Magma Ascent Pathways Research Articles

Anatomy of a Lunar Silicic Construct—The Wolf Crater Complex, Mare Nubium and Implications for Early Silicic Magmatism on the Moon

AbstractSilicic lithologies on planetary surfaces indicate magmatic evolutionary processes in their interiors. The Wolf crater complex within Mare Nubium on the Moon is one such silicic construct associated with a high thorium anomaly. This study integrates morphological, compositional, chronological and gravity anomaly analyses of high‐resolution data from various lunar missions to establish this construct as a silicic volcanic caldera. Lobate flows with steeply sloping fronts indicate that the crater rims comprise high‐viscosity silicic lavas, while the structurally controlled inner crater walls suggest caldera collapse triggered by magma depletion. In the crater rims, low Christiansen Feature position values reaffirm the presence of silicic lithologies, consistent with the low gravity anomaly signature beneath the complex, while spectroscopic data reveal low mafic mineral abundances and negligible hydration features. Chronological analyses yield silicic volcanism ages coeval with surrounding mare basalts (3.8–3.6 Ga), while intra‐caldera basalts have 2.36–2.02 Ga ages, indicating prolonged magmatism in this region. Melting of suitable crustal protoliths like alkali gabbronorite/monzogabbro/troctolite by basaltic underplating is inferred to have generated silicic magmas that formed the Wolf volcanic complex, instead of basaltic magma fractionation or silicate‐liquid immiscibility processes. Large impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment may have enhanced partial melting of the mantle and created crustal fractures that facilitated the ascent of viscous silicic melts through the lunar crust. Contemporaneous existence of suitable protoliths and adequate crustal pathways for magma ascent may have controlled silicic volcanism on the Moon, and can explain the sporadic occurrence and overlapping ages of the lunar silicic constructs.

Temporal variability of explosive activity at Tajogaite volcano, Cumbre Vieja (Canary Islands), 2021 eruption from ground-based infrared photography and videography

The 2021 eruption at Tajogaite (Cumbre Vieja) volcano (La Palma, Spain) was characterized by Strombolian eruptions, Hawaiian fountaining, white gas-dominated and grey ash-rich plumes, and lava effusion from multiple vents. The variety of eruptive styles displayed simultaneously and throughout the eruption presents an opportunity to explore controls on explosivity and the relationship between explosive and effusive activity. Explosive eruption dynamics were recorded using ground-based thermal photography and videography. We show results from the analysis of short (<5 min) near-daily thermal videos taken throughout the eruption from multiple ground-based locations and continuous time-lapse thermal photos over the period November 16 to November 26. We measure the apparent radius, velocity, and volume flux of the high-temperature gas-and-ash jet and lava fountaining behaviors to investigate the evolution of the explosive activity over multiple time scales (seconds-minutes, hours, and days-weeks). We find fluctuations in volume flux of explosive material that correlate with changes in volcanic tremor and hours-long increases in explosive flux that are immediately preceded by increases in lava effusion rate. Correlated behavior at multiple vents suggests dynamic magma ascent pathways connected in the shallow (tens to hundreds of meters) sub-surface. We interpret the changes in explosivity and the relative amounts of effusive and explosivity to be the result of changes in gas flux and the degree of gas coupling.

Bubble Formation in Magma

Volcanic eruptions are driven by bubbles that form when volatile species exsolve from magma. The conditions under which bubbles form depend mainly on magma composition, volatile concentration, presence of crystals, and magma decompression rate. These are all predicated on the mechanism by which volatiles exsolve from the melt to form bubbles. We critically review the known or inferred mechanisms of bubble formation in magmas: homogeneous nucleation, heterogeneous nucleation on crystal surfaces, and spontaneous phase separation (spinodal decomposition). We propose a general approach for calculating bubble nucleation rates as the sum of the contributions from homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation, suggesting that nucleation may not be limited to a single mechanism prior to eruption. We identify three major challenges in which further experimental, analytical, and theoretical work is required to permit the development of a general model for bubble formation under natural eruption conditions. ▪ We review the mechanisms of bubble formation in magma and summarize the conditions under which the various mechanisms are understood to operate. ▪ Bubble formation mechanisms may evolve throughout magma ascent as conditions change such that bubbles may form simultaneously and sequentially via more than one mechanism. ▪ Contributions from both homogeneous nucleation and heterogeneous nucleation on multiphase crystal phases can be captured via a single equation. ▪ Future work should focus on constraining macroscopic surface tension, characterizing the microphysics, and developing a general framework for modeling bubble formation, via all mechanisms, over natural magma ascent pathways.

