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Basaltic volcanoes can remain active for tens to thousands of years with the continual presence of magma, requiring storage and transport conditions that can sustain persistently eruptible melt. Magma storage conditions beneath these volcanoes may significantly change with time, leading to sudden and dramatic changes in explosivity. Determining the rates and causes of these changes and how they modulate eruptive style over societally relevant timescales is of paramount importance for evaluating potential hazards. In June-August 2019, one major explosion and two paroxysms occurred at Stromboli volcano (Southern Italy) within only 64 days offering a unique opportunity to study the short-term variations in a basaltic plumbing system that can lead to paroxysmal events.Stromboli is an active open conduit basaltic volcano well-known for its persistent mild (normal) Strombolian activity occasionally interrupted by sudden, short-lived events ranging in size and intensity from major (violent Strombolian) to paroxysmal explosions. Strombolian activity, effusive eruptions and major explosions, all involve a degassed, highly porphyritic (hp) magma from a shallow reservoir. Deep-seated more mafic and, volatile-rich low-porphyritic (lp) magma is erupted, alongside hp-magma, during paroxysms, and in smaller quantities during some of the major explosions. Both lp- and hp-magmas were erupted during the 3 July and 28 August 2019 paroxysms, whereas only hp-magma was erupted during the major explosion on 25 June 2019.Via a multifaceted approach using clinopyroxene from the summer 2019 paroxysms, we reveal a key role for batches of volatile-rich lp-magma recharge arriving in the shallow reservoir up to a few days before these events. Our data indicate a rejuvenated Stromboli plumbing system where the extant crystal mush is efficiently permeated by recharge lp-magma with minimum remobilisation promoting a direct linkage between the deeper (lp) and shallow (hp) reservoirs. This sustains the current variability of eruptive styles with near immediate eruptive response to mafic magma recharge. The remarkable agreement between our calculated recharge timescales and the observed variation in time of various monitoring signals strongly supports such a model.Our approach provides vital insights into magma dynamics and their effects on monitoring signals demonstrating that detailed petrological studies integrated with volcano monitoring signals are fundamental for a fast response during a volcanic unrest phase or crisis.This work has been published in Nature Communication: Petrone, C.M., Mollo, S., Gertisser, R. et al. Magma recharge and mush rejuvenation drive paroxysmal activity at Stromboli volcano. Nat Commun 13, 7717 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35405-z.

Understanding lava flow dynamics during major effusive events is of paramount importance in volcanic areas characterized by a high risk of lava invasion. Mount Etna volcano (Sicily, Italy) has a long history of eruptions characterized by the emplacement of kilometer-wide lava fields, which have often reached the distal parts of the volcanic edifice, nowadays the location of numerous population centers. The 1669 eruption was one of the volcano’s most important events in historic times due to the low altitude of the eruptive vent and the high volume of emitted products (607 ± 105 × 106 m3), with lava flows that destroyed numerous villages located along their path. The flows reached the city of Catania, at a distance of >16 km from the emission point. In this work, we investigate the products of the 1669 eruption through geochemical, mineralogical, 2D and 3D textural analyses with the aim of reconstructing the degassing, crystallization and rheological history of the magma and lavas in pre- to post-eruptive conditions. Combining geothermobarometric and hygrometric models allowed us to estimate magmatic water content (4.1 wt.%) before the eruption, whereas the syn-eruptive crystal content (10 vol.% at the onset of flowing) was retrieved through the textural analysis of pyroclasts sampled from the near-vent fallout. Finally, crystallization and degassing occurring at surface conditions were reconstructed using the textural and mineralogical analysis of lavas. Results were integrated in a three-phase (melt + crystal + bubble) rheological model indicating that lava viscosity, at the onset of the eruption, was low enough (

A review of northern Victoria Land ultramafic xenoliths, collected and studied over more than 30 years, was carried out. More than 200 samples were gathered and characterized in a coherent and comparative manner, both for mantle-derived and cumulate xenoliths. Almost 2000 analyses of major elements and more than 300 analyses of trace elements of in situ and separated olivine, pyroxenes, amphibole, spinel and glass were taken into consideration. Particular attention was devoted to mantle lithologies in order to emphasize the composition and the evolution of this portion of the subcontinental lithosphere. The three main localities in northern Victoria Land where mantle xenoliths were found (i.e. Mount Melbourne (Baker Rocks), Greene Point and Handler Ridge), over a >200 km distance, were described and compared with ultramafic xenoliths in three other localities (Harrow Peaks, Browning Pass and Mount Overlord) that are mainly cumulate in nature. Altogether, these data enabled us to reconstruct a long evolutionary history, from old depletion to most recent refertilization and metasomatic events, for this large sector of the northern Victoria Land subcontinental lithospheric mantle.

Mt. Etna features an articulated plumbing system characterized by a central open-conduit, culminating with the persistent degassing summit craters, three rift-related lateral systems (S-Rift, NE Rift and W Rift) and the eccentric feeding system, characterized by disperse monogenetic cones.In the last twenty years, most the eruptive activity occurred at the summit central craters and by consequence most of the recent petrological studies focused on the parametrization of the central open-conduit system. In this study, we move the focus to the NE Rift system, whose last activity dates back to the 2002-2003 eruption. Rift-related events are potentially more dangerous since they are often accompanied by energetic precursor seismicity and increase the probability of lava effusion at low altitude where towns and infrastructures are concentrated. Samples from this last eruption were examined and the new chemical data integrated with a comprehensive whole rock and mineral chemistry dataset from pre-historical and historical events.Textural observations of the NE Rift products highlight a greater variability compared to magmas erupted from the central craters, in spite of a comparable mineral assemblage made of Ol, Cpx, Plg and Ti-Mt. High and low porphyritic lavas coexist in the same event and appear frequently mingled. Similarly, whole-rock composition varies from hawaiite-trachybasalt to benmoreite, in contrast with the rather homogenous trachybasaltic composition of magmas erupted from the central craters. Plagioclase phenocrysts show partially resorbed rims associated with an increase in An content or alternatively, alignments of melt inclusions near the crystal rim, related to a decrease in An content.Thermo-barometric estimates based on Ol-Liq and Cpx-liq equilibria suggest that most of Ol and Cpx phenocrysts equilibrated at temperature comprised between 1140 to 1000 °C and pressure ranging from 10 to 2 Kbar, with a remarkably higher DT/DP with respect to magmas erupted at the central craters. This suggests a magma crustal ponding zone between 4 and 2 kbar. These results have been integrated by thermodynamic modelling through the energy-constrained model Magma Chamber Simulator able to compute the evolution of the magma via fractional crystallization in a polybaric and polythermal volcanic plumbing system. Results highlights that fractionation occur along the Ol-Cpx-Plag liquid line of descent in a range of pressure equivalent to those determined by the crystal-melt geobarometry.

