucleation of bubbles, and this in turn controls the crystallization kinetics of microlite with the homogeneous nucleation of microlite and the diffusion-limited growth of crystal. The several orders of variation of microlite number density with the amount of decompression in laboratory experiments can be interpreted as the effect of the amount of decompression on the driving force for the diffusive bubble growth that controls the water exsolution rate.     

Multiple levels of magma storage during the 1980 summer eruptions of Mount St. Helens, WA

Transitions in eruptive style—explosive to effusive, sustained to pulsatory—are a common aspect of volcanic activity and present a major challenge to volcano monitoring efforts. A classic example of such transitions is provided by the activity of Mount St. Helens, WA, during 1980, where a climactic Plinian event on May 18 was followed by subplinian and vulcanian eruptions that became increasing pulsatory with time throughout the summer, finally progressing to episodic growth of a lava dome. Here we use variations in the textures, glass compositions and volatile contents of melt inclusions preserved in pyroclasts produced by the summer 1980 eruptions to determine conditions of magma ascent and storage that may have led to observed changes in eruptive activity. Five different pyroclast types identified in pyroclastic flow and fall deposits produced by eruptions in June 12, July 22 and August 7, 1980, provide evidence for multiple levels of magma storage prior to each event. Highly vesicular clasts have H₂O-rich (4.5–5.5 wt%) melt inclusions and lack groundmass microlites or hornblende reaction rims, characteristics that require magma storage at P≥160 MPa until shortly prior to eruption. All other clast types have groundmass microlites; P_H20 estimated from both H₂O-bearing melt inclusions and textural constraints provided by decompression experiments suggest pre-eruptive storage pressures of ∼75, 40, and 10 MPa. The distribution of pyroclast types within and between eruptive deposits can be used to place important constraints on eruption mechanisms. Fall and flow deposits from June 12, 1980, lack highly vesicular, microlite-free pyroclasts. This eruption was also preceded by a shallow intrusion on June 3, as evidenced by a seismic crisis and enhanced SO₂ emissions. Our constraints suggest that magma intruded to a depth of ≤4 km beneath the crater floor fed the June eruption. In contrast, eruptions of July and August, although shorter in duration and smaller in volume, erupted deep volatile-rich magma. If modeled as a simple cylinder, these data require a step-wise decrease in effective conduit diameter from 40–50 m in May and June to 8–12 m in July and August. The abundance of vesicular (intermediate to deep) clast types in July and August further suggests that this change was effected by narrowing the shallower part of the conduit, perhaps in response to solidification of intruded magma remaining in the shallow system after the June eruption. Eruptions from July to October were distinctly pulsatory, transitioning between subplinian and vulcanian in character. As originally suggested by Scandone and Malone (1985), a growing mismatch between the rate of magma ascent and magma disruption explains the increasingly pulsatory nature of the eruptions through time. Recent fragmentation experiments Spieler et al. (2004) suggest this mismatch may have been aided by the multiple levels at which magma was stored (and degassed) prior to these events.Editorial responsibility: J Stix     

Petrological characteristics and volatile content of magma from the 2000 eruption of Miyakejima Volcano, Japan

Among the series of eruptions at Miyakejima volcano in 2000, the largest summit explosion occurred on 18 August 2000. During this explosion, vesiculated bombs and lapilli having cauliflower-like shapes were ejected as essential products. Petrological observation and chemical analyses of the essential ejecta and melt inclusions were carried out in order to investigate magma ascent and eruption processes. SEM images indicate that the essential bombs and lapilli have similar textures, which have many tiny bubbles, crystal-rich and glass-poor groundmass and microphenocrysts of plagioclase, augite and olivine. Black ash particles, which compose 40% of the air-fall ash from the explosion, also have similar textures to the essential bombs. Whole-rock analyses show that the chemical composition of all essential ejecta is basaltic (SiO₂=51–52 wt%). Chemical analyses of melt inclusions in plagioclase and olivine phenocrysts indicate that melt in the magma had 0.9–1.9 wt% H₂O, <0.011 wt% CO₂, 0.04–0.17 wt% S and 0.06–0.1 wt% Cl. The variation in volatile content suggests degassing of the magma during ascent up to a depth of about 1 km. The ratio of H₂O and S content of melt inclusions is similar to that of volcanic gas, which has been intensely and continuously emitted from the summit since the end of August 2000, indicating that the 18 August magma is the source of the gas emission. Based on the volatile content of the melt inclusions and the volcanic gas composition, the initial bulk volatile content of the magma was estimated to be 1.6–1.9 wt% H₂O, 0.08–0.1 wt% CO₂, 0.11–0.17 wt% S and 0.06–0.07 wt% Cl. The basaltic magma ascended from a deeper chamber (10 km) due to decrease in magma density caused by volatile exsolution with pressure decrease. The highly vesiculated magma, which had at least 30 vol% bubbles, may have come into contact with ground water at sea level causing the large explosion of 18 August 2000.Editorial responsibility: S. Nakada, T. DuittAn erratum to this article can be found at     

