Bubble growth in rhyolitic melts: experimental and numerical investigation

 Bubble growth controlled by mass transfer of water from hydrated rhyolitic melts at high pressures and temperatures was studied experimentally and simulated numerically. Rhyolitic melts were hydrated at 150 MPa, 780–850  °C to uniform water content of 5.5–5.3 wt%. The pressure was then dropped and held constant at 15–145 MPa. Upon the drop bubbles nucleated and were allowed to grow for various periods of time before final, rapid quenching of the samples. The size and number density of bubbles in the quenched glasses were recorded. Where number densities were low and run duration short, bubble sizes were in accord with the growth model of Scriven (1959) for solitary bubbles. However, most results did not fit this simple model because of interaction between neighboring bubbles. Hence, the growth model of Proussevitch et al. (1993), which accounts for finite separation between bubbles, was further developed and used to simulate bubble growth. The good agreement between experimental data, numerical simulation, and analytical solutions enables accurate and reliable examination of bubble growth from a limited volume of supersaturated melt. At modest supersaturations bubble growth in hydrated silicic melts (3–6 wt% water, viscosity 10⁴–10⁶ Pa·s) is diffusion controlled. Water diffusion is fast enough to maintain steady-state concentration gradient in the melt. Viscous resistance is important only at the very early stage of growth (t<1 s). Under the above conditions growth is nearly parabolic, R²=2Dtρ_m(C₀–C_f)/ρ_g until the bubble approaches its final size. In melts with low water content, viscosity is higher and maintains pressure gradients in the melt. Growth may be delayed for longer times, comparable to time scales of melt ascent during eruptions. At high levels of supersaturation, advection of hydrated melt towards the growing bubble becomes significant. Our results indicate that equilibrium degassing is a good approximation for modeling vesiculation in melts with high water concentrations (C₀>3 wt%) in the region above the nucleation level. When the melt accelerates and water content decreases, equilibrium can no longer be maintained between bubbles and melt. Supersaturation develops in melt pockets away from bubbles and new bubbles may nucleate. Further acceleration and increase in viscosity cause buildup of internal pressure in the bubbles and may eventually lead to fragmentation of the melt. Received: 19 June 1995 / Accepted: 27 December 1995     

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.     

Modelling the dynamics and thermodynamics of volcanic degassing

 The rates of passive degassing from volcanoes are investigated by modelling the convective overturn of dense degassed and less dense gas-rich magmas in a vertical conduit linking a shallow degassing zone with a deep magma chamber. Laboratory experiments are used to constrain our theoretical model of the overturn rate and to elaborate on the model of this process presented by Kazahaya et al. (1994). We also introduce the effects of a CO₂–saturated deep chamber and adiabatic cooling of ascending magma. We find that overturn occurs by concentric flow of the magmas along the conduit, although the details of the flow depend on the magmas' viscosity ratio. Where convective overturn limits the supply of gas-rich magma, then the gas emission rate is proportional to the flow rate of the overturning magmas (proportional to the density difference driving convection, the conduit radius to the fourth power, and inversely proportional to the degassed magma viscosity) and the mass fraction of water that is degassed. Efficient degassing enhances the density difference but increases the magma viscosity, and this dampens convection. Two degassing volcanoes were modelled. At Stromboli, assuming a 2 km deep, 30% crystalline basaltic chamber, containing 0.5 wt.% dissolved water, the ∼700 kg s^–1 magmatic water flux can be modelled with a 4–10 m radius conduit, degassing 20–100% of the available water and all of the 1 to 4 vol.% CO₂ chamber gas. At Mount St. Helens in June 1980, assuming a 7 km deep, 39% crystalline dacitic chamber, containing 4.6 wt.% dissolved water, the ∼500 kg s^–1 magmatic water flux can be modelled with a 22–60 m radius conduit, degassing ∼2–90% of the available water and all of the 0.1 to 3 vol.% CO₂ chamber gas. The range of these results is consistent with previous models and observations. Convection driven by degassing provides a plausible mechanism for transferring volatiles from deep magma chambers to the atmosphere, and it can explain the gas fluxes measured at many persistently active volcanoes. Received: 26 September 1997 / Accepted: 11 July 1998     

