Magma Supply Rate Research Articles

The geodynamics of plume-influenced mid-ocean ridges: insights from the Foundation Segment of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

The intersection of the Foundation Plume with the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge is a key location in global geodynamics where a mantle plume is approached by and interacting with a fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge. Here, we discuss a comprehensive major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope dataset of new and existing samples from the young Foundation Seamount Chain (<5 Ma) and adjacent section of the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. We use the geochemistry of axial, off-axis and intraplate lavas to map the spatial extent of plume dispersal underneath the ridge as well as the internal zonation of the upwelling plume. We show that the unusual length, increased crustal thickness and occurrence of silicic rocks on the axis of the Foundation Segment are the direct result of plume being tapped by the axial melting zone. We demonstrate that the plume is not homogeneous but shows a HIMU-like (high time-integrated 238U/204Pb) OIB (Ocean Island Basalt) component characterized by 206Pb/204Pb of up to 20.5 in its center and a more EM1-like (Enriched Mantle one) OIB component characterized by low U/Pb and 206Pb/204Pb but high Rb/Nb and 87Sr/86Sr towards its edges. Plume entrainment leads to a high magma supply rate that fosters the formation of silicic rocks and triggers the lengthening of the segment over time. However, plume dispersal is not symmetric as the geochemical tracers for the OIB component are extending <100 km northwards but >300 km southwards. We relate this to the current plate tectonic framework in which the obliquity between the migrating ridge and the absolute plate motions induces a sub-axial asthenospheric flow that preferentially channels plume material southwards.

The 2020–2022 paroxysmal episodes of the South-East Crater (Mt. Etna): insights into high-frequency eruptive activity from petrological monitoring

Over the last 20 years, the South-East Crater (SEC) of Etna has produced high-intensity explosive activity including Strombolian explosions and lava fountains associated with lava effusion. In the 2020–2022 period, SEC volcanic activity was characterized by two paroxysmal sequences from 13 December 2020 to 1 Apr 2021 (SEQ1) and from 19 May to 23 October 2021 (SEQ2); another two paroxysms occurred on 10 and 21 February 2022. The 2020–2022 eruptive activity was monitored by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia-Osservatorio Etneo (INGV-OE) with instrumental networks, field surveys, and laboratory analyses. A detailed record of the chemical variations of glass was acquired in the framework of the syn-eruptive petrological monitoring; chemical (major and trace elements) and isotopic (Sr and Nd) compositions of bulk rocks completed the study. The findings of the petrological monitoring, coupled with volcanological parameters and literature data, allowed magma evolution to be tracked and the subsurface magmatic processes responsible for the observed compositional variations to be inferred. Changes in magma supply rates and mixing between an evolved magma stored in the shallow reservoir and a more primitive magma ascending from intermediate depths controlled magma evolution during the 2020–2022 paroxysmal activity. We discuss magmatic processes in the plumbing system before and during the eruption and the relationship between rate of magma supply and the eruptive dynamics. Finally, the 2020–2022 paroxysmal activity of SEC tested the INGV-OE procedures of petrological monitoring, in the framework of monitoring best practices.

Fracturing around magma reservoirs can explain variations in surface uplift rates even at constant volumetric flux

Many volcanoes show continuous but variable deformation over timescales of years to decades. Variations in uplift rate are typically interpreted as changes in magma supply rate and/or a viscoelastic response of the host rock. Here we conduct analogue experiments in the laboratory to represent the inflation of a silicic magma body at a constant volumetric flux, and measure the chamber pressure and resulting surface displacement field. We observe that dyke intrusions radiating from the magma body cause a decrease in the peak uplift rate, but do not significantly affect the spatial pattern of deformation or spatially averaged uplift rate. We identify 4 distinct phases: 1) elastic inflation of the chamber, 2) a gradual decrease in the rate of uplift and pressurisation, associated with the formation of visible cracks 3) propagation of a dyke by mode 1 failure at the crack tip and 4) a pressure decrease within the chamber. Phase 2 can be explained by either a) crack damage, which reduces the elastic moduli of the surrounding rock or b) magma filling pre-existing cracks. Thus these experiments provide alternative mechanisms to explain observed variations in uplift rate, with important implications for the interpretation of deformation patterns at volcanoes around the world.