Deep submarine pyroclastic eruptions: theory and predicted landforms and deposits

Submarine pyroclastic eruptions at depths greater than a few hundred meters are generally considered to be rare or absent because the pressure of the overlying water column is sufficient to suppress juvenile gas exsolution so that magmatic disruption and pyroclastic activity do not occur. Consideration of detailed models of the ascent and eruption of magma in a range of sea floor environments shows, however, that significant pyroclastic activity can occur even at depths in excess of 3000 m. In order to document and illustrate the full range of submarine eruption styles, we model several possible scenarios for the ascent and eruption of magma feeding submarine eruptions: (1) no gas exsolution; (2) gas exsolution but no magma disruption; (3) gas exsolution, magma disruption, and hawaiian-style fountaining; (4) volatile content builds up in the magma reservoir leading to hawaiian eruptions resulting from foam collapse; (5) magma volatile content insufficient to cause fragmentation normally but low rise speed results in strombolian activity; and (6) volatile content builds up in the top of a dike leading to vulcanian eruptions. We also examine the role of bulk-interaction steam explosivity and contact-surface steam explosivity as processes contributing to volcaniclastic formation in these environments. We concur with most earlier workers that for magma compositions typical of spreading centers and their vicinities, the most likely circumstance is the quiet effusion of magma with minor gas exsolution, and the production of somewhat vesicular pillow lavas or sheet flows, depending on effusion rate. The amounts by which magma would overshoot the vent in these types of eruptions would be insufficient to cause any magma disruption. The most likely mechanism of production of pyroclastic deposits in this environment is strombolian activity, due to the localized concentration of volatiles in magma that has a low rise rate; magmatic gas collects by bubble coalescence, and ascends in large isolated bubbles which disrupt the magma surface in the vent, producing localized blocks, bombs, and pyroclastic deposits. Another possible mode of occurrence of pyroclastic deposits results from vulcanian eruptions; these deposits, being characterized by the dominance of angular blocks of country rocks deposited in the vicinity of a crater, should be easily distinguishable from strombolian and hawaiian eruptions. However, we stress that a special case of the hawaiian eruption style is likely to occur in the submarine environment if magmatic gas buildup occurs in a magma reservoir by the upward drift of gas bubbles. In this case, a layer of foam will build up at the top of the reservoir in a sufficient concentration to exceed the volatile content necessary for disruption and hawaiian-style activity; the deposits and landforms are predicted to be somewhat different from those of a typical primary magmatic volatile-induced hawaiian eruption. Specifically, typical pyroclast sizes might be smaller; fountain heights may exceed those expected for the purely magmatic hawaiian case; cooling of descending pyroclasts would be more efficient, leading to different types of proximal deposits; and runout distances for density flows would be greater, potentially leading to submarine pyroclastic deposits surrounding vents out to distances of tens of meters to a kilometer. In addition, flows emerging after the evacuation of the foam layer would tend to be very depleted in volatiles, and thus extremely poor in vesicles relative to typical flows associated with hawaiian-style eruptions in the primary magmatic gas case. We examine several cases of reported submarine volcaniclastic deposits found at depths as great as 3000 m and conclude that submarine hawaiian and strombolian eruptions are much more common than previously suspected at mid-ocean ridges. Furthermore, the latter stages of development of volcanic edifices (seamounts) formed in submarine environments are excellent candidates for a wide range of submarine pyroclastic activity due not just to the effects of decreasing water depth, but also to: (1) the presence of a summit magma reservoir, which favors the buildup of magmatic foams (enhancing hawaiian-style activity) and episodic dike emplacement (which favors strombolian-style eruptions); and (2) the common occurrence of alkalic basalts, the CO₂ contents of which favor submarine explosive eruptions at depths greater than tholeiitic basalts. These models and predictions can be tested with future sampling and analysis programs and we provide a checklist of key observations to help distinguish among the eruption styles.     