The impact of pre-existing gas on the ascent of explosively erupted magma

Most, if not all, magmas contain gas bubbles at depth before they erupt. Those bubbles play a crucial role in eruption dynamics, by allowing magma to degas, which causes the magma to accelerate as it ascends towards the surface. There must be a limit to that acceleration, however, because gas bubbles cannot grow infinitely fast. To explore that limit, a series of experiments was undertaken to determine the maximum rate at which bubbly high-silica rhyolite can decompress. Rhyolite melt that was hydrated at 150 MPa with ~5.3 wt.% dissolved water and contained 7 to 18 vol.% bubbles can degas in equilibrium at 875°C when decompressed at rates up to 1.2 MPa s⁻¹ from 150 to 78 MPa, and up to 1.8 MPa s⁻¹ when decompressed further to 42 MPa. In contrast, that same rhyolite cannot degas in equilibrium at 750°C if decompressed faster than 0.015–0.025 MPa s⁻¹. When combined with other published experiments, the maximum rate of decompression for equilibrium degassing is found to increase by a factor of ten for every 50–75°C increase in temperature. When compared to predictions from conduit flow models that assume equilibrium degassing, it is found that such models greatly over-estimate the rate at which relatively cold rhyolite can decompress, whereas that assumption is largely correct for hot rhyolite, and thus for most other magmas, all of which are less viscous than rhyolite. In addition, most bubbles that were 20–30 μm in size at high pressure were lost from the population at low pressure. That absence suggests that only relatively large vesicles seen in volcanic pumice may be relics of pre-eruptive bubbles, even if small bubbles were originally present at depth.     

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.

Decadal evolution of a degassing magma reservoir unravelled from fire fountains produced at Etna volcano (Italy) between 1989 and 2001

Between 1989 and 2001, five eruptions at Etna displayed a regular alternation between repose periods and episodes rich in gas, termed quasi-fire fountains and consisting of a series of Strombolian explosions sometimes leading to a fire fountain. This behaviour results from the coalescence of a foam layer trapped at the top of the reservoir which was periodically rebuilt prior to each episode (Vergniolle and Jaupart, J Geophys Res 95:2793–2809, 1990). Visual observations of fire fountains are combined with the foam dynamics to estimate the five degassing parameters characteristic of the degassing reservoir, i.e. the number of bubbles, gas volume fraction, bubble diameter, reservoir thickness and reservoir volume. The study of decadal cycles of eruptive patterns (Allard et al., Earth Sci Rev 78:85–114, 2006) suggests that the first eruption with fire fountains occurred in 1995 while the last one happened in 2001. The number of bubbles and the gas volume fraction increase smoothly from the beginning of the cycle (1995) to its end (2001). The increasing number of bubbles per cubic metre, from 0.61–20×10⁵ to 0.1–3.4×10⁹, results from cooling of the magma within the reservoir. The simultaneously decreasing bubble diameter, from 0.67–0.43 to 0.30–0.19 mm, is related to the decreasing amount of dissolved volatiles. Meanwhile, the thickness and the volume of the degassing reservoir diminish, from values typical of the magma reservoir to values characteristic of a very thin bubbly layer, marking the quasi-exhaustion of volatiles. The magma reservoir has a slender vertical shape, with a maximum thickness of 3,300–8,200 m and a radius of 240 m (Vergniolle 2008), making its detection from seismic studies difficult. Its volume, at most 0.58–1.4 km³, is in agreement with geochemical studies (0.5 km³) (Le Cloarec and Pennisi, J Volcanol Geotherm Res 108:141–155, 2001). The time evolution of both the total gas volume expelled per eruption, and the inter-eruptive gas flux results from the competition between the increasing number of bubbles and the decreasing bubble diameter. The smooth temporal evolution of the five degassing parameters also points towards bubbles being produced by a self-induced mechanism within the magma reservoir rather than by a magmatic reinjection prior to each eruption. The decadal cycles are therefore initiated by a magmatic reinjection, in agreement with a typical return time of 14–80 years (Albarède 1993). Hence, the 1995 eruption results from a fresh magma being newly emplaced while the magma from the following eruptions is progressively depleted in volatiles species until reaching a state of quasi-exhaustion in 2001. A magmatic reinjection of 0.13–0.6 km³ every few decades is sufficient to explain the expelled gas volume, including SO₂. A scenario is also proposed for the alternation between gas-rich summit eruptions and gas-poor flank eruptions which are observed during decadal cycles. The scenario proposed for Etna could also be at work at Piton de la Fournaise and Erta ’Ale volcanoes.     

