Search

Magnetite-apatite deposits are important sources of iron and other metals. A prominent exam- ple are the magnetite lavas at the El Laco volcano, Northern Chile. Their formation processes remain debated. Here, we test the genetic hypothesis that an Fe-rich melt separated from silicate magma and ascended along collapse-related fractures. We complement recent analy- ses with thermodynamic modelling to corroborate Fe-Si liquid immiscibility evident in melt inclusions at El Laco and present viscometry of Fe- and Si-rich melts to assess the time and length scales of immiscible liquid separation. Using a rock deformation model, we demonstrate that volcano collapse can form failure zones extending towards the edifice flanks along which the ore liquid ascends towards extrusion driven by vapour exsolution despite its high density. Our results support the proposed magmatic genesis for the El Laco deposits. Geochemical and textural similarities indicate magnetite-apatite deposits elsewhere form by similar processes.

Magma viscosity strongly controls the style (for example, explosive versus effusive) of a volcanic eruption and thus its hazard potential, but can only be measured during or after an eruption. The identification of precursors indicative of magma viscosity would enable forecasting of the eruption style and the scale of associated hazards1. The unanticipated May 2018 rift intrusion and eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i2 displayed exceptional chemical and thermal variability in erupted lavas, leading to unpredictable effusion rates and explosivity. Here, using an integrated analysis of seismicity and magma rheology, we show that the orientation of fault-plane solutions (which indicate a fault's orientation and sense of movement) for earthquakes preceding and accompanying the 2018 eruption indicate a 90-degree local stress-field rotation from background, a phenomenon previously observed only at high-viscosity eruptions3, and never before at Kīlauea4-8. Experimentally obtained viscosities for 2018 products and earlier lavas from the Pu'u 'Ō'ō vents tightly constrain the viscosity threshold required for local stress-field reorientation. We argue that rotated fault-plane solutions in earthquake swarms at Kīlauea and other volcanoes worldwide provide an early indication that unrest involves magma of heightened viscosity, and thus real-time monitoring of the orientations of fault-plane solutions could provide critical information about the style of an impending eruption. Furthermore, our results provide insight into the fundamental nature of coupled failure and flow in complex multiphase systems.

In this study we investigate what poetry written about volcanoes from the 1800s to the present day reveals about the relationship between volcanoes and the societies and times represented by poets who wrote about them, including how it evolved over that time frame. In order to address this research question, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of a selection of 34 English-language poems written about human–volcano interactions. Firstly, we identified the overall connotation of each poem. Then, we recognised specific emerging themes and grouped them in categories. Additionally, we performed a quantitative analysis of the frequency with which each category occurs throughout the decades of the dataset. This analysis reveals that a spiritual element is often present in poetry about volcanoes, transcending both the creative and destructive power that they exert. Furthermore, the human–volcano relationship is especially centred around the sense of identity that volcanoes provide to humans, which may follow from both positive and negative events. These results highlight the suitability of poetry as a means to explore the human perception of geologic phenomena. Additionally, our findings may be relevant to the definition of culturally appropriate communication strategies with communities living near active volcanoes.

Over 500 million people live in proximity of an active volcano globally. Although lava flows rarely endanger human life, they often destroy critical infrastructure. Advancing our understanding of lava flow dynamics is therefore critical to developing accurate hazard assessment, with key socio-economic impacts for many communities. This work focuses on basaltic lava rheology, which exerts a first-order control on flow dynamics and is reflected in lava morphology. In particular, I address the following research questions: (1) How does the rheology of active flows evolve during emplacement; and (2) How can we use flow morphology to infer the rheology of inactive flows? ... At Piton de La Fournaise (La R�union, FR DOM), I addressed the longstanding question of how pre-existing topography controls lava flow system structure in volume-limited flows (Soldati et al., accepted). I concluded that a steep slope results in a single, stable channel, whereas a gentle slope results in an unstable, braided channel. The findings of this study allow us to interpret and explain the observed flow structure on the basis of pre-existing volcano topography, and to forecast future flow structure. This allowed me to determine that rheology neither affects nor is affected by flow system configuration.

