Abstract
The sizes of earthquakes are measured using well-defined, measurable quantities such as seismic moment and released (transformed) elastic energy. No similar measures exist for the sizes of volcanic eruptions, making it difficult to compare the energies released in earthquakes and eruptions. Here I provide a new measure of the elastic energy (the potential mechanical energy) associated with magma chamber rupture and contraction (shrinkage) during an eruption. For earthquakes and eruptions, elastic energy derives from two sources: (1) the strain energy stored in the volcano/fault zone before rupture, and (2) the external applied load (force, pressure, stress, displacement) on the volcano/fault zone. From thermodynamic considerations it follows that the elastic energy released or transformed (dU) during an eruption is directly proportional to the excess pressure (pe) in the magma chamber at the time of rupture multiplied by the volume decrease (-dVc) of the chamber, so that . This formula can be used as a basis for a new eruption magnitude scale, based on elastic energy released, which can be related to the moment-magnitude scale for earthquakes. For very large eruptions (>100 km3), the volume of the feeder-dike is negligible, so that the decrease in chamber volume during an eruption corresponds roughly to the associated volume of erupted materials , so that the elastic energy is . Using a typical excess pressures of 5 MPa, it is shown that the largest known eruptions on Earth, such as the explosive La Garita Caldera eruption (27-28 million years ago) and largest single (effusive) Colombia River basalt lava flows (15-16 million years ago), both of which have estimated volumes of about 5000 km3, released elastic energy of the order of 10EJ. For comparison, the seismic moment of the largest earthquake ever recorded, the M9.5 1960 Chile earthquake, is estimated at 100 ZJ and the associated elastic energy release at 10EJ.
Highlights
Earthquake sizes have for a long time been calculated from wellestablished magnitude scales
Since we focus on the elastic energy of the system, we consider the case of a magma chamber that is receiving heat through new magma at the same rate as heat is conducted away from the chamber, so that there is no net gain of loss in heat for the chamber in the period prior to the eruption
Part of the energy is transformed into surface energy used for fracture propagation, and part into the www.frontiersin.org displacement of the elastic crustal segment that hosts the seismogenic fault or the magma chamber
Summary
Reviewed by: Yosuke Aoki, University of Tokyo, Japan Shigekazu Kusumoto, University of Toyama, Japan. Elastic energy derives from two sources: (1) the strain energy stored in the volcano/fault zone before rupture, and (2) the external applied load (force, pressure, stress, displacement) on the volcano/fault zone. From thermodynamic considerations it follows that the elastic energy released or transformed (dU) during an eruption is directly proportional to the excess pressure (pe) in the magma chamber at the time of rupture multiplied by the volume decrease (−dVc) of the chamber, so that dU = −pedVc. From thermodynamic considerations it follows that the elastic energy released or transformed (dU) during an eruption is directly proportional to the excess pressure (pe) in the magma chamber at the time of rupture multiplied by the volume decrease (−dVc) of the chamber, so that dU = −pedVc This formula can be used as a basis for a new eruption magnitude scale, based on elastic energy released, which can be related to the moment-magnitude scale for earthquakes.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