Equilibrium and disequilibrium degassing of a phonolitic melt (Vesuvius AD 79 “white pumice”) simulated by decompression experiments

Equilibrium and disequilibrium degassing of a volatile phase from a magma of K-phonolitic composition was investigated to assess its behavior upon ascent. Decompression experiments were conducted in Ar-pressurized externally heated pressure vessels at superliquidus temperature (1050 °C), in the pressure range 10–200 MPa using pure water as fluid phase. All experiments were equilibrated at 200 MPa and then decompressed to lower pressures with rates varying from 0.0028 to 4.8 MPa/s. Isobaric saturation experiments were performed at the same temperature and at 900–950 °C to determine the equilibrium water solubility in the pressure range 30–250 MPa. The glasses obtained from decompression experiments were analyzed for their dissolved water content, vesicularity and bubble size distribution. All decompressed samples presented a first event of bubble nucleation at the capsule–melt interface. Homogeneous bubble nucleation in the melt only occurred in fast-decompressed experiments (4.8 and 1.7 MPa/s), for ΔP ≅ 100 MPa. For these decompression rates high water over-saturations were maintained until a rapid exsolution was triggered at ΔP > 150 MPa. For slower rates (0.0028, 0.024, 0.17 MPa/s) the degassing of the melt took place by diffusive growth of the bubbles nucleating at the capsule–melt interface. This process sensibly reduced water over-saturation in the melt, preventing homogeneous nucleation to occur. For decompression rates of 0.024 and 0.17 MPa/s low water over-saturations were attained in the melt, gradually declining toward equilibrium concentrations at low pressures. A near-equilibrium degassing path was observed for a decompression rate of 0.0028 MPa/s. Experimental data combined with natural pumice textures suggest that both homogeneous and heterogeneous bubble nucleations occurred in the phonolitic magma during the AD 79 Vesuvius plinian event. Homogeneous bubble nucleation probably occurred at a depth of ∼ 3 km, in response to a fast decompression of the magma during the ascent.     

Crystallization of microlites and degassing during magma ascent: Constraints on the fluid mechanical behavior of magma during the Tenjo Eruption on Kozu Island, Japan

Bubble and crystal textures provide information with regard to the kinetics of the vesiculation and crystallization processes. They also provide insights into the fluid mechanical behavior of magma in a conduit. We performed textural (bubble and crystal) and compositional analyses of pyroclasts that were obtained from the Tenjo pyroclastic flow, which resulted on account of the eruption in 838 A.D. on Kozu Island, about 200 km south of Tokyo, Japan. Pyroclasts in one flow unit (300∼2,060 kg/m³; average density 1330 kg/m³) can be classified into three types on the basis of vesicle textures. Type I pyroclasts have small isolated spherical bubbles with higher vesicularities (67–77 vol.%) and number density (10.8–11.7 log m⁻³). Type II pyroclasts have vesicularities similar to type I (61–69 vol.%), but most bubbles exhibit evidences of bubble coalescence, and lower number densities than type I (8.9–9.5 log m⁻³). Type III pyroclasts contain highly deformed bubbles with lower vesicularities (16–34 vol.%) and number densities (8.2–9.0 log m⁻³). The microlite volume fraction (DRE converted) also changes consistently across type I, type II, and type III as 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10–0.15, respectively. However, the number density of the microlites remains nearly invariant in all the pyroclast types. These facts indicate that the variation in the microlite volume fraction is controlled not by the number density (i.e., nucleation process), but by the size (i.e., growth process); the growth history of each type of microlite was different. Water content determinations show that the three types of pumices have similar H₂O contents (2.6±0.2 wt%). This fact implies that all three types were quenched at nearly the same depth (35±5 MPa, assuming that the magma was water-saturated) in the conduit. If the crystal sizes are limited only by growth time, a variation in this parameter can be related to the residence time, which is attributed to the flow heterogeneity in the conduit. By assuming a laminar Poiseuille-type flow, these textural observations can be explained by the difference in ascent velocity and shearing motion across the conduit, which in turn results in the differences in growth times of crystals, degrees of deformation, and bubble coalescence. Consequently, for crystals in the inner part of the conduit, the crystal growth time from nucleation to quenching is shorter than that near the conduit wall. The vesicle texture variation of bubbles in types I, II, and III results from the difference in the deformation history, implying that the effect of degassing occurred primarily towards the conduit wall.     

