Short‐time electrical effects during volcanic eruption: Experiments and field measurements

Abstract

Laboratory experiments on the fragmentation and expansion of magmatic melt have been performed using remelted volcanic rock at magmatic temperatures as magma simulant. A specially designed dc amplifier in combination with high speed data recording was used to detect short‐time electrostatic field effects related to the fragmentation and expansion history of the experimental system, as documented by simultaneous force and pressure recording, as well as by high‐speed cinematography. It was found that (1) the voltage‐time ratio of electrostatic field gradients (100 to 104 V/s) reflects different physical mechanisms of fragmentation and expansion and (2) the maximum voltage measured in 1 m distance (−0.1 to −180 V) can be correlated with the intensity of the respective processes. Based on these experimental results, a field method was developed and tested at Stromboli volcano in Italy. A 0.8 m rod antenna was used to detect the dc voltage against local ground (i.e., the electrostatic field gradient), at a distance of 60 to 260 m from the respective vent. Upwind position of the detection site was chosen to prevent interference caused by contact of charged ash particles with the antenna. A standard 8 Hz geophone was used to detect the accompanying seismicity. Three types of volcanic activity occurred during the surveillance operation; two of these could be clearly related to specific electrical and seismical signals. A typical delay time was found between the electrical and the seismical signal, corresponding to the seismic velocity within the crater deposits. Using a simple first‐order electrostatic model, the field measurements were recalibrated to the laboratory scale. Comparison of field and laboratory data at first approximation revealed striking similarities, thus encouraging the further development of this technique for real‐time surveillance operation at active volcanoes.