Variable controlling factors lead to contrasting patterns of volcanism in the Changbaishan volcanic area (Tianchi-Longgang), China-North Korea: Insights from morphometry and spatial-temporal analyses

The coexistence of monogenetic and polygenetic volcanoes is a common phenomenon in volcanic areas. However, the genetic relationship between monogenetic and polygenetic systems and the factors controlling their distinct eruptive styles are not well understood. In active volcanic areas, analysing the clustering and vent alignment of monogenetic volcanoes, as well as examining the geomorphology and relative ages of scoria cones, offers quantitative insights into magma supply rates, volcano type distribution, and volcanic development trends. Our study presents geomorphological and spatio-temporal analyses of the co-existing monogenetic volcanoes in the Longgang Volcanic Field (LVF) and those associated with a polygenetic volcano (Tianchi) in the Changbaishan Volcanic Area, China. The distance between the two volcanic areas is around 150 km. Monogenetic vents in the LVF exhibit greater density compared to the dispersed system associated with Tianchi. The LVF vents also show better alignment, particularly in the direction of pre-existing basement faults (NE-SW, NW-SE and EW). By using scoria cone morphometric parameters and features, we estimated the relative ages and erupted volumes of monogenetic volcanoes in the LVF and the Tianchi area. We classified the cones of the two volcanic systems into five eruptive periods and found that, despite similar magma sources and output rates over approximately 870 kyr, differing numbers of scoria cones across age classes suggest that Tianchi's magma system influences its associated monogenetic volcanic plumbing. Furthermore, the continuous rise in output rates of monogenetic volcanoes in the Tianchi area highlights the increasing magma supply sustaining Tianchi volcano. Together, these interpretations are consistent with the two systems being controlled by different factors: the Tianchi monogenetic volcanic system is more controlled by magmatism, whereas the LVF is more strongly controlled by local tectonic structures, alongside an increasing magma supply causing the formation of progressively larger individual volcanoes. In volcanic areas, analysing monogenetic volcanoes' spatial-temporal distribution, volumes and recurrence rate provides a framework to evaluate magma supply rates and tectonic associations, which are key to the development of different volcano types.

Magma flux variations triggering shallow-level emplacement of the Takidani pluton (Japan): Insights into the volcanic-plutonic connection

Defining the physico-chemical evolution of felsic magmatic reservoirs in the middle-upper continental crust is crucial for understanding the connection between granitic plutons and silicic volcanic rocks and for research on the trigger mechanisms of volcanic eruptions. In this study, we investigate the formation and evolution of the Hotaka-Takidani volcano-plutonic complex (Japan) using a comprehensive approach that integrates zircon petrochronology with phase-equilibria and thermal modelling. The Takidani pluton is a Pleistocene tilted zoned intrusion of granodiorite-granite composition associated with at least two large caldera-forming eruptions. We have investigated the three uppermost units of the pluton and the oldest and more voluminous Nyukawa eruption, which deposited more than 400 km3 (DRE, dense rock equivalent) of crystal-rich dacitic ignimbrite. Amphibole thermobarometry, U-Pb zircon dates and geochemical data indicate that the Takidani pluton and the Nyukawa dacite were sequentially sourced from a 10–12 km-thick long-lived magmatic reservoir in the middle crust. Thermal evolution of the reservoir led to the extraction of the Nyukawa magma, followed by brief storage in the upper crust and eruption at ca. 1.706 ± 0.091 Ma. For two of the units of the pluton, we combine high-spatial resolution zircon U-Pb geochronology with zircon chemical data. Applying the Ti-in-zircon thermometer, we observe that magma within the reservoir was stored at a relatively constant temperature of ca. 700 °C for 300 kyr and subsequently, starting from 1.4 Ma, the temperature increased progressively reaching 820–850 °C at 1.1 Ma. This temperature shift is inconsistent with a constant magma flux and suggests an increase of the magma injection rate into the reservoir. Using the distribution of zircon ages and thermal simulations, we determined that the reservoir was built by a fairly low average magma flux of ca. 6 × 10−6 km3*km−2*yr−1, shifting to a magma supply rate which is three to four times higher during the last 300 ka of zircon crystallisation. This increase in magma flux caused the final emplacement of the Takidani magma in the upper crust, where it rapidly crystallized. The integration of geochronological data with phase-equilibria and thermo-chemical modelling demonstrates that multiple melt extraction events occurred during the evolution of the Hotaka-Takidani magmatic system. Only the first one triggered a major eruption, while subsequent events resulted in the emplacement of the Takidani pluton in the shallow crust.