Ferrovolcanism, yet to be directly observed, is the most exotic and poorly understood predicted manifestation of planetary volcanism. Large-scale experiments carried out at the Syracuse Lava Project offer insight into the emplacement dynamics of metallic flows as well as coeval metallic and silicate flows. Here, we find that, under the same environmental conditions, higher-density/lower-viscosity metallic lava moves ten times faster than lower-density/higher-viscosity silicate lava. The overall morphology of the silicate flow is not significantly affected by the co-emplacement of a metallic flow. Rather, the metallic flow is largely decoupled from the silicate flow, occurring mainly in braided channels underneath the silicate flow and as low-relief breakouts from the silicate flow front. Turbulent interactions at the metallic-silicate flow interface result in mingling of the two liquids, preserved as erosional surfaces and sharp contacts. The results have important implications for the interpretation of possible ferrovolcanic landscapes across our solar system., Ferrovolcanism is a hypothetical form of planetary volcanism in which the erupted lava is metallic in composition. Here we show that ferrovolcanic lava is denser and less viscous than silicate lava, resulting in fast-moving, thin, braided flows.

An upper-crustal intrusive network in the 201.5 Ma, rift-related Central Atlantic Magmatic Province is exposed in the western Newark basin (PA, USA). Alpha-MELTS modeling was used to track magma ev...

International audience; Due to their generally low eruptive melt viscosities and concomitant high diffusivities of volatiles, basaltic magmas degas relatively efficiently. This relative efficiency, combined with variations in style, extent, timing and length scales of degassing govern the range of eruptive styles observed at basaltic volcanoes. The result is a surprising complexity of degassing regimes and products in basaltic volcanism. In particular, the transition between closed- and open-system degassing at low pressure at the percolation threshold may strongly affect the type of eruption. Here we aim to better understand degassing and gas percolation processes in basaltic magmas and their implications for eruptive style. Combining new and literature data, we present a database of vesicle metrics in basaltic rocks including vesicularity, vesicle number density, vesicle size distribution (and its polydispersivity), vesicle connectivity and permeability. We combine these textural and petrophysical data with a numerical model of percolation for systems having polydisperse vesicle size distributions. Using this model, we also evaluate different definitions of vesicle connectivity inherent to different measurement techniques. Our results show that polydispersivity exerts a strong control on the percolation threshold of basaltic magmas and consequently on eruptive style. Intermediate to highly polydisperse bubble networks are more typical of Hawaiian activity and are characterized by higher values of percolation threshold. This results in delayed coalescence and an increase in magma vesicularity hindering the formation of large decoupled and buoyant bubbles, which in turn can promote magma acceleration, fragmentation by inertia below the percolation threshold and sustained fountaining activity. Bubble populations with lower polydispersivity, typical of Strombolian eruptions, promote early coalescence prior to fragmentation, which in turn may lead to the formation of large decoupled slugs or gas pockets and/or plugs at the surface via outgassing. Further, we discuss the implications of our findings for Plinian, violent Strombolian, Surtseyan, deep submarine and effusive basaltic eruptions.

The 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption (LERZ) at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, was the largest event of the last 200 years at the LERZ. Here, we present a lava discharge rate estimation of this eruptio...

The dynamic effects of temperature and strain rate on rheology of crystal-bearing magma are investigated. We conducted high-temperature rheometry experiments in both isothermal and dynamic crystallization regimes and recovered textural data for the isothermal runs. We propose a framework for the parameterization of magma rheology, via an equation describing how the rheological cutoff temperature (the temperature at which magma stops flowing) varies as a function of cooling rate and strain rate. This equation may be used to inform rapid response in effusive crises. Cooling rate has the larger effect, with higher cooling rates yielding lower cutoff temperatures; higher strain rates yield higher cutoff temperatures. Textural analyses reveal differences in crystal aspect ratios, such that higher cooling rates produce only subequant crystals, whereas lower cooling rates also produce a second, higher aspect ratio crystal population. We identify this textural variation as the physical cause for the dependence of cutoff temperature on cooling rate. Plain language summary As lava cools, it crystallizes. Eventually, this crystallinity becomes so high that the lava can no longer advance. The temperature at which the crystals “lock up” the lava is called the “rheological cutoff temperature.” This depends, in principle, on the crystallization pathway, which is influenced by both the cooling rate and the strain rate of the lava flow. We conducted rheological experiments on 2018 Kilauea lavas along different crystallization pathways. We determined that higher cooling rates (5 °C/min) yield cooler cutoffs (983–1058 °C), and higher strain rates (8 s−1) yield hotter cutoffs (1058–1093 °C). Moreover, the cooling rate affects the cutoff temperature more than the strain rate. Through a complementary set of experiments, we found that the physical cause for the dependence of the cutoff temperature on the cooling rate is crystal aspect ratio (length/width). At any given crystallinity, crystals with a higher aspect ratio interact more, and lock at higher temperatures. Higher cooling rates produce only crystals with an aspect ratio of 1, whereas lower cooling rates produce higher aspect ratio crystals as well. Therefore, lava which has cooled more slowly, which crystallizes higher aspect ratio crystals, has a higher rheological cutoff temperature.