Sulfur,chlorine, and fluorine degassing and atmospheric loading by the 1783–1784 AD Laki (Skaftár Fires) eruption in Iceland

 The 1783–1784 Laki tholeiitic basalt fissure eruption in Iceland was one of the greatest atmospheric pollution events of the past 250 years, with widespread effects in the northern hemisphere. The degassing history and volatile budget of this event are determined by measurements of pre-eruption and residual contents of sulfur, chlorine, and fluorine in the products of all phases of the eruption. In fissure eruptions such as Laki, degassing occurs in two stages: by explosive activity or lava fountaining at the vents, and from the lava as it flows away from the vents. Using the measured sulfur concentrations in glass inclusions in phenocrysts and in groundmass glasses of quenched eruption products, we calculate that the total accumulative atmospheric mass loading of sulfur dioxide was 122 Mt over a period of 8 months. This volatile release is sufficient to have generated ∼250 Mt of H₂SO₄ aerosols, an amount which agrees with an independent estimate of the Laki aerosol yield based on atmospheric turbidity measurements. Most of this volatile mass (∼60 wt.%) was released during the first 1.5 months of activity. The measured chlorine and fluorine concentrations in the samples indicate that the atmospheric loading of hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid was ∼7.0 and 15.0 Mt, respectively. Furthermore, ∼75% of the volatile mass dissolved by the Laki magma was released at the vents and carried by eruption columns to altitudes between 6 and 13 km. The high degree of degassing at the vents is attributed to development of a separated two-phase flow in the upper magma conduit, and implies that high-discharge basaltic eruptions such as Laki are able to loft huge quantities of gas to altitudes where the resulting aerosols can reside for months or even 1–2 years. The atmospheric volatile contribution due to subsequent degassing of the Laki lava flow is only 18 wt.% of the total dissolved in the magma, and these emissions were confined to the lowest regions of the troposphere and therefore important only over Iceland. This study indicates that determination of the amount of sulfur degassed from the Laki magma batch by measurements of sulfur in the volcanic products (the petrologic method) yields a result which is sufficient to account for the mass of aerosols estimated by other methods. Received: 30 May 1995 / Accepted: 19 April 1996     

Coupled degassing and crystallization: experimental study at continuous pressure drop, with application to volcanic bombs