TROPOMI/PlumeTraj SO2 fluxes consistent with partially degassed magma supplying the 2018 Kīlauea eruption

Volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission measurements are a key element of volcano monitoring strategies and underpin our understanding of magmatic degassing impacts on air quality, aircraft, and climate. Volcanic SO2 emission monitoring is usually performed with near-field ground-based measurements, but ever-improving satellite observations increasingly offers the capacity for volcanic emission monitoring from space. Here we examine the May–August 2018 eruption at Kīlauea, Hawai'i, which produced a voluminous low-altitude gas plume. We compare SO2 emissions calculated with three approaches: ground-based networks, dissolved sulfur (S) contents and lava effusion rates, and new satellite-derived SO2 data. The high emission rates of this eruption posed a major challenge for near-field ground-based measurements, and corrections were needed to account for attenuation of the SO2 signal from the optically thick plumes. Our satellite-derived gas emissions use Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P)/Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) observations and PlumeTraj back-trajectory analysis, deriving a total mass of 1.3 to 3.3 Mt of SO2 compared to 10.2 Mt from ground-measured fluxes (Kern et al., 2020). Our measurements deal with uncertainties such as plume aging and SO2 oxidation as well as cloud coverage which can underestimate results. The S contents also hold their own uncertainties partly due to when sampling was possible. We find agreement between satellite-derived fluxes and those that would be produced by magma which had previously lost at least 200–750 ppm (16–85%) of its initial S content during residence in the Halema'uma'u lava lake and reservoir. Our measurements allow an estimate of the efficiency of S loss from the Halema'uma'u lava lake prior to the 2018 eruption, and this implies a lava lake magma supply rate of 0.0019–0.0072 km3 per day for 2013–2018. The 2018 eruption produced a lava volume equivalent to 5 to 19 months of magma supply to Kīlauea during 3 months of eruption.

Increase in magma supply to Sakurajima volcano’s (Japan) shallow magma chamber over the past 500 years

Abstract Constraining the magma supply to a subvolcanic reservoir is crucial to characterizing unrest and evaluating the potential for a forthcoming eruption. With the advent of GPS, tiltmeters, and satellite interferometry, it has been possible to infer changes in the supply rate of magma to shallow reservoirs over time scales of as much as decades. While these methods have impacted our ability to characterize volcanic unrest, they only probe magmatic activity over short time scales. Here, we constrain changes in magma supply rate at Sakurajima volcano (Kyushu, Japan) over the past five centuries. The combination of thermo-mechanical modeling, documented eruption history, and textural analyses of pumices allows us to tightly constrain the long-term rate of magma supply to the subvolcanic chamber through time. Specifically, we find that magma supply rate has increased by roughly an order of magnitude over the past 500 years and that the bubble content in the magma chamber has increased over time, explaining the changes in eruption volume between the Bunmei (ca. A.D. 1470), An-ei (ca. A.D. 1780), and Taisho (A.D. 1914) eruptions.

Insights on the state of stress in the mantle beneath Pahala, Hawai‘i

Magma supply rates from the mantle to Hawaiian volcanoes serve as an important control on eruptive behavior at the surface. The Pa ̄hala Sill Complex, a collection of magma-bearing, seismogenic structures at 40 km depth beneath Hawai‘i, presents an opportunity to elucidate interactions between stress and magma transport processes in the mantle. We invert for full moment tensors of sill earthquakes and identify predominantly shear mechanisms with persistent tensile faulting components. Slip occurs in-plane with the sill structures. Pressure axes are radially oriented about a point near Mauna Loa, consistent with a stress field generated by a flexural load. Together, these observations suggest that magma flux through the sill structures generates seismicity by increasing pore pressure and promoting slip. Our results suggest that stress changes in mantle structures may enable fluctuations in magma supply rates to the surface over short timescales.