During the four month-long 2018 Kilauea Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption, the bulk chemical compositions of magma ranged from basalt to andesite. This compositional variety was reflected in eruptive style, which ranged from Hawaiian fountaining to Strombolian explosions. Here, we quantified the evolution of the melt viscosity of the eruptive products through high-temperature laboratory experiments performed on a representative sample set that was collected in the field immediately after the eruptive series. This suite of 18 samples comprises all major eruptive phases (early phase I, late phase I, phase II, phase III, fissure 17). The results illustrate the significant rheological variability of the eruptive products, and appear to link to variations in eruption dynamics. We propose a new standard for the rheological study of a multi-episode effusive eruption, whereby precise, near-real-time viscosity results are obtained during ongoing eruptions will become a routine component of volcano monitoring during future eruptive events. Plain language summary During the 2018 eruption of Kilauea, emerging magma spanned a wider compositional range than ever previously observed during a single eruption. This compositional diversity was matched by a variety in eruptive styles, which ranged from more persistent fountaining to short-lived explosions. Immediately after the eruption ceased, we collected a representative suite of 18 samples in the field, which comprises all major eruptive phases (early phase I, late phase I, phase II, phase III, fissure 17). We measured the melt viscosity of such samples through high-temperature laboratory experiments. The results illustrate a significant variability in viscosity, which is linked to the highly variable eruption dynamics. Here we propose a new standard for the study of multi-episode effusive eruptions from a viscosity standpoint. We hope and expect that this methodology will become routine practice during future eruption.

We present a rheological and morphological study of a Holocene lava flow emitted by a monogenetic cinder cone in the Cima Volcanic Field, eastern California. Our field observations focused on surface morphology, which transitions from smooth core extrusions near the vent to jagged ‘a’ā blocks over the majority of the flow, and on channel and levee dimensions. We collected airborne photogrammetry data and used it to generate a digital elevation model. From this, the total flow volume was estimated and surface roughness was quantified in terms of standard deviation of the real surface (5 cm resolution) from the software-generated 1 m-average plane. Sample textural analyses revealed that the near-vent portion of the flow is significantly more crystalline (ϕxtal = 0.95 ± 0.04) than the main flow body (ϕxtal = 0.66 ± 0.11). The rheology of Cima lavas was determined experimentally by concentric cylinder viscometry between 1550 °C and 1160 °C, including the first subliquidus rheology measurements for a continental intraplate trachybasaltic lava. The experimentally determined effective viscosity increases from 54 Pa·s to 1361 Pa·s during cooling from the liquidus (~ 1230 °C) to 1160 °C, where crystal fraction is 0.11. The lava viscosity over this range is still lower than most basaltic melts, due to the high alkali content of Cima lavas (~ 6 wt% Na2O + K2O). Monte Carlo simulations were used to account for and propagate experimental uncertainties, and to determine which rheological model (Bingham, power law, or Herschel-Bulkley) provides the best-fit of the obtained rheological data. Results suggest that Bingham and Herschel-Bulkley models are statistically indistinguishable from each other, and that both fit the data better than a power law model. By combining field observations and experimental results, we reconstructed the eruption temperature and few days-long emplacement history of the Cima flow.

Magnetite-apatite deposits are important sources of iron and other metals. A prominent example are the magnetite lavas at the El Laco volcano, Northern Chile. Their formation processes remain debated. Here, we test the genetic hypothesis that an Fe-rich melt separated from silicate magma and ascended along collapse-related fractures. We complement recent analyses with thermodynamic modelling to corroborate Fe-Si liquid immiscibility evident in melt inclusions at El Laco and present viscometry of Fe- and Si-rich melts to assess the time and length scales of immiscible liquid separation. Using a rock deformation model, we demonstrate that volcano collapse can form failure zones extending towards the edifice flanks along which the ore liquid ascends towards extrusion driven by vapour exsolution despite its high density. Our results support the proposed magmatic genesis for the El Laco deposits. Geochemical and textural similarities indicate magnetite-apatite deposits elsewhere form by similar processes.