Magnetic signatures of subsurface faults on the northern upper flank of Mt Etna (Italy)

A ground magnetic study was performed on the northern upper flank of Mt. Etna to provide new insights into subsurface volcano-tectonic structures. The high resolution magnetic survey was focused on the main structures of Piano delle Concazze, a large flat area dominated by the North- East crater and bounded by the rim of the Valle del Leone depression and the extremity of the North- East Rift. More than 2,500 measurements were gathered with a sampling step of about 3 m covering an area of about 0.2 km2. The total-intensity anomaly field shows the presence of intense South- North aligned maxima related to shallow geological structures affecting this area. Filtering techniques and 2.5D modeling have been applied for the determination of the magnetic source parameters. In order to distinguish the near surface structure, filters of the vertical derivatives, Butterworth high-pass and the tilt derivative were used. The 3D Euler deconvolution has been applied to estimate the depth and the structural indices of the causative sources. The calculated structural indices, that express the geometrical nature of the source, are in agreement with forward modeling. They show that the area is mainly affected by subvertical normal fault and the estimated depth of magnetic sources ranges between 10 m and 40 m. Our total field magnetic survey shows that characteristic magnetic anomalies are related to fault zones in the Piano delle Concazze that are well consistent with the local tectonics. The subsurface structures that have been detected allowed to delineate the general structural framework of the area. In particular, it was possible to clarify that these structures seem to be not deep rooted and consequently they can hardly act as preferential pathways for magma ascent.

Silicic conduits as supersized tuffisites: Clastogenic influences on shifting eruption styles at Cordón Caulle volcano (Chile)

Understanding the processes that drive explosive-effusive transitions during large silicic eruptions is crucial to hazard mitigation. Conduit models usually treat magma ascent and degassing as a gradual, unidirectional progression from bubble nucleation through magmatic fragmentation. However, there is growing evidence for the importance of bi-directional clastogenic processes that sinter fragmented materials into coherent clastogenic magmas. Bombs that were ejected immediately before the first emergence of lava in the 2011–2012 eruption at Cordón Caulle volcano (Chile) are texturally heterogeneous composite assemblages of welded pyroclastic material. Although diverse in density and appearance, SEM and X-ray tomographic analysis show them all to have been formed by multi-generational viscous sintering of fine ash. Sintering created discrete clasts ranging from obsidian to pumice and formed a pervasive clast-supporting matrix that assembled these clasts into a conduit-sealing plug. An evaluation of sintering timescales reveals texturally disparate bomb components to represent only minutes of difference in residence time within the conduit. Permeability modelling indicates that the plug was an effective conduit seal, with outgassing potential—even from high-porosity regions—being limited by the inability of gas to flow across tendrils of densely sintered inter-clast matrix. Contrary to traditional perspectives, declining expressions of explosivity at the surface need not be preceded or accompanied by a decline in fragmentation efficiency. Instead, they result from tips in balance between the opposing processes of fragmentation and sintering that occur in countless cycles within volcanic conduits. These processes may be particularly enhanced at silicic fissure volcanoes, which have laterally extensive subsurface plumbing systems that require complex magma ascent pathways. The textures investigated here reveal the processes occurring within silicic fissures to be phenomenologically identical to those that have been inferred to occur in tuffisite veins: silicic conduits are essentially supersized examples of edifice-penetrating tuffisites.

Magma ascent pathways associated with large mountains on Io

While Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, the largest mountains seen on Io are created by tectonic forces rather than volcanic construction. Pervasive compression, primarily brought about by subsidence induced by sustained volcanic resurfacing, creates the mountains, but at the same time inhibits magma ascent in vertical conduits (dikes). We superpose stress solutions for subsidence, along with thermal stress, (both from the “crustal conveyor belt” process of resurfacing) in Io's lithosphere with stresses from Io mountain-sized loads (in a shallow spherical shell solution) in order to evaluate magma ascent pathways. We use stress orientation (least compressive stress horizontal) and stress gradient (compression decreasing upwards) criteria to identify ascent pathways through the lithosphere. There are several configurations for which viable ascent paths transit nearly the entire lithosphere, arriving at the base of the mountain, where magma can be transported through thrust faults or perhaps thermally eroded flank sections. The latter is consistent with observations of some Io paterae in close contact with mountains.