The Global Spectrum of Seafloor Morphology on Mid‐Ocean Ridge Flanks Related to Magma Supply

AbstractMagma supply likely exerts primary control on seafloor morphology of oceanic crust, but most studies have related morphology to spreading rate. Here we examine global patterns of morphology on mid‐ocean ridge (MOR) flanks in relation to magma supply derived from residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly (proxy for relative crustal thickness) and spreading rate. We use multibeam bathymetry to characterize morphology using both qualitative (descriptive) and quantitative approaches, and we compare results to both magma supply and spreading rate. Morphology becomes more isotropic and abyssal hills are more irregular and discontinuous as magma supply decreases, while roughness, area of steeper slopes, and anomalous fabric orientation increase. We interpret these changes to reflect changing magma distribution along‐axis, from large‐volume and spatially extensive to progressively reduced, increasingly localized, and more irregularly emplaced. Observed relations between crustal thickness and morphology imply that average thickness of purely magmatic crust in the Atlantic and parts of the Indian ridge system is significantly less than average seismically determined crust. Thus seismically defined crustal thickness in those regions likely includes significant non‐magmatic components such as serpentinized mantle. Excepting regions of extensive mantle exposure, most morphologic parameters that we examined are sensitive to estimated magma supply but not necessarily to spreading rate alone. We summarize our results in schematic models that relate morphologic variations to changes in magma supply and mantle serpentinization throughout the global MOR system. Finally, we note that combined qualitative and quantitative results of our study may be useful for developing automated morphologic classification schemes.

Crustal and uppermost mantle structure near the Gloria Fault, North Atlantic, from ocean bottom seismometer surface wave observations

SUMMARY In this work, we present both 1-D and 3-D shear wave velocity (Vs) models of the oceanic crust and uppermost mantle below the Deep OCean Test ARray area, located ∼ 70 km north of the central section of the Gloria Fault, in the eastern North-Atlantic Ocean. The velocity models are inferred from the dispersion of surface waves recorded on ocean bottom seismometers. Dispersion measurements are obtained from the analysis of ambient seismic noise at short periods (< 14 s) and teleseismic surface waves at long periods (> 14 s) using the two-station method. The 1-D Vs model is inferred from the joint inversion of Rayleigh wave phase velocities and Love wave group and phase velocities. The 3-D tomographic model is obtained by inversion of 2-D Love wave group velocity maps as a function of depth, further constrained by the average of Love wave phase velocities obtained from ambient noise (4–9 s) and the average Rayleigh and Love wave phase velocities calculated from teleseismic data (14–44 s). The 1-D Vs model shows a sediment layer with a low velocity of 1.05 km s−1, similar to previous studies in the region. Below the sediments, we find an oceanic crust with velocities ranging from 3.3 to 4.5 km s−1. The model reaches an unusually high velocity of 4.9 km s−1 in a 20 km thick layer at depths between 16 and 36 km. We interpret this fast velocity layer as indicative of the presence of harzburgite, a residue of enhanced melting that might have been formed by the proximity between the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Azores mantle plume. At greater depths the velocity decreases, forming a low-velocity zone that reaches a minimum at ∼ 70 km depth, which we interpret as the maximum depth for the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. The 3-D model shows a structure that is mostly horizontally layered, with Vs isocontours at 3.5–4.5 km s−1 highlighting oscillations of the crustal structure with wavelengths of ∼25–30 km. These oscillations may be due to changes in the rate of mantle upwelling and magma supply rate.

