Delayed brittle-like fragmentation of vesicular magma analogue by decompression

Abstract

A rapid decompression experiment using syrup containing gas bubbles was conducted in order to clarify the fragmentation of vesicular magma, which is a key phenomenon in volcanic eruptions. We focus on brittle-like fragmentation, which occurs with a longer time scale than brittle fragmentation. The response of the bubbly syrup to the decompression for various viscosities and porosities was tested under various initial pressures, pressure differences, and decompression times. The response observed by high-speed photography was classified using the Deborah number DeDT, which is defined as the ratio of the viscoelastic relaxation time of the syrup to the decompression time, the maximum differential stress at the bubble surface Δσmax, and a measure of instantaneous brittleness at the bubble surface βc at the time when the differential stress at the surface reaches the critical fracture stress Δσc. In a number of the experimental runs in which both DeDT and βc indicated ductile response of the material, brittle-like fragmentation occurred when Δσmax substantially exceeded Δσc. For all of the runs in which brittle-like fragmentation was observed, the onset of fragmentation was delayed substantially from the relaxation time, whereas the onset occurred within the characteristic time for viscous expansion of the bubbles. In many cases of brittle-like fragmentation, fragmentation continued after the onset triggered by a single decompression event. Detailed analysis indicates that brittle-like fragmentation started with a sudden release of the gas in the bubbly syrup through a surface crack, which might lead to an increase in local brittleness. Magma fragmentation may be viewed as sequential brittle-like fragmentation. This view may provide an explanation for the observed time delay for the onset of an explosive eruption after a triggering decompression event.