The investigation of the role played by CO2 circulating within the mantle during partial melting and metasomatic/refertilization processes, together with a re-consideration of its storage capability and re-cycling in the lithospheric mantle, is crucial to unravel the Earth's main geodynamic processes. In this study, the combination of petrology, CO2 content trapped in bulk rock- and mineral-hosted fluid inclusions (FI), and 3D textural and volumetric characterization of intra- and inter-granular microstructures was used to investigate the extent and modality of CO2 storage in depleted and fertile (or refertilized) Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) beneath northern Victoria Land (NVL, Antarctica). Prior to xenoliths entrainment by the host basalt, the Antarctic SCLM may have stored 0.2 vol% melt and 1.1 vol% fluids, mostly as FI trails inside mineral phases but also as inter-granular fluids. The amount of CO2 stored in FI varies from 0.1 μg(CO2)/g(sample) in olivine from the anhydrous mantle xenoliths at Greene Point and Handler Ridge, up to 187.3 μg/g in orthopyroxene from the highly metasomatized amphibole-bearing lherzolites at Baker Rocks, while the corresponding bulk CO2 contents range from 0.3 to 57.2 μg/g. Irrespective of the lithology, CO2 partitioning is favoured in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene-hosted FI (olivine: orthopyroxene = 0.10 ± 0.06 to 0.26 ± 0.09; olivine: clinopyroxene = 0.10 ± 0.05 to 0.27 ± 0.14). The H2O/(H2O + CO2) molar ratios obtained by comparing the CO2 contents of FI to the H2O amount retained in pyroxene lattices vary between 0.72 ± 0.17 and 0.97 ± 0.03, which is well comparable with the values measured in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Antarctic primary lavas and assumed as representative of the partition of volatiles at the local mantle conditions. From the relationships between mineral chemistry, thermo-, oxy-barometric results and CO2 contents in mantle xenoliths, we speculate that relicts of CO2-depleted mantle are present at Greene Point, representing memory of a CO2-poor tholeiitic refertilization related to the development of the Jurassic Ferrar large magmatic event. On the other hand, a massive mobilization of CO2 took place before the (melt-related) formation of amphibole veins during the alkaline metasomatic event associated with the Cenozoic rift-related magmatism, in response to the storage and recycling of CO2-bearing materials into the Antarctica mantle likely induced by the prolonged Ross subduction.

The concomitant activation off all four summit craters of Mt. Etna during the December 2015 eruptive event allow us to investigate the chemical-physical crystallization conditions and magma dynamics in the shallower portion of the open-conduit feeding system. In this study, we discuss new petrological, geochemical and thermo-barometric data as well as the composition of major element and volatile content (H2O, CO2, F, Cl and S) of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the explosive and effusive products emitted during the December 2015 eruptive event.Results and rhyolite-MELTS thermodynamic modelling of mineral phase stability highlight the relatively shallow crystal equilibrium depth prior to the eruption ranging from 400-500 MPa for Central Crater and North East Crater, up to 200 MPa below the New South East Crater. The study of high-pressure and high-temperature homogenized olivine-hosted melt inclusions allowed us to identify the composition of the almost primary alkali-basalt magma (11.8 wt% MgO) containing up to 4.9 wt% and 8151 ppm of H2O and CO2 respectively. The results, together with those already reported for the previous paroxystic events of the 2011-2012 (Giacomoni et al., 2018), reinforce the model of a vertically extended feeding system and highlight that the activity at the New South East Crater was fed by a magma residing at significant shallower depth with respect to Central Craters and North East Crater, although all conduits are fed by a common deep (P = 530-440 MPa) basic magmatic refilling. Plagioclase stability model and dissolution and resorption textures confirm its dependence on H2O content, thus suggesting that further studies on the effect that flushing from fluids with different H2O/CO2 ratio are needed in order to understand the eruption triggering mechanisms of paroxystic fountaining. ReferencesGiacomoni P., Coltorti M., Mollo S., Ferlito C., Braiato M., Scarlato P. 2018. The 2011-2012 paroxysmal eruptions at Mt. Etna volcano: Insights on the vertically zoned plumbing system. JVGR 349, 370-391.

The Mid-Triassic emplacement of shoshonitic magmas at the NE margin of the Adria plate in concomitance with extensional/transtensional tectonics is one of the most intriguing and peculiar aspects typifying the geodynamic evolution of the Western Tethyan realm. Although often hypothesized, the link between this magmatic event and the metasomatised Southern Alps Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) has never been constrained.Geochemical and petrological analyses of lavas, dykes and ultramafic cumulates belonging to the shoshonitic magmatism of the Dolomites, coupled with pre-existing data on peridotite massifs (i.e. Finero, Balmuccia, Baldissero), were used to reconstruct the evolution of the Southern Alps SCLM between Carboniferous and Triassic. According to our model, a metasomatised amphibole + phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite, similar to the Finero phlogopite peridotite and likely generated by interaction between a depleted mantle and slab-derived components during the Variscan subduction, was able to produce magmas with orogenic-like affinity during Mid-Triassic. In this context, partial melting degrees of ca. 5-7% were required for producing primitive SiO2-saturated to -undersaturated melts with shoshonitic affinity (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7032-0.7058; 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51219-0.51235; Mg #~ 70; ~1.1 wt% H2O). As testified by the H2O content in mineral phases from the Finero phlogopite peridotite (Tommasi et al., 2017), the modelled Mid-Triassic fertile lithospheric mantle could have been able to preserve a significant enrichment and volatile content (600-800 ppm H2O) for more than 50 Ma, i.e. since the Variscan subduction-related metasomatism. During the Mid-Triassic partial melting event, the modelled Finero-like mantle exhausted the subduction-related signature inherited during the Variscan subduction. Around 20 Ma later, the same lithosphere portion was affected by an asthenospheric upwelling event related to the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic opening of the Alpine Tethys (Casetta et al., 2019).Casetta, F., Ickert, R.B., Mark, D.F., Bonadiman, C., Giacomoni, P.P., Ntaflos, T., Coltorti, M., 2019. The alkaline lamprophyres of the Dolomitic Area (Southern Alps, Italy): markers of the Late Triassic change from orogenic-like to anorogenic magmatism. Journal of Petrology 60(6), 1263-1298.Tommasi, A., Langone, A., Padrón-Navarta, J.A., Zanetti, A., Vauchez, A., 2017. Hydrous melts weaken the mantle, crystallization of pargasite and phlogopite does not: Insights from a petrostructural study of the Finero peridotites, Southern Alps. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 477, 59-72.

