Time‐Resolved Trigger Processes Leading to the Plinian Eruptions at Sakurajima Volcano, Japan

Abstract

AbstractMafic magma recharge of crustal reservoirs and subsequent magma mixing has been considered a direct trigger of volcanic eruptions. However, although recharge frequently occurs in many active volcanoes, it rarely leads to an eruption immediately, making its role as a trigger ambiguous. Sakurajima volcano, Japan, has vigorously erupted three times since the 15th century following a common process; mixed magmas after recharge were once stored in a shallow, thick conduit before each eruption (conduit pre‐charge). We reconstructed the magma migration with a high time resolution by diffusion modeling on orthopyroxene and magnetite. Orthopyroxene phenocrysts recorded prolonged diffusive re‐equilibration timescales of years or more after recharge‐and‐mixing. Magnetite, which has the fastest elemental diffusivity among the phenocrysts examined, predominantly lacks zoning. This demonstrates that the mineral phase was re‐equilibrated with surrounding magma and homogenized via elemental diffusion after the final magmatic perturbation, implying the final repose of the shallow pre‐charged magma body for more than several tens of days. After this shallow stagnation period, the Plinian magmas began to ascend and reached the surface within 55 hr. Mass balance calculations show that crystallization‐driven vesiculation upon pre‐charge can produce overpressure sufficient to cause an eruption. The Sakurajima cases demonstrate the hierarchical timescales of trigger processes leading to the explosive eruptions.