Analysis of magma flux and eruption intensity during the 2021 explosive activity at La Soufrière, St Vincent, West Indies

Abstract Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement signals and eruption cloud height measurements were used to estimate peak intensities of 40 explosive events during the 8–22 April 2021 activity of La Soufrière volcano. We estimated magma supply rates and erupted volumes in each explosion, characterized uncertainty by stochastic modelling and identified four eruptive stages. Stage 1 included an intense period of 9.5 hours with 11 explosive events with peak eruption intensity between 2000 and 4000 m 3 s −1 and magma supply rate reaching 828 m 3 s −1 . Twelve high-intensity explosions ( c. 4000 m 3 s −1 ) occurred in Stage 2 with average magma supply rate of 251 m 3 s −1 . Stage 3 involved both declining intensity and magma supply rate and lengthening repose periods between explosions. Stage 4 involved three much weaker explosions. The total erupted volume of magma is estimated at 38.5 × 10 6 m 3 (90% credible interval: [22.0 .. 61.9] × 10 6 m 3 ) consistent with independent estimates from analysis of tephra deposits and volcano subsidence sourced at c. 6 km depth. The 150-fold increase in magma supply rate, from the preceding effusive phase to Stage 1 of the explosive phase, is attributed to replacement of very high-viscosity degassed magma occupying the shallow conduit system with new, lower-viscosity, volatile-rich magma from the magma chamber.

A SO2 flux study of the Etna volcano 2020–2021 paroxysmal sequences

The persistent open-vent degassing of Mt. Etna is often punctuated by months-long paroxysmal sequences characterized by episodes of violent Strombolian to lava fountaining activity. Understanding these gas-fueled transitions from quiescence to eruption requires routine measurement of gas fluxes. Here, we report SO2 flux measurements, obtained from a permanent UV camera system, collected over a two-year-long period spanning two paroxysmal sequences of Etna’s New South East Crater (NSEC) in December 2020/April 2021 and May/October 2021. In both cases, SO2 flux increased from ≤ 3250 Mg/day during “ordinary” activity to ≥ 4200 Mg/day. We interpret these distinct SO2 degassing regimes in light of seismic and thermal observations and drawing on numerical simulations of sulfur degassing constrained by parental melt sulfur contents in Etna’s hawaiites. We find that initiation of a paroxysmal sequence results from an approximate doubling of the time-averaged rate of magma supply (and degassing) above the sulfur exsolution level (∼150 MPa pressure), to >4 m3/s. This corroborates recent models that argue for the triggering of paroxysmal sequences by escalating supply of volatile-rich magma to a reservoir ∼3–4 km below the summit region. The non-stationary nature of magma flow and volcanic degassing we identify highlights the need for sustained surveillance to characterize long-term atmospheric budgets of volcanic volatiles.

Importance of Long-Term Shallow Degassing of Basaltic Magma on the Genesis of Massive Felsic Magma Reservoirs: a Case Study of Aso Caldera, Kyushu, Japan

AbstractThis paper presents the chemical composition (including H2O and CO2) of matrix glass, melt inclusions in phenocrysts, and their host minerals in eruptive products from Aso caldera. We found a group of melt inclusions with clearly lower potassium (0.6–2 wt % K2O at 50–70 wt % SiO2) than previously reported high-K2O whole-rock compositions (3–5 wt % K2O at 55–70 wt % SiO2). While most of the high-K2O intermediate to felsic melt inclusions are vapor undersaturated and show the features of H2O, CO2, and K2O accumulation, the low-K2O basaltic melt already has higher H2O and CO2. We reconcile this discrepancy with a model in which (1) the volatile-rich basalt magmas degas near the surface, (2) migrate back to depths of $\ge$12 km in the crust, and (3) crystallize feldspar and quartz to produce high-K2O felsic melt, (4) magma mixing among the undegassed, degassed, and evolved magmas. By crystallization, about five times as much low-K2O basaltic magma is required to produce high-K2O felsic magma. The quantity of felsic magma ejected from 270 ka (Aso-1) to 90 ka (Aso-4) requires a basalt magma supply rate of 18 to 31 km3/ka. This magma supply rate is comparable to or less than the present-day production rate of degassed magma (73 km3/ka) at an active center of Aso, Nakadake. These findings suggest volcanic gas flux monitoring has the potential to be a ‘basalt usage meter’ during the dormant period of caldera volcanoes.