Plinian-type eruptions in the medicine lake highland, california, and the nature of the underlying magma

Contemporaneous Plinian eruptions of rhyolite pumice from Glass Mountain and Little Glass Mountain during the last 1100 years B.P. were followed by extrusion of lava flows. 1.2 km of material was erupted and 10% by volume is tephra. All of the tephra deposits consist of very poorly sorted coarse ash and lapilli that are mostly pumice pyroclasts.Eruptive sequences, chemical composition and petrographic character of the rhyolites at Little Glass Mountain and Glass Mountain suggest that they came from the same magma body. The 1:9 ratio of tephra to lavas is typical of small silicic magma chambers. Eruption from a small chamber, 4–6 km deep, at vents 15 km apart is possible if magma rose along cone sheets with dips of 45–60°. The caldera rim and arcuate lines of vents near it may represent the surface expression of several concentric cone sheets.Pumice pyroclasts erupted at Glass Mountain and Little Glass Mountain may have formed in the following manner: (1) vesicle growth and coalescence beginning at 1–2 km depths; (2) elongation of the vesicles by flow within the cone sheets; (3) disruption of the vesiculated magma when it reached the surface by an expansion wave passing down through it; and (4) eruption of comminution products as pumice pyroclasts. Plinian activity at Little Glass Mountain and Glass Mountain continued until the volatile-rich top of the magma chamber had been depleted.     

Analytical models for bubble growth during decompression of high viscosity magmas

Analytical models for decompressional bubble growth in a viscous magma are developed to establish the influence of high magma viscosity on vesiculation and to assess the time-scales on which bubbles respond to decompression. Instantaneous decompression of individual bubbles, analogous to a sudden release of pressure (e.g. sector collapse), is considered for two end-member cases. The infinite melt model considers the growth of an isolated bubble before significant bubble interaction occurs. The shell model considers the growth of a bubble surrounded by a thin shell and is analogous to bubble growth in a highly vesicular magmatic foam. Results from the shell model show that magmas less viscous than 10⁹ Pa s can freely expand without developing strong overpressures. The timescales for pressure re-equilibration are shortened by increased ratios of bubble radius to shell thickness and by larger decompression. Time-scales for isolated bubbles in rhyolitic melts (infinite melt model) are significantly longer, implying that such bubbles could experience internal pressures greater than the ambient pressure for at least a few hours following a sudden release of pressure. The shell model is developed to assess bubble growth during the linear decompression of a magma body of constant viscosity. For the range of decompression rates and viscosities associated with actual volcanic eruptions, bubble growth continues at approximately the equilibrium rate, with no attendant excess of internal pressure. The results imply that viscosity does not have any significant role in preventing the explosive expansion of high viscosity foams. However, for viscosities of >10⁹ Pa s there is the potential for a viscosity quench under the extreme decompression rates of an explosive eruption. It is proposed that the typical vesicularities of pumice of 0.7–0.8 are a consequence of the viscosity of the degassing magmas becoming sufficiently high to inhibit bubble expansion over the characteristic time-scale of eruption. For fully degassed silicic lavas with viscosities in the range 10¹⁰ to 10¹² Pa s time-scales for decompression of isolated bubbles can be hours to many months.     