Zoned crystals play a fundamental role in modern volcanology as a key to unravel the geometry and the dynamics of plumbing systems. Ancient volcano-plutonic complexes, nowadays exposed at the surface, can sometimes preserve textural-chemical record of such dynamics inside their constituting mineral phases. This is the case of the Cima Pape Middle Triassic complex (Dolomites, Southern Alps), which is composed by a 50 to 300 metres thick gabbroic to monzodioritic sill overlaid by basaltic to trachyandesitic volcanites with high Porphyricity Index (P.I. 43-48 %).Volcanites contain a large number of concentric-zoned clinopyroxenes, while intrusive rocks are mostly made up of homogeneous and unzoned crystals. In volcanites, the typical clinopyroxene zoning pattern consists of one or more high-Mg# and high Cr2O3 bands (Mg# 84-91; Cr2O3 up to 1.2 wt%) with variable thickness, formed between cores and rims with relatively lower Mg# and Cr contents (Mg# 70-77; Cr2O3 N from 1.3 to 2.1. Thermobarometric calculations reveal that the high-Mg# bands were in equilibrium with a more primitive, hotter and more H2O depleted melt (Mg# = 65-70; T = 1130-1150°C; H2O = 2.1-2.6 wt%) than cores and rims, which likely formed in a colder, H2O-rich evolved melt (Mg# = 43-45; T = 1035-1075°C; H2O = 2.6-3.8 wt%). According to our model, a first crystallization stage in a high crystallinity (P.I. almost 50%) “mush-type” system led to the formation of low-Mg# clinopyroxenes (Mg# 70-77) at P of 2-4 kbar. The ascent of one or multiple pulses of primitive, hot, and H2O-poor basaltic magmas (Casetta et al., 2020) in the shallower portions of the plumbing system led to the formation of the high-Mg# bands. Later on, re-equilibration of clinopyroxene with the post-mixing melt system resulted in the formation of the low-Mg# rims. Cima Pape products have many textural-chemical similarities with those reported at the active Stromboli volcano, suggesting that they were formed through similar dynamics at comparable T-P conditions (Petrone et al., 2018; Di Stefano et al., 2020). The peculiarity of clinopyroxene texture in Cima Pape rocks allowed us to study the processes occurred in the plumbing system beneath an ancient volcano and offered the opportunity to test the approaches/models currently adopted for active systems. Casetta, F., et al., 2020. The Variscan subduction inheritance in the Southern Alps Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle: Clues from the Middle Triassic shoshonitic magmatism of the Dolomites (NE Italy). Lithos, 105856.Di Stefano, F., et al., 2020. Mush cannibalism and disruption recorded by clinopyroxene phenocrysts at Stromboli volcano: New insights from recent 2003–2017 activity. Lithos, 360–361.Petrone, C. M., et al., 2018. Rapid mixing and short storage timescale in the magma dynamics of a steady-state volcano. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 492, 206–221.

The growth of Mount Etna volcano reflects the superimposition of various eruptive centers, the most voluminous of which is the Ellittico, whose stratigraphic sequence is well exposed on the steep walls of Valle del Bove. The uppermost levels of the sequence have been sampled and investigated through a new set of geochemical data on mineral phases and bulk rock. Sampled rocks display a marked bimodality with aphyric banded trachyandesites, which are some of the most evolved and rare products of the entire Etnean succession (SiO2 58–60 wt.%), intercalated in plagioclase rich porphyritic mugearites (SiO2 49–50 wt.%, P.I. 35–40). In this paper, we provide a detailed textural, mineralogical, and chemical characterization of these products, providing a new interpretative model for their genesis and significance in the context of the Etnean system. Our approach discusses, in a critical way, the “classic” fractional crystallization model of magmas, not supported by field evidence, and proposes a novel hypothesis in which the aphyric-banded trachyandesites represent be the primary products of a gas-induced partial melting of hypabyssal sills and dykes. This hypothesis represents a step towards a comprehensive description of igneous systems that takes into account not exclusively the evolution of basaltic melts, but also the role of volatile contributions in governing volcanic behavior.

Although often speculated, the link between the Middle Triassic shoshonitic magmatism at the NE margin of the Adria plate and the subduction-related metasomatism of the Southern Alps Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) has never been constrained. In this paper, a detailed geochemical and petrological characterization of the lavas, dykes and ultramafic cumulates belonging to the shoshonitic magmatic event that shaped the Dolomites (Southern Alps) was used to model the composition and evolution of the underlying SCLM in the time comprised between the Variscan subduction and the opening of the Alpine Tethys. Geochemical models and numerical simulations enabled us to define that 5–7% partial melting of an amphibole + phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite, similar to the Finero phlogopite peridotite, can account for the composition of the primitive Mid-Triassic SiO2-saturated to -undersaturated melts with shoshonitic affinity (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7032–0.7058; 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51219–0.51235; Mg # ~ 70; ~1.1 wt% H2O). By taking into account the H2O content documented in mineral phases from the Finero phlogopite peridotite, it is suggested that the Mid-Triassic SCLM source was able to preserve a significant enrichment and volatile content (600–800 ppm H2O) for more than 50 Ma, i.e. since the slab-related metasomatism connected to the Variscan subduction. The partial melting of a Finero-like SCLM represents the exhaustion of the subduction-related signature in the Southern Alps lithosphere that predated the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic asthenospheric upwelling related to the opening of the Alpine Tethys.

The petrological study of volcanic products emitted during the paroxysmal events of December 2015 from the summit craters of Mount Etna allow us to constrain T-P-XH2O phase stability, crystallization conditions, and mixing processes along the main open-conduit feeding system. In this study, we discuss new geochemical, thermo-barometric data and related Rhyolite-MELTS modelling of the eruptive activity that involved the concomitant activation of all summit craters. The results, in comparison with the previous paroxysmal events of the 2011–2012, reinforce the model of a vertically extended feeding system and highlight that the activity at the New South-East Crater was fed by magma residing at a significantly shallower depth with respect to the Central Craters (CC) and North-East Crater (NEC), even if all conduits were fed by a common deep (P = 530–440 MPa) basic magmatic input. Plagioclase dissolution, resorption textures, and the Rhyolite-MELTS stability model corroborate its dependence on H2O content; thus, suggesting that further studies on the effect that flushing from fluids with different H2O/CO2 ratio are needed to understand the eruption-triggering mechanisms for high energetic strombolian paroxysmal episodes.