The influence of lithospheric flexure on magma ascent at large volcanoes on Venus

AbstractLarge volcanoes on Venus exert large vertical loads on the lithosphere, which responds by deflecting downward. Stresses induced by this lithospheric flexure can have a strong influence on magma ascent pathways from the mantle source region to the surface. Here we propose that flexural stresses exert control over the shapes of volcanic edifices on Venus, applying criteria for magma ascent expressed in terms of stress orientations (can vertical dikes form?) and gradients (is magma squeezed upward or downward in a vertical dike?) to determine favored magma ascent paths and locations. For conical edifices emplaced on lithosphere with high elastic thickness Te, (e.g., > 40 km) both sets of magma ascent criteria are satisfied over the entire lithosphere, allowing essentially unimpeded ascent of magma to the surface and the formation of relatively steep edifices. However, for lower values of Te, high adverse stress gradients tend to cut off magma ascent beneath the summit, instead favoring lateral transport of magma at depth to distal regions with gentler stress gradients, resulting in domical edifice shapes. At the lowest values of Te (< 10 km), large short‐wavelength deflections of the lithosphere tend to produce narrow and widely spaced zones of magma ascent: Such zones may produce annular ridges of volcanic material, thereby generating forms characteristic of a subset of features known as “coronae” on Venus. Another subset of coronae may form by intrusive‐based generation of annular fractures at the edge of the summit region of domical edifices, as proposed for Alba Mons on Mars.

Phenocryst-hosted melt inclusions record stalling of magma during ascent in the conduit and upper magma reservoir prior to vulcanian explosions, Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, West Indies

The mechanics of explosive eruptions influence magma ascent pathways. Vulcanian explosions involve a stop–start mechanism that recurs on various timescales, evacuating the uppermost portions of the conduit. During the repose time between explosions, magma rises from depth and refills the conduit and stalls until the overpressure is sufficient to generate another explosion. We have analyzed major elements, Cl, S, H2O, and CO2 in plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions, sampled from pumice erupted during four vulcanian events at Soufriere Hills volcano, Montserrat, to determine melt compositions prior to eruption. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we measured values up to 6.7 wt.% H2O and 80 ppm CO2. Of 42 melt inclusions, 81 % cluster between 2.8 and 5.4 wt.% H2O (57 to 173 MPa or 2–7 km), suggesting lower conduit to upper magma reservoir conditions. We propose two models to explain the magmatic conditions prior to eruption. In Model 1, melt inclusions were trapped during crystal growth in magma that was stalled in the lower conduit to upper magma reservoir, and during trapping, the magma was undergoing closed-system degassing with up to 1 wt.% free vapor. This model can explain the melt inclusions with higher H2O contents since these have sampled the upper parts of the magma reservoir. However, the model cannot explain the melt inclusions with lower H2O because the timescale for plagioclase crystallization and melt inclusion entrapment is longer than the magma residence time in the conduit. In Model 2, melt inclusions were originally trapped at deeper levels of the magma chamber, but then lost hydrogen by diffusion through the plagioclase host during periodic stalling of the magma in the lower conduit system. In this second scenario, which we favor, the melt inclusions record re-equilibration depths within the lower conduit to upper magma reservoir.

Caldera resurgence during magma replenishment and rejuvenation at Valles and Lake City calderas