Provenance Response to Rifting and Separation at the Jan Mayen Microcontinent Margin

The Eocene-Miocene successions recovered at DSDP sites on the Jan Mayen Ridge (NE Atlantic) and on the adjacent East Greenland margin provide a sedimentary record of the rifting and separation of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent from East Greenland. A combination of palynology, conventional heavy mineral analysis, single-grain major and trace element geochemistry and radiometric dating of amphibole and zircon has revealed a major change in sediment provenance took place at the Early/Late Oligocene boundary corresponding to a prominent seismic reflector termed JA. During the Eocene and Early Oligocene, lateral variations in provenance character indicate multiple, small-scale transport systems. Site 349 and Kap Brewster were predominantly supplied from magmatic sources (Kap Brewster having a stronger subalkaline signature compared with Site 349), whereas Site 346 received almost exclusively metasedimentary detritus. By contrast, Late Oligocene provenance characteristics are closely comparable at the two Jan Mayen sites, the most distinctive feature being the abundance of reworked Carboniferous, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene palynomorphs. The Site 349 succession documents an evolution in the nature of the magmatic provenance component. Supply from evolved alkaline magmatic rocks, such as syenites, was important in the Middle Eocene and lower part of the Early Oligocene, but was superseded in the later Early Oligocene by mafic magmatic sources. In the latest Early Oligocene, the presence of evolved clinopyroxenes provides evidence for prolonged magmatic fractionation. Initial low degrees of partial melting led to generation of alkaline (syenitic) magmas. The extent of partial melting increased during the Early Oligocene, generating basaltic rocks with both subalkaline and alkaline compositions. Towards the end of the Early Oligocene, the amount of partial melting and magma supply rates decreased. In the Late Oligocene, there is no evidence for contemporaneous igneous activity, with scarce magmatic indicator minerals. The provenance change suggests that the hiatus at the Early/Late Oligocene boundary represents the initiation of the proto-Kolbeinsey Ridge and separation of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent from East Greenland.

An interpretative view of open-vent volcanoes

Open-vent volcanoes are special systems where the dynamics of sustained magmatic processes can be thoroughly investigated and where new monitoring tools can be tested and applied. However, various aspects remain puzzling at open-vent volcanoes for which forecasting their behaviour can be an important challenge. Recent papers highlight the very rapid improvements in spaceborne instruments, data acquisition techniques, data treatment and modelling over the last decade and illustrate the fundamental contribution of long time-series data, either discontinuous or continuous, and the development of multiparameter studies. Here we provide an interpretative overview of the main characteristics of open-vent volcanoes on the basis of selected examples chosen to be representative of the diversity of their magma composition, their eruptive activity and their geodynamic context. We choose typical open-vent volcanoes (Stromboli, Yasur and Erebus), some of them hosting a lava lake (Erta ‘Ale, Nyiragongo, Villarrica, Ambrym and Masaya), to those with vigourous activity, which are associated to a long-lasting eruption (Arenal, Fuego, Popocatépetl, Santiaguito). We briefly review their surface activity and report the values of SO2 flux and the derived magma supply rate with emphasis on the key results found on their behaviour. We show the key role of the magma viscosity and its implication on the degassing. We present the current models used to explain how an open-vent volcano could be maintained, such as by the simultaneous rise and fall of a degassing and degassed magma (bi-directional flow models) and the few thermal models at lava lakes and in the conduit. Finally, we discuss the sulphur evolution for three nearby volcanoes at the triple junction in Central America (Pacaya, Fuego, Santiaguito).

Could Kı̄lauea's 2020 Post Caldera‐Forming Eruption Have Been Anticipated?