Mt. Etna is one of the most protrusive features of the eastern coastline of Sicily, Italy. As Europe’s most active volcano it has been studied extensively to reveal its geodynamic setting, plumbing system and due to the constant monitoring of the volcano edifice the prediction of the risk future events is sophisticated at Mt. Etna. The eruptive activity has been divided according to the age into 6 stages: (1) “Tholeiitic Stage”, was active between 600-320 ka ago, (2) the “Timpe Stage” between 220 and 110 ka ago, (3) the “Ancient Alcaline Volcanism” between 110 and 65 ka ago and (4) the “Ellittico Stage” between 57 and 15 ka ago (5) the “Mongibello Stage” from 15 ka ago until 1971 and (6) the “post -1971 Stage” active since 1971 (Casetta et al., 2019). The lava propagating through the Etnean plumbing system generated a complex network consisting of sills and dykes responsible for the formation of the summit craters and a plethora of eccentric cones that cover the flanks of the volcano. We studied using whole rock and mineral analyses the lavas from three eccentric cones (Monte Maletto, Monte Nuovo and Monte Frumento) and the 2001 eruption on the south flank from the main crater. All lavas are characterized by trachytic texture with variable modal composition of olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase phenocrysts. The Monte Maletto whole rock composition with an Mg# ranging between 56-58 and a CaO content of 12.0 wt% are the most primitive lavas among the sampled outcrops whereas the Monte Frumento lavas are the most evolved since the Mg# ranges from 43 to 46 and the CaO content from 9.5 to 10.8 wt%. Both, Monte Nuovo and 2001 eruption are more evolved than the Monte Maletto since they have Mg# ~ 50 and 51.5-52.9 respectively. The CaO concentration in both outcrops is relatively constant ranging from 9.8 to 10.7 wt%. The olivine compositions follow the same trend as their whole rocks. The most MgO-rich olivine (Fo=87.5 %) found in the Monte Maletto lavas. This olivine is of magmatic origin and cannot be considered as mantle derived xenocryst since the NiO content is low (NiO=0.16 wt%) and the CaO-content high (CaO=0.22 wt%). The most evolved lavas from Monte Frumente have the lowest Fo-content (Fo=64-68 %). Olivine from both, Monte Nuovo and 2001 eruption have a characteristic inverse zonation with Fo-content in the core ranging from 69.9 to 75 and in the rim from 78.2 to 81.7 respectively. In conclusion, the Monte Maletto lavas represent the most primitive magma formed at high temperatures (skeletal growing of the olivine) and the Monte Frumento lavas the most evolved magma. The Monte Nuovo and 2001 eruption experienced magma mixing as inferred from the olivine inverse zonation. Monte Nuovo can be considered a flank eruption of lava deviated from the central conduit rather than an eccentric cone. Casetta, Federico, et al. "The evolution of the mantle source beneath Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy): from the 600 ka tholeiites to the recent trachybasaltic magmas." International Geology Review (2019): 1-22.

Mt. Etna is one of the most protrusive features of the eastern coastline of Sicily, Italy. As Europe’s most active volcano it has been studied extensively to reveal its geodynamic setting, plumbing system and due to the constant monitoring of the volcano edifice the prediction of the risk future events is sophisticated at Mt. Etna.The eruptive activity has been divided according to the age into 6 stages: (1) “Tholeiitic Stage”, was active between 600-320 ka ago, (2) the “Timpe Stage” between 220 and 110 ka ago, (3) the “Ancient Alcaline Volcanism” between 110 and 65 ka ago and (4) the “Ellittico Stage” between 57 and 15 ka ago (5) the “Mongibello Stage” from 15 ka ago until 1971 and (6) the “post -1971 Stage” active since 1971 (Casetta et al., 2019).The lava propagating through the Etnean plumbing system generated a complex network consisting of sills and dykes responsible for the formation of the summit craters and a plethora of eccentric cones that cover the flanks of the volcano.We studied whole rock and mineral chemistry of the lavas from three eccentric cones (Monte Spagnolo, Monte Fiori and Monte Rossi) and the 2002/2003 southern flank lava flow. All lavas are characterized by trachytic texture with variable modal composition of olivine, clinopyroxene and plagioclase phenocrysts. Euhedral and skeletal olivine phenocrysts can be distinguished into three main groups; a) normal zoning, b) inverse zoning, and c) patchy appearance with melt inclusions of andesitic and trachytic composition. The Monte Spagnolo whole rock composition has an Mg# ranging between 52-54 and 10.7 wt% CaO , being are the most primitive lavas among the sampled outcrops whereas the Monte De Fiore lavas are the most evolved since the Mg# ranges from 48.6 to 49.2 and the CaO content from 11 to 11.2 wt%. Both, Monti Rossi and the 2002/2003 lava flow are more evolved than the Monte Spagnolo since they have Mg# ~ 50 and 49-49.3 respectively. The CaO concentration in both outcrops is relatively constant ranging around 10.5 wt%.The olivine compositions follow the same trend as their whole rocks. The most MgO-rich olivine (Fo=88.9 %) was found in the Monte Spagnolo lavas. This olivine is of magmatic origin and cannot be considered as mantle derived xenocryst since the NiO content is low (NiO=0.17 – 0.2 wt%) and the CaO-content high (CaO=0.24 – 0.26 wt%). The most evolved lavas from Monte De Fiore have the lowest Fo-content (Fo=75 - 78 %). Olivine from all samples has a characteristic inverse zonation with, at Monti Rossi and 2002/2003 lava flow, Fo-content in the core ranging from 69% to 75% and in the rim from 77% to 80% respectively.In conclusion, the studied eccentric cones show extensive magma mixing as can be inferred from the olivine inverse zoning. Monte Spagnolo lavas represent the most primitive magma formed at high temperatures (olivine skeletal growing) and the Monte De Fiore lavas the most evolved magma. Casetta et al., 2019. International Geology Review, DOI: 10.1080/00206814.2019.1610979

Ancient volcano-plutonic complexes can record the evolution of single- or multi-pulse plumbing systems and thus can be used as proxy to investigate the magma dynamics beneath active volcanoes. The exceptional state of conservation of the Middle Triassic Cima Pape complex (Dolomitic Area, Southern Alps) makes it an ideal snapshot of a ~238 Ma old feeding system of a dominantly effusive volcano. It is composed of a 50 to 300 metres thick gabbroic to monzodioritic sill intruded in the sedimentary cover and overlaid by its volcanic counterpart, made up of basaltic to trachyandesitic lavas and pillow breccias. A detailed investigation of the textural and compositional features of clinopyroxene phenocrysts in the volcanites revealed that complex dynamic processes took place in the feeding system beneath the Cima Pape “volcano”. Although some crystals have normal homogeneous or simple-zoned texture, with Mg# [MgO/(MgO+FeOtot) mol%] ranging between 71 and 77 (type 1 clinopyroxene), the great majority of them is typified by a peculiar texture, characterized by the occurrence of intermediate high-Mg# (80-84, up to 90), high-Cr2O3 (up to 1.0 wt%) and low-TiO2 (down to 0.1 wt%) bands (type 2 clinopyroxene). These overgrowths, crystallized between low-Mg# cores and rims, likely indicate that the feeding system was affected by frequent mixing between mafic inputs and differentiated batches. An overview of the main textural/geochemical features of clinopyroxene in effusive and intrusive products was put forward in the present study to reconstruct the main chemico-physical parameters and evolution of the feeding systems beneath the Middle Triassic volcanoes of the Dolomitic Area. Afterwards, these results will be used to advance some speculations about the processes recorded by clinopyroxene crystals in lava flows from active volcanoes, such as Stromboli and/or Mt. Etna.