A key question in volcanology is the driving mechanisms of resurgence at active, recently active, and ancient calderas. Valles caldera in New Mexico and Lake City caldera in Colorado are well-studied resurgent structures which provide three crucial clues for understanding the resurgence process. (1) Within the limits of 40Ar/39Ar dating techniques, resurgence and hydrothermal alteration at both calderas occurred very quickly after the caldera-forming eruptions (tens of thousands of years or less). (2) Immediately before and during resurgence, dacite magma was intruded and/or erupted into each system; this magma is chemically distinct from rhyolite magma which was resident in each system. (3) At least 1 km of structural uplift occurred along regional and subsidence faults which were closely associated with shallow intrusions or lava domes of dacite magma. These observations demonstrate that resurgence at these two volcanoes is temporally linked to caldera subsidence, with the upward migration of dacite magma as the driver of resurgence. Recharge of dacite magma occurs as a response to loss of lithostatic load during the caldera-forming eruption. Flow of dacite into the shallow magmatic system is facilitated by regional fault systems which provide pathways for magma ascent. Once the dacite enters the system, it is able to heat, remobilize, and mingle with residual crystal-rich rhyolite remaining in the shallow magma chamber. Dacite and remobilized rhyolite rise buoyantly to form laccoliths by lifting the chamber roof and producing surface resurgent uplift. The resurgent deformation caused by magma ascent fractures the chamber roof, increasing its structural permeability and allowing both rhyolite and dacite magmas to intrude and/or erupt together. This sequence of events also promotes the development of magmatic–hydrothermal systems and ore deposits. Injection of dacite magma into the shallow rhyolite magma chamber provides a source of heat and magmatic volatiles, while resurgent deformation and fracturing increase the permeability of the system. These changes allow magmatic volatiles to rise and meteoric fluids to percolate downward, favouring the development of hydrothermal convection cells which are driven by hot magma. The end result is a vigorous hydrothermal system which is driven by magma recharge.

Methodology for the computation of volcanic susceptibility: An example for mafic and felsic eruptions on Tenerife (Canary Islands)

A new method to calculate volcanic susceptibility, i.e. the spatial probability of vent opening, is presented. Determination of volcanic susceptibility should constitute the first step in the elaboration of volcanic hazard maps of active volcanic fields. Our method considers different criteria as possible indicators for the location of future vents, based on the assumption that these locations should correspond to the surface expressions of the most likely pathways for magma ascent. Thus, two groups of criteria have been considered depending on the time scale (short or long term) of our approach. The first one accounts for long-term hazard assessment and corresponds to structural criteria that provide direct information on the internal structure of the volcanic field, including its past and present stress field, location of structural lineations (fractures and dikes), and location of past eruptions. The second group of criteria concerns to the computation of susceptibility for short term analyses (from days to a few months) during unrest episodes, and includes those structural and dynamical aspects that can be inferred from volcano monitoring. Thus, a specific layer of information is obtained for each of the criteria used. The specific weight of each criterion on the overall analysis depends on its relative significance to indicate pathways for magma ascent, on the quality of data and on their degree of confidence. The combination of the different data layers allows to create a map of the spatial probability of future eruptions based on objective criteria, thus constituting the first step to obtain the corresponding volcanic hazards map. The method has been used to calculate long-term volcanic susceptibility on Tenerife (Canary Islands), and the results obtained are also presented.

Strike-slip faulting in the core of the Central Range of west New Guinea: Ertsberg Mining District, Indonesia

Most of the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the New Guinea region is the result of obliquely convergent motion that led to an arc-continent collision between the Pacific and Australian plates. Detailed structural mapping was conducted along road exposures in the Ertsberg (Gunung Bijih) Mining District in the core of the Central Range in the western half of the island. Two distinct stages of deformation are recognized. The first stage took place between ca. 12 and ca. 4 Ma and generated kilometer-scale folds with subsidiary reverse/thrust faults and strike-slip tear faults. Regionally, this deformation records many tens of kilometers of shortening. The second stage began at ca. 4 Ma and generated five northwest-trending (∼300°) strike-slip fault zones up to a few tens of meters wide that are highly brecciated and contain numerous, mostly subparallel, planar faults. Each of these zones was a site of tens to a few hundred meters of left-lateral offset. Between these zones are domains containing three groups of planar strike-slip faults with orientations that are interpreted in terms of Riedel shears. (1) 040°–070° trending faults with left-lateral offset that plunge to the northeast (R shears), (2) 355°–015° trending faults with right-lateral offset that plunge to the N (R′-shears), and (3) 280°–300° trending faults with left-lateral offset that plunge to the northwest (D-shears). Subsidiary dip-slip faults (rakes > 45°) are associated with each group. Deformation in the district since ca. 4 Ma is best characterized as a left-lateral strike-slip fault system along an ∼300° azimuth. The change from tens of kilometers of shortening deformation that caused large-scale folding to a few kilometers of left- lateral strike-slip faulting occurred during the latest stage of collisional orogenesis. Although strike-slip faulting was a minor late-stage process, it was of profound importance in generating pathways for magma ascent and permeability for the rise of mineralizing fluids. The Grasberg Igneous Complex, the host of a supergiant Cu-Au porphyry copper–type ore deposit, was emplaced into a 2-km-wide, left-stepping pull-apart.