AbstractIn 2018 Kı̄lauea volcano erupted a decade's worth of basalt, given estimated magma supply rates, triggering caldera collapse. Yet, less than 2.5 years later Kı̄lauea re‐erupted. At the 2018 eruption onset, pressure within the summit reservoir was ∼20 MPa above magmastatic. By the onset of collapse this decreased by ∼17 MPa. Analysis of magma surges at the 2018 fissures, following collapse events, implies excess pressure at the eruption end of only ∼1 MPa. Given the new vent elevation, ∼11–12 MPa pressure increase was required to bring magma to the surface in December 2020. Analysis of Global Positioning System data between 8/2018 and 12/2020 shows there was a 73% probability that this condition was met at the onset of the 2020 eruption. Given a plausible range of possible vent elevations, there was a 40%–88% probability of sufficient pressure to bring magma to the surface 100 days before the eruption.

Shallow magma dynamics at open-vent volcanoes tracked by coupled thermal and SO2 observations

Open-vent volcanic activity is typically sustained by ascent and degassing of shallow magma, in which the rate of magma supply to the upper feeding system largely exceeds the rate of magma eruption. Such unbalance between supplied (input) and erupted (output) magma rates is thought to result from steady, degassing-driven, convective magma overturning in a shallow conduit/feeding dyke. Here, we characterize shallow magma circulation at Stromboli volcano by combining independent observations of heat (Volcanic Radiative Power; via satellite images) and gas (SO2, via UV camera) output in a temporal interval (from August 1, 2018 to April 30, 2020) encompassing the summer 2019 effusive eruption and two paroxysmal explosions (on July 3 and August 28, 2019). We show that, during the phase of ordinary strombolian explosive activity that preceded the 2019 effusive eruption, the average magma input rate (0.1-0.2 m3/s) exceeds the magma eruption rate (0.001-0.01 m3/s) by ∼2 orders of magnitude. Conversely, magma input and output rates converge to an average of ∼0.4 m3/s during the summer 2019 summit effusion, implying an overall suppression of magma recycling back into the feeding system, and hence of excess degassing. We find that, during the effusive eruption, the peak in SO2 emissions lags behind the thermal emission peak by ∼27 days, suggesting that magma output, feeding the lava flow field, initially dominates over magma input in the conduit. We propose that this conduit mass unloading, produced by this initial phase of the effusive eruption, leads to an overall decompression (of up to 30 Pa/s) of the shallow plumbing system, ultimately causing ascent of less-dense, volatile-rich magma batch(es) from depth, enhanced explosive activity, and elevated SO2 fluxes culminating into a paroxysmal explosion on August 28. Our results demonstrate that combined analysis of thermal and SO2 flux time-series paves the way to improved understanding of shallow magmatic system dynamics at open-vent volcanoes, and of the transition from explosive to effusive activity regimes.

Quantifying mass flows at Mt. Cleveland, Alaska between 2001 and 2020 using satellite photogrammetry

Measuring eruption volume provides constraints on the magma supply rate and plumbing systems and therefore is a critical component for monitoring volcanoes. We use ArcticDEM—a large collection of time-dependent digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from satellite stereo-photogrammetry — to construct a first-of-its-kind measurement of the volumes of recent mass flows at Mount Cleveland, Alaska. We quantify the volume of the products of the 2001 eruption (the largest in the past half-century) as (54.8 ± 0.5) × 106 m3 covering a total area of 5.09 km2. The total volume of material loss at the summit crater is (0.67 ± 0.02) × 106 m3, which is likely caused by later explosions and collapses of the shallow magma chamber. The total eruptive volume between 2017 and 2020 is (0.086 ± 0.002) × 106 m3. Elevation changes associated with lahars are variable. On the upper northern slopes of the volcano, the lahar channels were almost exclusively erosive, suggesting that lahars originating at the summit eroded and entrained loose materials high on the cone. In general, lahar deposits were thickest near their toes, with some reaching ~20 m thickness.