 Experiments on degassing of water-saturated granite melts with a pressure drop from 100 and 450 MPa to 40 and 120 MPa, respectively, at temperatures close to feldspar liquidus (750–700  °C), were carried out to determine the modality of water exsolution and vesicle formation at the liquidus temperature. Pressure-drop rates as small as approximately 100 bar/day were used. Uniform space distributions of bubbles of exsolved water were obtained with starting glass containing a small fraction (≈0.5 vol.%) of trapped air bubbles. Volume crystallization of feldspar was observed in degassed melts supplied with seeds. Bubble size distributions (BSD) measured in granite glasses after degassing are presented. Data on vesicle characteristics (number, radius, area, elongation) were acquired on images digitized with standard software, while the reconstruction of size distributions was performed with the Schwartz-Saltikov "unfolding" procedure. Bubble size distributions of size classes in the range 5–1000 μm were acquired with proper magnification and satisfactory statistical reliability of determined number densities. The BSDs of the experimental samples are compared with the results of measurements of rapidly degassed products of Mt. Etna and Vulcano Island. Many particular features of the bubble nucleation and growth can be distinguished in an individual BSD. However, the general BSD of the whole data set, including natural ones, can be relatively well described with linear regression in bilogarithmic coordinates. The slope of this regression is approximately 2.8±0.1. This dependence is in striking contrast with distributions theoretically predicted with classical nucleation models based on homogeneous nucleation of vesicles. The theoretical distribution requires the occurrence of strong maxima that are not observed in our experimental and natural samples, thus arguing for heterogeneous nucleation mechanisms. Received: 1 October 1998 / Accepted: 25 June 1999     

Gas emissions from failed and actual eruptions from Cook Inlet Volcanoes,Alaska, 1989–2006

Cook Inlet volcanoes that experienced an eruption between 1989 and 2006 had mean gas emission rates that were roughly an order of magnitude higher than at volcanoes where unrest stalled. For the six events studied, mean emission rates for eruptions were ∼13,000 t/d CO₂ and 5200 t/d SO₂, but only ∼1200 t/d CO₂ and 500 t/d SO₂ for non-eruptive events (‘failed eruptions’). Statistical analysis suggests degassing thresholds for eruption on the order of 1500 and 1000 t/d for CO₂ and SO₂, respectively. Emission rates greater than 4000 and 2000 t/d for CO₂ and SO₂, respectively, almost exclusively resulted during eruptive events (the only exception being two measurements at Fourpeaked). While this analysis could suggest that unerupted magmas have lower pre-eruptive volatile contents, we favor the explanations that either the amount of magma feeding actual eruptions is larger than that driving failed eruptions, or that magmas from failed eruptions experience less decompression such that the majority of H₂O remains dissolved and thus insufficient permeability is produced to release the trapped volatile phase (or both). In the majority of unrest and eruption sequences, increases in CO₂ emission relative to SO₂ emission were observed early in the sequence. With time, all events converged to a common molar value of C/S between 0.5 and 2. These geochemical trends argue for roughly similar decompression histories until shallow levels are reached beneath the edifice (i.e., from 20–35 to ∼4–6 km) and perhaps roughly similar initial volatile contents in all cases. Early elevated CO₂ levels that we find at these high-latitude, andesitic arc volcanoes have also been observed at mid-latitude, relatively snow-free, basaltic volcanoes such as Stromboli and Etna. Typically such patterns are attributed to injection and decompression of deep (CO₂-rich) magma into a shallower chamber and open system degassing prior to eruption. Here we argue that the C/S trends probably represent tapping of vapor-saturated regions with high C/S, and then gradual degassing of remaining dissolved volatiles as the magma progresses toward the surface. At these volcanoes, however, C/S is often accentuated due to early preferential scrubbing of sulfur gases. The range of equilibrium degassing is consistent with the bulk degassing of a magma with initial CO₂ and S of 0.6 and 0.2 wt.%, respectively, similar to what has been suggested for primitive Redoubt magmas.     

The influence of trace amounts of water on the viscosity of rhyolites

 As a major volatile in volcanic systems, water has a significant influence on the rheological properties of silicic magmas. This is especially so at minor water contents relevant to the emplacement of silicic lavas. To investigate the influence of water on the viscosity of natural rhyolitic obsidians, a novel strategy has been adopted employing parallel-plate and micropenetration techniques. Viscosities have been determined on three types of material: (a) raw water-bearing obsidians; (b) remelted (1650  °C, 1 atm) degassed glasses of the obsidians; and (c) hydrothermally hydrated (1300  °C, 3 kbar) obsidians. Ten natural rhyolitic obsidians (peraluminous, calc-alkaline and peralkaline) were employed: seven originated from lava flows and contained <0.2 wt.% H₂O, two samples were F-rich from pyroclastic successions, and one was an obsidian cobble with 1.5 wt.% water also associated with pyroclastic units. Melt compositions and water contents were stable during viscometry. The measured decreases in activation energies of viscous flow and viscosity with small amounts of water are much greater than the Shaw calculation scheme predicts. In addition, a marked non-linear decrease in η exists with increasing water content. In contrast to the case for peralkaline rhyolites, 0.1–0.2 wt.% water decreases activation energies significantly (up to 30%) for calc-alkaline compositions. These results have important implications for the ease of near-surface degassing of silicic magmas during emplacement and permit the testing of calculational models for viscosity, largely based on synthetic systems. Received: 7 July 1997 / Accepted: 6 April 1998     