Are laccolith complexes characteristic of transtensional basin systems? Examples from the Permo-Carboniferous of Central Europe

Abstract By comparing felsic laccolith complexes prominent in the Late Palaeozoic Ilfeld-, Saar-Nahe-, and Saale basins in Germany, a characteristic pattern related to transtensional tectonics is revealed. In contrast to the central magma feeding systems recognized so far for laccolith complexes, individual units of the Late Palaeozoic Central European complexes apparently were fed synchronously by numerous feeder systems arranged laterally in a systematic pattern. The Ilfeld Basin is a small strike-slip pull-apart basin in the SE of the Hartz Mountains cogenetic with a neighbouring rhomb horst — the Kyffhäuser. The Ilfeld Basin represents a ‘frozen-in’ early stage of laccolith complex evolution, with small isolated intrusions and domes emplaced within a common level at the intersections of intra-basinal Riedel shears. In the Saar-Nahe basin, numerous medium-sized felsic subvolcanic to subaerial complexes emplaced at a common level have been recognized (Donnersberg-type laccolith complex). The magmatic evolution of the Halle Volcanic Complex in the Saale Basin culminated in the more or less synchronous emplacement of voluminous porphyritic laccoliths within different levels of a thick pile of Late Carboniferous sediments (Halle-type laccolith complex). Laccoliths in the Halle area might consist of several laccoliths typical of the Saar-Nahe Basin according to outcrop pattern and host sediment distribution. The above-mentioned three post-Variscan Central European basins are characterized by a dextral transtensional tectonic regime, leading to a model for laccolith-complex evolution: 1 Initial lithosphere-wide faulting forms pathways for magma ascent. 2 Supracrustal pull-apart leads to the formation of a transtensional basin. 3 Continued transtension gives way to decompressional melting of the mantle lithosphere, especially if fertilized by previous magmatic activity, as in the Variscan orogen. The mantle melts rise into the lower crust to differentiate, mingle or cause anatexis. 4 The melts homogenize and start crystallizing in a mid- to upper-crustal magma chamber tapped during tectonic episodes. 5 The resulting SiO 2 -rich magmas ascend along major transtensional faults into thick sedimentary basin fill. The amount of transtension and the amount of melt rising from the lithospheric mantle have a major influence on the type and size of the laccolith complex to be formed. Additionally, the presence of a mid- to upper crustal magma chamber is a prerequisite for the formation of the Donnerberg and Halle type laccolith complexes.

Mathematica as a powerful and practical tool for displaying animated three‐dimensional structures of the Earth's interior

Seismic tomographic studies have determined three‐dimensional (3‐D) velocity structures, in detail, of the crust and the upper mantle of the Earth. Yet, simple two‐dimensional (2‐D) sections have generally been used to present 3‐D tomographic results. Here we show 3‐D views and animations of the Earth's structure that are made as easy as 2‐D sections, by using Mathematica. As an example, low‐velocity zones in the upper mantle are shown in three dimensions, together with major volcanoes, mid‐crustal reflectors, earthquake hypocenters, the Moho discontinuity and the upper plane of the subducted slab, that are observed in northeastern Japan. Low velocities in volcanic areas generally correspond to high temperatures, and indicate possible presence of magma. The 3‐D animations enable us to investigate the spatial relation between low‐velocity zones, volcanoes, reflectors, earthquakes and the slab, and thus enable us to study magma ascent pathways in detail.

Neotectonic regime on the passive continental margin of the northern South China Sea