In this study we investigate what poetry written about volcanoes from 1800 to the present day reveals about the relationship between humanity and volcanoes, including how it evolved over that time frame. In order to address this research question, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of a selection of 34 English-language poems written about the human-volcano interactions. Firstly, we identified the overall connotation of each poem. Then, we recognized specific emerging themes and grouped them in categories. Additionally, we performed a quantitative analysis of the frequency with which each category occurs throughout the decades of the dataset. This analysis reveals that a spiritual element is often present in poetry about volcanoes, transcending both the creative and destructive power that they exert. Furthermore, the human-volcano relationship is especially centred around the sense of identity that volcanoes provide to humans, which may follow from both positive and negative events. These results highlight the suitability of poetry as a means to explore the human perception of geologic phenomena. Additionally, our findings may be relevant to the definition of culturally appropriate communication strategies with communities living nearby active volcanoes.

Bubbles are known to have a dramatic effect on lava rheology, but their impact on lava flow run out distance has not been extensively investigated. To quantify bubble effects on basaltic lava flow emplacement, we conducted a series of large-scale two-phase (melt+bubbles) experiments at the Syracuse University Lava Project facility. In this study, nine basaltic lava flows with low to intermediate vesicle contents (approximately 3-24 vol%) were emplaced over gently sloping (4°-9°) dry sand surfaces. Their velocities were measured by particle image velocimetry, and their bulk viscosities were calculated using Jeffreys' equation. Comparison with melt-only viscosities (calculated through the GRD model) allowed the isolation of the effect of bubbles on the viscosity of the experimental flows. We find that within the investigated range of vesicularities, bubbles increase the relative viscosity of the experimental flows by up to an order of magnitude. The increase appears to be steeper for sheet flows than for lobate and toey flows. Our results, which quantitatively assess the effect of bubbles on the rheology of basaltic lava flows, will provide a basis for the refinement of models for multi-phase flows that are fundamental to accurately forecasting the emplacement of lava flows.

Viscoelastic strain in lava flows is commonly expressed as gravity-driven buckling of the lava crust. This surface folding process creates the well-known ropy pāhoehoe texture of basaltic lavas and the ogives and surface ridges of more compositionally evolved lava flows. Previous work has shown that surface fold wavelengths are proportional to the viscosity contrast between the lava crust and core, and to the thickness of the crust. Thus, fold analysis can be an important tool for understanding lava flow rheology. We analyze fold wavelength patterns of solidified natural lava flows from the Myvatn lava fields (Iceland), Piton de La Fournaise (La Reunion), and experimental lava flows from the Syracuse University Lava Project. In each case, lava flows exhibited two dominant wavelengths, consistent with multiple generations of coaxial folding. The ratio of the two dominant wavelengths for basalt (Iceland, La Reunion) is ~ 5:1 whereas the wavelength ratio for basaltic andesite (Syracuse) is ~ 3:1, suggesting a compositional control on deformation, as proposed by previous studies. Video analysis of incrementally folded Syracuse lava crusts reveals significant non-coaxial strain, which violates the assumptions of plane strain used in crustal buckling models. These results show that interpreting lava rheology from finite strain requires careful consideration of complex three-dimensional strain fields. Despite these complexities, the correlation between fold wavelength ratios and lava flow composition persists and may provide important insight into flow characterization.

co-auteur étranger; International audience; In this study, we examine the channel-fed ‘a‘ā lava flow system that was emplaced during a very short (less than 15 h long) eruptionat Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion) in December 2010. The system had four branches, the longest of which was 1100 m long.Three brancheswere emplaced over a smooth-surfaced pāhoehoe flow fieldwith a vertical relief of 1–2mand did not undergo burialby subsequent events. The fourth branch erupted from the same vent as the 1957 eruption and re-used the pre-existing channels ofthat eruption. In the proximal–medial sections of the three systems that were unconfined, we identified channelized flow sectionsthat were characterized by the presence of either a single channel or multiple braided channels. These fed short (30–260 m long)zones of dispersed flow in the distal sections. We subsequently investigated the role of lava rheology (as controlled by downflowvariations in crystal and bubble content) and pre-existing topography in triggering the transitions between single-channel andbraided channel flow sections. Crystal content was 10 to 70 vol% and vesicle content was 18 to 55 vol%; cooling rates overdistance (derived from glass chemistry) were 11 °C/km to 27 °C/km. However, downflow textural and thermal evolution appearedto neither affect, nor be affected by, whether the channel was single or braided. Instead, the channel network architecture could berelated to even modest underlying slope variations. Here, a slope increase resulted in channel confluence, and a slope decreaseresulted in channel bifurcation. This process was reversible, in that downflow slope variation could drive the channel networkarchitecture to switch back and forth between a single channel and multiple braided channels several times along its length.Dispersed flow is always present immediately behind the flow front, irrespective of underlying topography. Three previous studiesof basaltic lava flows found that steeper slopes favored braided channels, the opposite of what was observed here.We suggest thatthe underlying substrate and lava type may exert a control on this behavior, but further studies remain necessary.