Steady-state volcanic activity implies equilibrium between the rate of magma replenishment and eruption of compositionally homogeneous magmas, lasting for tens to thousands of years in an open conduit system. The Present-day activity of Stromboli volcano (Aeolian Islands, Southern Italy) has long been recognised as typical of a steady-state volcano, with a shallow magmatic reservoir (highly porphyritic or hp-magma) continuously refilled by more mafic magma (with low phenocryst content or lp-magma) at a constant rate and accompanied by mixing, crystallisation and eruption. The lp-magma is erupted only during more violent explosive events (paroxysms), which usually occur at intervals of a few years. However, the two most recent paroxysms occurred at very short timescales on 3 July and 28 August 2019 offering the unique opportunity of obtaining crucial information on the current magma dynamics of Stromboli.Albeit the plumbing system shows such uniformity, clinopyroxene phenocrysts exhibit marked chemical heterogeneities and complex textures caused by continuous lp-hp magma mixing as well as antecryst recycling from different mush portions. The compositional zoning in clinopyroxene provides essential information on pre-eruptive magma dynamics, indicating multi-stage crystallization across the lp-hp-reservoirs, where diopsidic compositions are markers of more primitive, high-T magmas injecting into shallow, low-T domains of the plumbing system. By comparing clinopyroxene texture, chemistry and residence times from the Present-day eruptions with the previous Post-Pizzo activity, we conclude that a distinct phase in the life of Stromboli volcano commenced after the violent 2003 paroxysm. Our observations suggest there are more efficient mechanisms of mush disruption and cannibalization, in which old diopsidic antecrysts are continuously remobilized and transported by the lp-magmas permeating the mush. The disappearance of diopsidic recharge bands within augitic overgrowths indicates that over time, magmatic injections feeding the persistent Present-day activity are more intensively mixed and homogenized prior to eruption.

The petrologic study of olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MIs) from alkaline primary Cenozoic basalts of Northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) provide new insights on the role of volatiles in the onset of rift-related magmatism. The concentration of volatile species (H2O, CO2, F, Cl) have been determined by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) on a selection of MIs which have been previously re-homogenized at high pressure and temperature conditions in order to avoid any heterogeneity and reducing the H diffusion. The least differentiated MIs vary in composition from basanitic to alkaline basalts, analogously to what is found in McMurdo volcanics, while their volatile concentrations reach up to 2.64 wt% H2O, 3900 ppm CO2, 1377 ppm F and 1336 Cl. Taking into account the most undegassed MIs a H2O/(H2O+CO2) ratio equal to 0.88 was determined, which in turn brings the CO2 content in the basanitic melt with the highest water content up to 8800 ppm.Major and trace element melting modelling indicate that basanite and alkali basalt composition can be reproduced by 3 and 7% of partial melting of an amphibole-bearing spinel lherzolite respectively. Assuming a perfect incompatible behavior for H2O and CO2 these melting proportions allow to constrain the water and CO2 contents in the mantle source in the range 780-840 and 264-273 ppm respectively. The resulting CO2/Nb, CO2/Ba and H2O/Ce ratio are lower than those estimated for Depleted MORB Mantle (DMM), suggesting that the NVL Cenozoic alkaline magmatism could be originated by an enriched mantle source composed by a range from 70% to 60% of Enriched Mantle (EM) and from 30% to 40% of Depleted Morb Mantle (DMM).A global comparison of fluid-related, highly incompatible and immobile/low incompatible elements such as Li, K, Cl, Ba, Nb, Dy and Yb allow to put forward that the prolonged (~500 to 100 Ma) Ross subduction event played a fundamental role in providing the volatile budget into the lithospheric mantle before the onset of the Cenozoic continental rifting.

Santorini volcanic complex (Greece) is the result of a long evolutionary history, marked by the alternation of explosive (Plinian) eruptions and interplinian low explosive/effusive eruptive cycles. Products emitted during the interplinian stages are well exposed along the rim of the calderic structure formed during the major Minoan (3.6 ka) Plinian eruption. We conducted a systematic sampling of the basaltic to dacitic lavas erupted by the interplinian volcanic centre of Skaros, active between 67 and 54 ka. The continuously exposed products of the Skaros lifecycle offer the tremendous opportunity to reconstruct the petrological evolution of the volcanic centre, and in turn to provide new insights on the behaviour of Santorini feeding system during interplinian stages. The combination of whole-rock, mineral chemistry and synchrotron X-ray computed microtomography analyses enabled us to decipher the main physico-chemical parameters of the Skaros plumbing system that drove ascent and differentiation processes of magmas. Results indicate that the main magma ponding zone beneath Skaros centre extended from 12 to 4 km b.s.l., where it underwent frequent refilling by basaltic melts. In the later evolutionary stage of the Skaros system, the basaltic replenishment became less frequent allowing the ultimate differentiation of magma towards dacitic composition. The shallow nature of the magma ponding zone, sited well above the H2O saturation depth, favoured the continuous degassing and inhibited the increase of vapor pressure during differentiation, preventing the onset of explosive eruptions, as in case of the major explosive events at Santorini.

The appearance of alkali- and volatile-rich melts often marks the opening of major magmatic cycles, always reflecting the partial melting of heterogeneously enriched mantle domains. In these cases the study of highly alkaline, H2O-CO2-rich magmatic pulses provide important insights on the composition and behavior of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) prior to rift initiation. The camptonitic dykes cropping out at Predazzo (Dolomitic Area, NE Italy) are among the oldest examples of lamprophyric rocks in Italy, and were historically related to the orogenic-like Middle Triassic magmatism of the Southern Alps. A detailed petrological, geochemical and geochronological characterization of these rocks was developed to frame them inside the articulated geodynamic evolution of the Southern Alps domain during Triassic. Whole-rock and mineral phase geochemistry, together with 40Ar/39Ar data showed that Predazzo lamprophyres represent an alkaline-carbonatitic magmatic event temporally isolated (~220 Ma) from the major Ladinian orogenic-like magmatism of the Southern Alps (~238 Ma). Lamprophyres can thus be attributed to the volumetrically limited alkaline magmatic phase that infiltrated several portions of the Southern Alps lithosphere between 225 and 190 Ma. Partial melting models and Sr-Nd isotopes demonstrate that Predazzo lamprophyres were produced by low partial melting degree of a garnet-amphibole-bearing mantle source interacting with a significant asthenospheric contribution. In the light of these new findings, they are interpreted as the geochemical/geochronological bridge between the orogenic-like Ladinian magmatism and the rifting phase related to the opening of the Alpine Tethys. This study highlights the paramount importance of alkaline magmas for tracking the volatiles cycle in the SCLM and the potential lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions during large-scale geodynamic processes.