Long-lived dacitic magmatic systems and recharge dynamics in the Jemez Mountains volcanic field, western USA

We examine the connected history of dacite-dominant volcanic rocks of the Tschicoma Formation, erupted between 5.5 and 2 Ma from the Jemez Mountains volcanic field, western USA. Zircon samples from two separate eruptions have continuous SHRIMP U–Pb age spectra spanning 0.84–1.08 Myr duration (3.12–3.96 Ma and 3.50–4.58 Ma, respectively), following an episode of zircon crystallization 0.28–0.50 Myr earlier (at 4.46 Ma and 4.86 Ma, respectively). Zircon chemical variations, as well as ubiquitous resorption textures that commonly show large core-rim age differences (up to 720–740 kyr), suggest that they grew in separate melt lenses. Zircons were likely stored at near-solidus or even sub-solidus conditions after crystallization, but may have been reactivated in response to at least four major magma recharge events every 300–400 kyr and smaller events in between. A cycle of zircon dissolution (from heating), recrystallization (during cooling), and storage repeated in different locations in the Tschicoma mush system throughout its lifespan; each recharge-induced heating stage may last for several hundred to more than a thousand years based on calculations of zircon dissolution. We envisage the melt lenses to be distributed in a crystal mush zone, coalescing into a single magma batch as magma recharge occurs shortly before eruption. Once active, increasing magma supply rates may trigger large-scale partial melting of the pre-existing mush and caldera-forming eruptions.

Olivine and glass chemistry record cycles of plumbing system recovery after summit collapse events at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i

The eruptive activity of Kīlauea Volcano (Hawai‘i) in the past 2500 years has alternated between centuries-long periods dominated either by explosive or effusive eruptions. The onset of explosive periods appears to be marked by caldera collapse events at the volcano's summit accompanied by draining of Kīlauea's magmatic plumbing system. Here we leverage >1800 olivine forsterite (Fo) contents, >900 glass MgO contents, and estimated magma supply rates from the past six centuries to describe the relationships between summit collapse and the composition of erupted material. On a first order basis, the major element chemistry of the centuries-long eruptive periods largely originates from fundamental differences between fractional crystallization of shallowly stored magmas during high-supply effusive-dominated periods versus little evolution of mafic recharge magmas during low-supply explosive-dominated periods. The modern effusive period (1820s-present) is dominated by relatively evolved olivine forsterite contents (Fo81–82) for Kīlauea, which is interpreted to reflect a buffered crustal reservoir system in which shallow storage and fractional crystallization control the composition of magmas. In contrast, olivine crystals from the explosive Keanakāko‘i Tephra (1500 - early 1800s C.E.) are dominated by higher olivine forsterite contents (Fo89) which are interpreted to reflect more primitive compositions, are correlated with glass MgO compositions extending to high values (e.g.,11.0 wt%), and show signs of magma mixing (zoned olivine, bimodal Fo populations). These signatures reflect a disrupted reservoir system in which high-MgO recharge melts mix with melts left over from draining of the shallow (<5 km) magma plumbing.Superimposed on these explosive-effusive periods are three decades- to centuries long periods of progressively evolving olivine and glass compositions. Eruptions that occur after caldera collapse in ~1500C.E. and smaller scale crater collapse events in 1790 (inferred) and 1924 have heterogeneous olivine populations dominated by ≥Fo88 and typically high MgO glasses. These compositions reflect inefficient mixing of stored and primitive recharge magmas after the disruption of the shallow plumbing system. After these collapses, olivine Fo and glass MgO subsequently evolve to <Fo82 and <7.0 wt% compositions, reflecting the recovery of the crustal plumbing system to an end-member system state characterized by efficient mixing of recharge and stored magmas that serve to buffer the shallow magma reservoirs. These evolved signatures suggest that a mature and buffered reservoir system may be a key condition for significant disruptions of volcanic plumbing systems. Plumbing system recovery is slower following large-scale caldera collapse (hundreds of years) compared to recovery following smaller crater collapse (tens of years), which may be modulated by differences in magma supply rates. Following the 2018 crater collapse olivine populations have high-Fo but glasses are low MgO, suggesting that this collapse might have disrupted shallow magma pathways but not strongly impacted the reservoir(s). Ultimately, olivine and glass major element chemistry record the impacts of caldera and smaller but significant summit crater collapse events at Kīlauea and could be used to provide a framework for better characterizing long-term volcano evolution in Hawai‘i and shield volcanoes elsewhere.