Diffusive dehydration and bubble resorption during open-system degassing of rhyolitic melts

Degassing through open paths such as bubble and/or fracture networks is considered to be the principal mode of degassing in silicic magmas. However, its detailed mechanisms remain unclear. To investigate the behavior of bubbles in a hypothetical open-system condition, we performed a series of vesiculation experiments on natural rhyolitic obsidian using a newly designed semipermeable cell, which artificially maintains a pressure difference between its inside and outside. The thick-wall cell maintains a constant volume within the sample chamber, while allowing water vapor to escape the cell during the experimental runs. The cells containing obsidian cores with ca. 0.66 wt.% initial water content were externally heated to 1000 °C for a period of 1–288 h. The run charges generally showed a zonal structure composed of two contrasting regions: a central region within which the bubbles were concentrated (bubble-rich core, BC) and a bubble-free melt region surrounding the BC (bubble-free margin, BFM). With increased heating duration, the thickness of the BFM increased via dissolution of the outermost bubbles in the BC. The water content was nearly uniform throughout the BC, whereas an outward-decreasing gradient was observed in the BFM. We found that diffusive dehydration occurred from the sample surface, and the bubbles were resorbed into the melt. Thus, the BFM–BC boundary moved inwards. These processes were modelled numerically, and the calculation results were in good agreement with the experimental data. If a “lifetime” of open paths is approximated as the relaxation time of a melt in a shallow volcanic environment, then the paths have to be pinched off quickly (1.2 h at maximum pressure difference between the open path and the melt) and thus the thickness of the bubble-free layer reaches at most ~ 0.1 mm. For the formation of bubble-free obsidian layers with a width of a few millimeters, which are often observed in natural obsidian flows, open paths should be maintained for at least a few hundred hours.     

Simulating bubble number density of rhyolitic pumices from Plinian eruptions: constraints from fast decompression experiments

Decompression experiments of a crystal-free rhyolitic liquid with ≈ 6.6 wt. % H₂O were carried out at a pressure range from 250 MPa to 30–75 MPa in order to characterize effects of magma ascent rate and temperature on bubble nucleation kinetics, especially on the bubble number density (BND, the number of bubbles produced per unit volume of liquid). A first series of experiments at 800°C and fast decompression rates (10–90 MPa/s) produced huge BNDs (≈ 2 × 10¹⁴ m⁻³ at 10 MPa/s ; ≈ 2 × 10¹⁵ m⁻³ at 90 MPa/s), comparable to those in natural silicic pumices from Plinian eruptions (10¹⁵–10¹⁶ m⁻³). A second series of experiments at 700°C and 1 MPa/s produced BNDs (≈ 9×10¹² m⁻³) close to those observed at 800°C and 1 MPa/s (≈ 6 × 10¹² m⁻³), showing that temperature has an insignificant effect on BNDs at a given decompression rate. Our study strengthens the theory that the BNDs are good markers of the decompression rate of magmas in volcanic conduits, irrespective of temperature. Huge number densities of small bubbles in natural silicic pumices from Plinian eruptions imply that a major nucleation event occurs just below the fragmentation level, at which the decompression rate of ascending magmas is a maximum (≥ 1 MPa/s).     