Long-lived, persistently active lava lakes are rare but have been studied extensively because they may provide a natural laboratory for studying magmatic convection in basaltic and other low-viscosity volcanoes. However, lava lakes differ from other volcanic systems in various ways, particularly geometry: the presence of the lava lake requires a sudden and significant flaring of the conduit. The goal of this paper is to advance our understanding of the effect that a sudden increase in the conduit width has on the stability of large gas slugs and bubbles ascending from the plumbing system. We investigate this question by linking analog laboratory experiments to direct numerical simulations in two dimensions. We find that the rapid change in the geometry associated with the transition from the conduit to the lava lake causes large gas slugs to break up. The nondimensional regime over which we observe the breakup depends sensitively on the flare angle of the lava lake and the importance of inertial effects in the flow, implying that degassing-related eruptive activity at open-system volcanoes is sensitive to the upper conduit and lake geometries. Applying this idea to the likely geometries and viscosities of actual lava lakes, our study suggests that all lava lakes except Erebus fall well within the regime where large gas slugs are prone to breakup.

We present a rheological and morphological study of a Holocene lava flow emitted by a monogenetic cinder cone in the Cima Volcanic Field, eastern California. Our field observations focused on surface morphology, which transitions from smooth core extrusions near the vent to jagged ‘a’ā blocks over the majority of the flow, and on channel and levee dimensions. We collected airborne photogrammetry data and used it to generate a digital elevation model. From this, the total flow volume was estimated and surface roughness was quantified in terms of standard deviation of the real surface (5 cm resolution) from the software-generated 1 m-average plane. Sample textural analyses revealed that the near-vent portion of the flow is significantly more crystalline (ϕxtal = 0.95 ± 0.04) than the main flow body (ϕxtal = 0.66 ± 0.11). The rheology of Cima lavas was determined experimentally by concentric cylinder viscometry between 1550 °C and 1160 °C, including the first subliquidus rheology measurements for a continental intraplate trachybasaltic lava. The experimentally determined effective viscosity increases from 54 Pa·s to 1361 Pa·s during cooling from the liquidus (~ 1230 °C) to 1160 °C, where crystal fraction is 0.11. The lava viscosity over this range is still lower than most basaltic melts, due to the high alkali content of Cima lavas (~ 6 wt% Na2O + K2O). Monte Carlo simulations were used to account for and propagate experimental uncertainties, and to determine which rheological model (Bingham, power law, or Herschel-Bulkley) provides the best-fit of the obtained rheological data. Results suggest that Bingham and Herschel-Bulkley models are statistically indistinguishable from each other, and that both fit the data better than a power law model. By combining field observations and experimental results, we reconstructed the eruption temperature and few days-long emplacement history of the Cima flow.

We estimated the rheology of an active basaltic lava flow in the field, and compared it with experimental measurements carried out in the laboratory. In the field we mapped, sampled, and recorded videos of the 2014 flow on the southern flank of Pacaya, Guatemala. Velocimetry data extracted from videos allowed us to determine that lava traveled at ∼2.8 m/s on the steep ∼45° slope 50 m from the vent, while 550 m further downflow it was moving at only ∼0.3 m/s on a ∼4° slope. Estimates of effective viscosity based on Jeffreys’ equation increased from ∼7600 Pa s near the vent to ∼28,000 Pa s downflow. In the laboratory, we measured the viscosity of a representative lava composition using a concentric cylinder viscometer, at five different temperatures between 1234 and 1199 °C, with crystallinity increasing from 0.1 to 40 vol%. The rheological data were best fit by power law equations, with the flow index decreasing as crystal fraction increased, and no detectable yield strength. Although field-based estimates are based on lava characterized by a lower temperature, higher crystal and bubble fraction, and with a more complex petrographic texture, field estimates and laboratory measurements are mutually consistent and both indicate shear-thinning behavior. The complementary field and laboratory data sets allowed us to isolate the effects of different factors in determining the rheological evolution of the 2014 Pacaya flows. We assess the contributions of cooling, crystallization, and changing ground slope to the 3.7-fold increase in effective viscosity observed in the field over 550 m, and conclude that decreasing slope is the single most important factor over that distance. It follows that the complex relations between slope, flow velocity, and non-Newtonian lava rheology need to be incorporated into models of lava flow emplacement.