Crystal size distribution systematics and the determination of magma storage times: The 1959 eruption of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii

The theory of crystal size distribution (CSD theory) is based on a steady-state population balance that monitors the flux of crystals growing into and out of specificed size categories in precipitating solutions. The conservation equation describing this balance permits crystal growth and nucleation rates to be determined directly from crystal size distribution data. In this investigation, it is shown that CSD analysis can alternatively be used to calculate the residence time of crystals in the system - or in volcanologic terms, the magma storage time prior to eruption - if the characteristic crystal growth rate can be independently determined or estimated. The crystal size data needed for storage time determinations are easily obtained from thin sections of glassy eruption samples and the mathematical calculations are relatively simple. Analysis of the errors inherent in this new technique predicts storage estimates accurate to within an order of magnitude.