Rhyolite magma degassing: an experimental study of melt vesiculation

 The vesiculation of a peralkaline rhyolite melt (initially containing ∼0.14 wt.% H₂O) has been investigated at temperatures above the rheological glass transition (T _g≈530  °C) by (a) in situ optical observation of individual bubble growth or dissolution and (b) dilatometric measurements of the volume expansion due to vesiculation. The activation energy of the timescale for bubble growth equals the activation energy of viscous flow at relatively low temperatures (650–790  °C), but decreases and tends towards the value for water diffusion at high temperatures (790–925  °C). The time dependence of volume expansion follows the Avrami equation ΔV (t)∼{1–exp [–(t/τ_av) ⁿ ]} with the exponent n=2–2.5. The induction time of nucleation and the characteristic timescale (τ_av) in the Avrami equation have the same activation energy, again equal to the activation energy of viscous flow, which means that in viscous melts (Peclet number <1) the vesiculation (volume expansion), the bubble growth process, and, possibly, the nucleation of vesicles, are controlled by the relaxation of viscous stresses. One of the potential volcanological consequences of such behavior is the existence of a significant time lag between the attainment of a super-saturated state in volatile-bearing rhyolitic magmas and the onset of their expansion. Received: March 20, 1995 / Accepted: October 24, 1995     

Relationships between deformation and mixing processes in lava flows: a case study from Salina (Aeolian Islands,Tyrrhenian Sea)

 The massive unit of a lava flow from Porri volcano (Salina, Aeolian Islands) displays many unusual structures related to the physical interaction between two different magmas. The magma A represents approximately 80% of the exposed lava surface; it has a crystal content of 51 vol.% and a dacitic glass composition (SiO₂=63–64 wt.%). The magma B has a basaltic-andesite glass composition (SiO₂=54–55 wt.%) and a crystal content of approximately 18 vol.%. It occurs as pillow-like enclaves, banding, boudin-like and rolling structures which are hosted in magma A. Structural analysis suggests that banding and boudin-like structures are the result of the deformation of enclaves at different shear strain. The linear correlation between strain and stratigraphic height of the measured elements indicates a single mode of deformation. We deduce that the component B deformed according to a simple shear model. Glass analyses of the A–B boundary indicate that A and B liquids mix together at high shear strain, whereas only mingling occurs at low shear strain. This suggests that the amount of deformation (i.e. forced convection) plays an important role in the formation of hybrid magmas. High shear strain may induce stretching, shearing and rolling of fluids which promote both forced convection and dynamical diffusion processes. These processes allow mixing of magmas with large differences in their physical properties. Received: 15 July 1995 / Accepted: 30 May 1996     

Effects of eruption and lava drainback on the H2O contents of basaltic magmas at Kilauea Volcano

 Lava drainback has been observed during many eruptions at Kilauea Volcano: magma erupts, degasses in lava fountains, collects in surface ponds, and then drains back beneath the surface. Time series data for melt inclusions from the 1959 Kilauea Iki picrite provide important evidence concerning the effects of drainback on the H₂O contents of basaltic magmas at Kilauea. Melt inclusions in olivine from the first eruptive episode, before any drainback occurred, have an average H₂O content of 0.7±0.2 wt.%. In contrast, many inclusions from the later episodes, erupted after substantial amounts of surface degassed lava had drained back down the vent, have H₂O contents that are much lower (≥0.24 wt.% H₂O). Water contents in melt inclusions from magmas erupted at Pu'u 'O'o on the east rift zone vary from 0.39–0.51 wt.% H₂O in tephra from high fountains to 0.10–0.28 wt.% H₂O in spatter from low fountains. The low H₂O contents of many melt inclusions from Pu'u 'O'o and post-drainback episodes of Kilauea Iki reveal that prior to crystallization of the enclosing olivine host, the melts must have exsolved H₂O at pressures substantially less than those in Kilauea's summit magma reservoir. Such low-pressure H₂O exsolution probably occurred as surface degassed magma was recycled by drainback and mixing with less degassed magma at depth. Recognition of the effects of low-pressure degassing and drainback leads to an estimate of 0.7 wt.% H₂O for differentiated tholeiitic magma in Kilauea's summit magma storage reservoir. Data for MgO-rich submarine glasses (Clague et al. 1995) and melt inclusions from Kilauea Iki demonstrate that primary Kilauean tholeiitic magma has an H₂O/K₂O mass ratio of ∼1.3. At transition zone and upper mantle depths in the Hawaiian plume source, H₂O probably resides partly in a small amount of hydrous silicate melt. Received: 31 March 1997 / Accepted: 17 November 1997     

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.     

