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).