Major changes in the post-glacial evolution of magmatic compositions and pre-eruptive conditions of Llaima Volcano,Andean Southern Volcanic Zone,Chile

Llaima is one of the most active volcanoes of the Chilean volcanic front with recent explosive eruptions in 2008 and 2009. Understanding how the volcano evolved to its present state is essential for predictions of its future behavior. The post-glacial succession of explosive volcanic eruptions of Llaima stratovolcano started with two caldera-forming eruptions at ～16 and ～15 ka, that emplaced two large-volume basaltic-andesitic ignimbrites (unit I). These are overlain by a series of fall deposits (unit II) changing from basaltic-andesitic to dacitic compositions with time. The prominent compositionally zoned, dacitic to andesitic Llaima pumice (unit III) was formed by a large Plinian eruption at ～10 ka that produced andesitic surge deposits (unit IV) in its terminal phase. The following unit V represents a time interval of ～8,000 years during which at least 30 basaltic to andesitic ash and lapilli fall deposits with intercalated volcaniclastic sediments and paleosols were emplaced. Bulk rock, mineral, and glass chemical data constrain stratigraphic changes in magma compositions and pre-eruptive conditions that we interpret in terms of four distinct evolutionary phases. Phase 1 (=unit I) magmas have lower large ion lithophile (LIL)/high field strength (HFS) element ratios compared to younger magmas and thus originated from a mantle source less affected by slab-derived fluids. They differentiated in a reservoir at mid-crustal level. During the post-caldera phase 2 (=units II–IV), relatively long residence times between eruptions allowed for increasingly differentiated magmas to form in a reservoir in the middle crust. Fractional crystallization led to volatile enrichment and oversaturation and is the driving force for the large Plinian eruption of the most evolved (unit III) dacite at Llaima, although replenishment by hot andesite probably triggered the eruption. During the subsequent phase 3 (=unit V >3 ka), frequent mafic replenishments at mid-crustal storage levels favored shorter residence times limiting erupted magma compositions to water-undersaturated basaltic andesites and andesites. At around 3 ka, the magma storage level for phase 4 (=unit V <3 ka to present) shifted to the uppermost crust where the hot magmas partly assimilated the granitic country rock. Although water contents of these basaltic andesites were low, the low-pressure storage facilitated water saturation before eruption. The change in magma storage level at 3 ka was responsible for the dramatic increase in eruption frequency compared to the older Llaima history. We suggest that the change from middle to upper crust magma storage is caused by a change in the stress regime below Llaima from transpression to tension.     

Characterization of juvenile pyroclasts from the Kos Plateau Tuff (Aegean Arc): insights into the eruptive dynamics of a large rhyolitic eruption

Silicic pumices formed during explosive volcanic eruptions are faithful recorders of the state of the magma in the conduit, close to or at the fragmentation level. We have characterized four types of pumices from the non-welded rhyolitic Kos Plateau Tuff, which erupted 161,000 years ago in the East Aegean Arc, Greece. The dominant type of pumice (>90 vol.%) shows highly elongated tubular vesicles. These tube pumices occur throughout the eruption. Less common pumice types include: (1) “frothy” pumice (highly porous with large, sub-rounded vesicles), which form 5–10 vol.% of the coarsest pyroclastic flow deposits, (2) dominantly “microvesicular” and systematically crystal-poor pumices, which are found in early erupted, fine-grained pyroclastic flow units, and are characterized by many small (<50 μm in diameter) vesicles and few mm-sized, irregular voids, (3) grey or banded pumices, indicating the interaction between the rhyolite and a more mafic magma, which are found throughout the eruption sequence and display highly irregular bubble shapes. Except for the grey-banded pumices, all three other types are compositionally identical and were generated synchronously as they are found in the same pyroclastic units. They, therefore, record different conditions in the volcanic conduit leading to variable bubble nucleation, growth and coalescence. A total of 74 pumice samples have been characterized using thin section observation, SEM imagery, porosimetry, and permeametry. We show that the four pumice types have distinct total and connected porosity, tortuosity and permeability. Grey-banded pumices show large variations in petrophysical characteristics as a response to mingling of two different magmas. The microvesicular, crystal-poor, pumices have a bimodal bubble size distribution, interpreted as reflecting an early heterogeneous bubble nucleation event followed by homogeneous bubble nucleation close to fragmentation. Finally, the significant differences in porosity, tortuosity and permeability in compositionally identical tube and frothy pumices are the result of variable shear rates in different parts of the conduit. Differential shear rates may be the result of either: (1) pure shear, inducing a vertical progression from frothy to tube and implying a relatively thick fragmentation zone to produce both types of pumices at the same time or (2) localized simple shear, inducing strongly tubular vesicles along the wall and near-spherical bubbles in the centre of the conduit and not necessarily requiring a thick fragmentation zone.