Textures, water content and degassing of silicic andesites from recent plinian and dome-forming eruptions at Mount Pelée volcano (Martinique, Lesser Antilles arc)

Previous petrological and phase-equilibrium experimental studies on recent silicic andesites from Mount Pelée volcano have evidenced comparable pre-eruptive conditions for plinian and dome-forming (pelean herein) eruptions, implying that differences in eruptive style must be primarily controlled by differences in degassing behaviour of the Mount Pelée magmas during eruption. To further investigate the degassing conditions of plinian and pelean magmas of Mount Pelée, we study here the most recent Mount Pelée's products (P1 at 650 years B.P., 1902, and 1929 eruptions, which cover a range of plinian and pelean lithologies) for bulk-rock vesicularities, glass water contents (glass inclusions in phenocrysts and matrix glasses) and microtextures. Water contents of glass inclusions are scattered in the plinian pumices but on average compare with the experimentally-deduced pre-eruptive melt water content (i.e., 5.3–6.3 wt.%), whereas they are much lower in the dominant pelean lithologies (crystalline, poorly vesicular lithics and dome samples). This indicates that the glass inclusions of the pelean products have undergone strong leakage and do not represent pre-eruptive water contents. The water content of the pyroclast matrix glasses are thought to closely represent the residual water content in the melt at the time of fragmentation. Determination of the water contents of both the pre-eruptive melt and matrix glasses allows the estimation of the amount of water exsolved upon syn-eruptive degassing. We find the amount of water exsolved during the eruptive process to be higher in the pelean products than in the plinian ones, typically 90–100 and 65–70% of the initial water content, respectively. The vesicularities calculated from the amount of exsolved water compare with the measured vesicularities for the plinian pumices, consistent with a closed-system, near-equilibrium degassing up to fragmentation. By contrast, the low residual water contents, low groundmass vesicularities and extensive groundmass crystallization of the pelean products are direct evidence of open-system degassing. Microtextural features, including silica-bearing and silica-free voids in the pelean lithologies may represent a two-stage vesiculation.     

A tale of two magmas,Fuego, Guatemala

Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted in 1974 in a basaltic sub-Plinian event, which has been well documented and studied. In 1999, after a period of quiescence lasting 20 years, Fuego erupted again, this time less violently, but with persistent low-level activity. This study investigates the link between these episodes. Previous melt inclusion studies have shown magma erupted in 1974 to have been a volatile-rich hybrid tapped from a vertically extensive system. By contrast, magma erupted in 1999 and 2003 is similar in composition to that erupted in 1974, but melt inclusions are more evolved. Although melt inclusions from the later period are CO₂ rich (up to ∼1,500 ppm), they have low H₂O concentration (max 1.5 wt.%, compared to ∼6 wt.% in 1974). These melt inclusions have a modified H₂O concentration due to diffusive re-equilibration at shallow pressures. Despite this diffusive exchange, both eruptions show evidence of recent mingling of the same low and higher K melts, one of which was slightly cooler than the other and as a result traversed the amphibole stability field. (²¹⁰Pb/²²⁶Ra) data on selected bulk rock samples from 1974 suggest that whereas the cooler, more evolved end-member may have been degassing since the last major eruption in the 1930s, the warmer end-member intruded at most a decade prior to the 1974 eruption. The two end-members are thus batches of the same magma emplaced shallowly ∼30 years apart during which time the older batch was cooled and differentiated before mixing with the younger influx. The presence of the same two melts in the later eruptions suggests that magma in 1999 and 2003 is partly residual from 1974. The current eruptive activity is clearing the system of this residual magma prior to an expected new magma batch.