The spatial/temporal proximity of Mt. Etna to the Hyblean Plateau and the Aeolian slab makes the discussion on the nature of its mantle source/s extremely controversial. In this study, a detailed geochemical overview of the entire Mt. Etna evolutionary sequence and a comparison with the magmatism of the Hyblean Plateau was proposed to: (i) simulate the composition of Mt. Etna tholeiitic to alkaline primitive magmas in equilibrium with a fertile mantle source; (ii) model the nature, composition and evolution of the mantle source from the tholeiitic stage (600 ka) to present magmatism. According to our simulations, two amphibole + phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite sources are able to explain the wide range of Etnean primary magmas. The enrichment in LILE, 87Sr/86Sr, Rb and H2O of the magmas emitted after 1971 (but also discontinuously generated in both historic and prehistoric times) are caused by different melting proportions of amphibole and phlogopite in a modally and compositionally homogeneous mantle domain, with melting degrees analogous to those required to produce magmas erupted prior to 1971. The behaviour of the hydrous phases during melting could be ascribed to a variable H2O/CO2 activity in the mantle source, in turn related to the heat/fluxes supply from the asthenospheric upwelling beneath Mt. Etna. All these considerations, strengthened by numerical models, are then merged to review the complex Pliocene/Lower Pleistocene to present day’s geodynamic evolution of eastern Sicily.

The noble gases He, Ne and Ar in fluid inclusions from mantle xenoliths at three localities in Northern Victoria Land (Baker Rocks, Greene Point and Handler Ridge), spanning about 300 km, provide new constraints on the nature of the lithospheric mantle beneath the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). Mantle xenoliths are anhydrous and hydrous spinel-bearing lherzolite and harzburgite samples. The 4He/40Ar* ratios (0.004–0.39) in olivines, two pyroxenes and amphiboles are much lower than those typical of fertile mantle (1–5), suggesting that this lithospheric domain are consistent with a variably depleted mantle, as also indicated by the major- and trace-element compositions of whole rock and minerals. The 3He/4He ratios vary from 2.30 to 19.79 Ra. However, the lowest and highest 3He/4He ratios are related to the post-eruptive accumulation of radiogenic 4He and cosmogenic 3He, respectively. After filtering the data for these secondary effects, we constrain the 3He/4He signature of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle below this area to 7.1 ± 0.4 Ra (mean ± standard deviation). This isotope signature results from mantle metasomatism by asthenospheric melts with a MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalt)-type 3He/4He. The range of 7.1 ± 0.4 Ra is compatible with previous measurements in mantle xenoliths and lavas from other localities of the NVL, as far away as Mount Erebus, evidencing a homogeneous He-isotope signature beneath the entire rift. The He and Ne isotopes support the hypothesis that WARS origin is not related to a plume.

The multi-pulse shoshonitic Predazzo intrusive complex represents an ideal igneous laboratory for investigating the chemical\ud and physical conditions of magma emplacement in a crustal context, since numerical models can be constrained by\ud field evidence. It constitutes the most intriguing remnant of the Middle Triassic magmatic systems of the Dolomitic Area\ud (Southern Alps), preserved by the Alpine tectonics. Predazzo Intrusive Complex comprises silica saturated (pyroxenites/\ud gabbros to syenites), silica undersaturated (gabbros to syenites), and silica oversaturated (granites and syenogranites) rock\ud suites. In this paper, we modeled its emplacement and evolution with a multiple thermo-/oxy-barometric, hygrometric, and\ud EC-AFC approach. At odds with what proposed in literature but according to the field evidence, the emplacement of the\ud Predazzo Intrusive Complex occurred at shallow depth (

For a better understanding of the final solidification history of eruptions at Mt. Etna volcano (Sicily, Italy), we have investigated cation redistributions at the interface between sub-millimetre-sized clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite crystal rims and coexisting melts. The studied products were scoria clasts from lava fountains and rock samples from pahoehoe and aa lava flows. Our data indicate that scoria clasts from lava fountaining were rapidly quenched at the contact with the atmosphere, preserving the original crystal textures and compositions inherited during magma dynamics within the plumbing system. Kinetics and energetics of crystallization were instantaneously frozen-in and post-eruptive effects on mineral chemistry were negligible. The near-equilibrium compositions of clinopyroxene and titanomagnetite indicate that lava fountain episodes were supplied by high-temperature, H 2 O-rich magmas ascending with velocities of 0.01–0.31 m/s. In contrast, magmas feeding lava flow eruptions underwent a more complex solidification history where the final stage of the crystal growth was mostly influenced by volatile loss and heat dissipation at syn- and post-eruptive conditions. Due to kinetic effects associated with magma undercooling, clinopyroxenes and titanomagnetites formed by crystal attachment and agglomeration mechanisms leading to intricate intergrowth textures. The final compositions of these minerals testify to closure temperatures and melt–water concentrations remarkably lower than those estimated for lava fountains. Kinetically-controlled cation redistributions at the crystal–melt interface suggest that the solidification of magma was driven by degassing and cooling processes proceeding from the uppermost part of the volcanic conduit to the surface.

The activity of Mt. Etna volcano from January 2011 to April 2012 was characterized by 24 paroxysmal, short-duration (from a few to several hours) eruptions at the New South-East summit crater. Despite the violence of the activity, no appreciable geophysical signals were recorded during this period, except for an increase in seismic tremors just minutes/hours before the occurrence of the paroxysm. This type of activity represents a significant shift from the mainly effusive eruptions of 2004, 2006, and 2008/2009, as well as from the lateral rift-related events of 2001 and 2002/2003. The 2011–2012 paroxysmal activity thus represents an important opportunity to better understand the effects of different magmatic parameters (i.e., P-T-fO 2 ) and magmatic H 2 O content on the crystallization and fractionation processes. To this aim the petrographic and geochemical features of lava and scoria clasts from 10 paroxysmal events have been investigated. Fractional crystallization modelling indicates that most of the eruptions are related to magmas rising along the vertically-developed feeding system of the volcano, accompanied by one main recharge of a more primitive, deep-seated magma feeding the 4/3/2012 event. Olivine-, clinopyroxene-, and plagioclase-melt equilibria and thermobarometric calculations were performed in order to estimate the crystallization conditions of magmas. These calculations reveal that the erupted products contain different phenocryst populations in equilibrium with a spectrum of primitive to more evolved magma compositions. On the basis of crystal composition, crystal-melt equilibrium conditions and thermobarometric estimations, four main magmatic facies have been recognized: F1, 1600 MPa at 1270 °C (Ol Fo 88 ); F2, 800 MPa to 600 MPa at 1178 °C to 1151 °C (Ol Fo 84–78 ); F3, 450 MPa to 250 MPa at 1139 °C to 1118 °C (Ol Fo 79–74 ); F4, 75–70 ). The overall geochemistry and thermobarometric data allow us to characterize the central feeding system as continuous and vertically zoned. During the 2011–2012 activity the studied 30/7/11, 29/8/11, 8/9/11, 18/3/11 and 24/4/12 events were fed by magma residing at F3 and F4 facies. Mafic magma influx from deeper F2 facies occurred 18/2/11 and 20/8/11, with a major recharge event before the 4/3/12 eruption. The primitive magma is testified by rare olivine crystals equilibrated at the F1 facies, located at crust-mantle boundary depth and close to liquidus temperature.

Plagioclase is the most common phenocryst in all Etnean magmatic suites (~ 50% in volume), as well as in most lavas erupted worldwide. Its stability field is strongly dependent on the physico-chemical conditions of the melt and, consequently, it can be used as a tool to record the processes occurring within the feeding system. With this aim, a detailed textural and compositional study of plagioclase was performed on the products emitted during the 2001, 2002–2003, 2004–2005 and 2006 eruptions. Four distinct textures were recognized at the crystal cores: (1) clear and rounded (An73–85), (2) dusty and rounded (An73–85), (3) sieved (An82–88) and (4) patchy (An60–81), while two distinct textures are commonly observed at the crystal rim: (1) dusty (An73–90) and (2) with melt inclusion alignments (An70–76). Moreover all plagioclases present a thin (10–20 μm) outermost less calcic (An53–76) rim. For each crystal a complex evolutionary path was reconstructed, and several growth and resorption episodes were identified. The fO2 was estimated using Plag–Cpx/liquid equilibrium in order to calculate the Fe+ 3/Fe2 + ratio in the melt and, in turn, to reconstruct the primitive magma composition by adding a wehrlitic assemblage to the least evolved lava of the four eruptive episodes. MELTS modeling was then developed using this primary magma composition, as well as a trachybasaltic lava. Calculations were performed at variable pressures (400–50 MPa, step of 0.50 MPa) and H2O contents (3.5–0 wt.%, step 0.5 wt.%) in order to estimate the crystallization temperature of olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and spinel, decreasing T from the liquidus down to 1000 °C at steps of 20 °C. P–T and water contents were also determined using geothermobarometers and plagioclase–melt hygrometers respectively, aiming at verifying the parameters used in the MELTS modeling. At this point plagioclase textural features and compositions were related to specific P–T–fO2–H2O conditions. Plagioclase stability models indicate that: (1) H2O strongly influences the plagioclase–melt equilibrium allowing the crystallizations of more calcic compositions only at shallow levels; (2) patchy cores form at high pressure (up to 350 MPa) and low water content (< 1.7 wt.%); (3) clear dissolved cores form at lower pressure (150 MPa) and higher water content (1.5–2.8 wt.%); (4) dusty rims form at even lower pressure straddling the H2O-saturation curve and, (5) melt alignments form during degassing. According to experimental works each of these textures can be related to a different process within the feeding system, such as multiple magma inputs (patchy core), volatile addition or increase in T (clear core), mixing (dusty rims) and rapid decompression and degassing (melt inclusion alignment at rims). These inferences were successfully compared with the eruptive evolution of each event as deduced from direct observations, and geophysical and petrological data. The overall picture shows that plagioclase crystallizes under polybaric conditions in a vertically extended and continuous feeding system in which at least two magma crystallization levels were identified. Plagioclase stability also indicates that a large variability in water content characterizes the magma within the feeding system.

A peculiar characteristic of the paroxysmal sequence that occurred on March 16,2013 at the New South East Crater of Mt. Etna volcano (eastern Sicily, Italy) was the eruption of siliceous crustal xenoliths representative of the sedimental), basement beneath the volcanic edifice. These xenoliths are quartzites that occur as subspherical bombs enclosed in a thin trachybasaltic lava envelope. At the quartzite-magma interface a reaction corona develops due to the interaction between the Etnean trachybasaltic magma and the partially melted quartzite. Three distinct domains are observed: (i) the trachybasaltic lava itself (Zone 1), including Al-rich clinopyroxene phenocrysts dispersed in a matrix glass, (ii) the hybrid melt (Zone 2), developing at the quartzite-magma interface and feeding the growth of newly-formed Al-poor clinopyroxenes, and (iii) the partially melted quartzite (Zone 3), producing abundant siliceous melt. These features makes it possible to quantify the effect of magma contamination by siliceous crust in terms of clinopyroxene-melt element partitioning. Major and trace element partition coefficients have been calculated using the compositions of clinopyroxene rims and glasses next to the crystal surface. Zone 1 and Zone 2 partition coefficients correspond to, respectively, the chemical analyses of Al-rich phenocrysts and matrix glasses, and the chemical analyses of newly-formed Al-poor crystals and hybrid glasses. For clinopyroxenes from both the hybrid layer and the lava flow expected relationships are observed between the partition coefficient, the valence of the element, and the ionic radius. However, with respect to Zone 1 partition coefficients, values of Zone 2 partition coefficients show a net decrease for transition metals (TE), high field strength elements (HFSE) and rare earth elements including yttrium (REE + Y), and an increase for large ion lithophile elements (LILE). This variation is associated with coupled substitutions on the M1, M2 and T sites of the type(M1) (Al, Fe3+) + Al-T (M2)(Mg, Fe2+) + Si-T. The different incorporation of trace elements into clinopyroxenes of hybrid origin is controlled by cation substitution reactions reflecting local charge-balance requirements. According to the lattice strain theory, simultaneous cation exchanges across the M1, M2, and T sites have profound effects on REE + Y and HFSE partitioning. Conversely, both temperature and melt composition have only a minor effect when the thermal path of magma is restricted to -70 degrees C and the value of non-bridging oxygens per tetrahedral cations (NBO/T) shifts moderately from 0.31 to 0.43. As a consequence, Zone 2 partition coefficients for REE + Y and HFSE diverge significantly from those derived for Zone 1, accounting for limited cation incorporation into the newly-formed clinopyroxenes at the quartzite-magma interface. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Petrological investigations of active volcanoes are often supported by mass balance, thermodynamic calculations and/or experiments performed at key conditions. Conversely, the compositions of mineral phases found in natural products are generally used as input data for predictive models calibrated to derive the intensive variables of the magmatic system. In order to evaluate the extent to which mineral chemistry records crystallization conditions, we have compared the compositions of olivine, clinopyroxene, plagioclase and titanomagnetite in 2001–2012 trachybasaltic lavas at Mt. Etna with those obtained through thermodynamic simulations and experiments conducted under anhydrous, water-undersaturated and water-saturated conditions. This systematic comparison allows us to track recent differentiation processes beneath Mt. Etna, as well as the P–T–fO2–H2O variables controlling the solidification path of magma. Two compositionally distinct populations of olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts are found in these lavas: Mg-rich and Mg-poor minerals formed at 600–1100 MPa and 1100–1250 °C, and 0.1–500 MPa and 1050–1175 °C, respectively. The oxygen fugacity varies by 1–2 log units suggesting water exsolution during magma ascent in the conduit and magma emplacement near the surface. The nucleation and growth of normally zoned plagioclases occur at P

We present results from phase equilibria experiments conducted on the most primitive pahoehoe “cicirara” trachybasaltic lava flow ever erupted at Mt. Etna Volcano. This lava is characterized by a pahoehoe morphology in spite of its high content of phenocrysts and microphenocrysts (>40 vol%) with the occurrence of centimetre-sized plagioclases (locally named cicirara for their chick-pea-like appearance). Our experiments have been performed at 400 MPa, 1100–1150 °C and using H2O and CO2 concentrations corresponding to the water-undersaturated crystallization conditions of Etnean magmas. Results show that olivine does not crystallize from the melt, whereas titanomagnetite is the liquidus phase followed by clinopyroxene or plagioclase as a function of melt–water concentration. This mineralogical feature contrasts with the petrography of pahoehoe cicirara lavas suggesting early crystallization of olivine and late formation of titanomagnetite after plagioclase and/or in close association with clinopyroxene. The lack of olivine produces MgO-rich melt compositions that do not correspond to the evolutionary behaviour of cicirara magmas. Moreover, in a restricted thermal path of 50 °C and over the effect of decreasing water concentrations, we observe abundant plagioclase and clinopyroxene crystallization leading to trace element enrichments unlikely for natural products. At the same time, the equilibrium compositions of our mineral phases are rather different from those of natural cicirara phenocrysts and microphenocrysts. The comparison between our water-undersaturated data and those from previous degassing experiments conducted on a similar Etnean trachybasaltic composition demonstrates that pahoehoe cicirara lavas originate from crystal-poor, volatile-rich magmas undergoing abundant degassing and cooling in the uppermost part of the plumbing system and at subaerial conditions where most of the crystallization occurs after the development of pahoehoe surface crusts.

At the Mount Etna volcano (Italy) the massive release of magmatic gasses (especially H2O, CO2 and SO2) during explosive eruptions and through the persistent gas plume, raises important issues: i) the volume of magma erupted at given periods is insufficient to feed the gas plume of the related periods; ii) gas-dominated, explosive eruptions do not emit differentiated products, but relatively Mg-rich magmas; iii) H2O measured in melt inclusions (~ 3.5 wt.% at about 0.4 GPa) exceeds what is expected from intraplate mantle-derived melts ( Literature data on melt inclusions (MIs) along with textural and compositional analyses of plagioclase and phase stability constrained by MELT calculations, enabled us to build a model that reconciles the abovementioned discrepancies with the high variability of the water content along the Etnean feeding system. We propose that along an open magma conduit, continuous gas loss from the free surface of magma at depth promotes an almost steady stream of H2O-rich fluid extending well below the gas saturation depth. The velocity of volatile migration might be enhanced by the huge amount of CO2 present at Mount Etna, because the CO2 exsolved at high-pressure conditions may act as carrier for other volatile species. In this way the H2O-undersaturated primitive magma present in the plumbing system, may undergo a volatile “flushing” proportional to the residing time. This process is fundamental to increase the originally low H2O content of primitive magma (≤ 1.4 wt.%) allowing it to overcome the saturation threshold, to exsolve as gas and to promote the eruption of Mg-rich lavas. Such mechanism would also account for the unexpectedly high amount of magmatic water released during non-eruptive periods.

A systematic study of textural and compositional zoning (An% and FeO variation) in plagioclase phenocrysts of historic (pre-1971) and recent (post-1971) lavas at Mount Etna was made through back-scattered electron (BSE) images and electron microprobe analyses (EMP). The textures considered include oscillatory zoning and several types of dissolution, resorption and growth textures at the phenocryst cores and/or rims. Two patterns of oscillation were recognized from the combined An–FeO variation: 1) Low Amplitude–High Frequency (LAHF) and 2) High Amplitude–Low Frequency (HALF). The first pattern is interpreted here as due to kinetic effects at the plagioclase/melt interface which developed during crystallization in closed reservoirs. The second, which sometimes involves thin dissolution surfaces marked by irregular edges, angular unconformities and complex dissolution–regrowth patterns, might imply crystallization in a more dynamic regime, probably driven by chemical and physical gradients of the system (e.g., convection in a steadily degassing open-conduit). Dissolution and resorption textures at the core vary from patchy (exclusive to plagioclases within pre-1971 lavas) to strongly sieved, and can be related to increasing rates of decompression under H2O-undersaturated conditions. Thick sieve-textured envelopes at the phenocryst rims, generally coupled with marked An–FeO increase, result from mixing with more primitive and volatile-rich magmas. In the same crystals from recent activity, An and, to a lesser extent, FeO increase, consistent with the mixing of H2O-rich magmas similar in their mafic character to the resident magma (cryptic mixing). Two types of growth textures were also recognized at the crystal rims: 1) stripes of regularly-shaped melt inclusions and 2) swallow-tailed, skeletal crystals. In the first instance, the concordant An–FeO decrease suggests crystallization caused by fast ascent-related decompression accompanied by volatile loss. In the second, An decrease at effectively constant FeO contents may indicate crystallization at a high level of undercooling from already degassed magma, followed by rapid quenching; such a feature might be acquired during syn- or post-eruptive conditions. Although textures found in historic lavas are rather similar to those in the recent ones, some differences occur, such as lack of crystals with patchy cores in recent products and lower An contents in crystals of historic ones. The available data allowed us to obtain information on the dynamics of the feeding system, highlighting their possible modifications over time. In particular, historically erupted magmas, generally acknowledged to be volatile-poor, may have ascended through the deep portions of the plumbing system under H2O-undersaturated conditions at lower rates than the recent ones, recognized as more volatile-rich. Eruption triggering mechanisms from closed reservoirs in the shallow portions of the feeding system are similar for both historic and recent events, and may be generally favoured by a recharging phase of more primitive, undegassed magma or by a few episodes of important fracture opening (e.g., in response to an earthquake swarm).