Between 1989 and 1994, more than 6600 km of reflection seismic profiles were obtained in the South China Sea off Hong Kong with the German research vessel Sonne during cruises SO-50B, SO-72A and SO-95. A seismo-stratigraphic interpretation of this data set leads to a new age assignment of the unconformity T 0 which we place within the Pleistocene. Both Neogene unconformities T 1 and T 0 are generated by uplift of the Dongsha Rise and truncation of their overlying strata. This uplift is caused by intrusion of magma into the upper crust. Our seismic profiles show plutons which have penetrated the sedimentary cover, whereby their original stratification in the contact zone is eliminated. These magmato–tectonic events may be correlated to the two main collision phases between Taiwan and the continental margin of East China 5–3 and 3–0 ma ago. The collisional events subsequent to the NNW to WNW drift of Taiwan transformed the compression into strike–slip movements along the continental margin of Southeastern China. The accompanying stress regime is transtensional, with subsidence of the cooling oceanic crust since the cessation of rifting and its consumption beneath the Manila Trench providing the extensional stress. The strike–slip movements remobilized many of the rift and drift faults providing pathways for magma ascent. The tectonic framework of the northern South China Sea is characterized by Miocene faults trending NE–SW. These faults are scarce but are distributed throughout the study area. Pliocene faults striking ENE–WSW to NE–SW are concentrated west of the Dongsha Islands and are mostly strike–slip in character. Recent faults are generally oriented NE–SW subparallel to the synrift faults. They result in part from local uplifts where they are normal in character, but strike–slip motion also occurs. Most of the faults involve the basement and represent reactivated zones of weakness of the rift and drift phases.

Simulations of magma ascent and pyroclast dispersal at Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

Two-phase flow models of magma ascent in volcanic conduits and pyroclast dispersal in the pressure- and temperature-stratified atmosphere were employed to study the consistency of the Palizzi pumice fall eruption phase and the last eruption of Vulcano with modeling predictions. The input data for magma ascent modeling were constrained by the limited availability of petrological, volcanological and geophysical data, and consisted of magma composition, crystal content, conduit geometry, and pressure and temperature of magma in the magma chamber. The magma ascent model was used to establish the locations of magma exsolution and fragmentation levels, gas and pyroclast velocities, pressure, and pyroclast volumetric fractions at the exits of conduits of different diameters and lengths. The vent exit conditions of gas and pyroclasts corresponding to different magma compositions and conduit geometry were employed in the pyroclastic dispersion modeling to establish the distribution of gas and pyroclasts in the atmosphere and along the slopes of the volcano during the first few minutes of the eruptions in order to determine the volcanic column and flow behavior along the slopes of the volcano. The results from simulations showed that the Palizzi pumice fall eruption phase and the last eruption of Vulcano which produced bread-crust bombs are consistent with magma ascent and pyroclastic dispersion models. Using the available volcanological, petrological and geophysical data as well as the modeling results, an eruptive scenario of each cycle of Vulcano was hypothesized where the chemical characteristics of new magma supply into the volcanic system and magma remaining in the system after preceding eruptions, mechanical characteristics of the magma ascent pathways, and the conditions of aquifers surrounding these pathways determine the duration of phreatic, phreatomagmatic, magmatic, and lava flow activities within each cycle. The modeling results also suggested that the Palizzi pumice fall eruption phase ejected magma with a dissolved water content of about 2 wt.% from a vent diameter of about 30 m, and that the dissolved water content in magma during the last eruption of Vulcano ranged between 1 and 2 wt.%. Detailed modeling of various eruptive phases and adequate volcanic hazard assessment at Vulcano not only requires the development of magma-water interaction and hydrothermal circulation models, but also the collection of modeling oriented volcanological, petrological, and geophysical data.

Experimental studies of collapse calderas

We present experiments to investigate the formation of calderas using inflatable balloons in a medium of fused alumina powder. This system provides a model of a magma chamber in an homogeneous elastic media which scales to volcanic systems in terms of geometry and strength of the media. Three kinds of experiment were performed: (i) the balloon was inflated and then deflated simulating pre-emption tumescence and caldera collapse: (ii) the balloon was deflated without prior inflation, simulating caldera formation without pre-eruption tumescence: (iii) three balloons were inflated and deflated in a line, simulating multiple magma chambers. The influence of magma chamber shape was investigated using different shaped balloons. Balloon inflation formed a dome with a surface pattern of shallow polygonal fractures centrally, and radial fractures peripherally. Uplift occurs along deep inward-dipping concentric reverse faults. Deflation generated depressions with an outer set of concentric ring fractures surrounding a central funnel formed by sagging along numerous minor faults, some of which formed during doming. During collapse the concentric reverse faults were converted to normal faults and the radial normally-faulted fractures were converted to reverse faults. Without prior tumescence, an outer set of near vertical ring faults surround a flat central depression due to collapse of a coherent block. An inner set of outward-dipping reverse ring faults also develop. The experimental caldera area increased with balloon size and increased as the balloon depth decreased. For a given balloon volume and depth, collapse area is significantly smaller if doming had occurred prior to collapse. Arcuate fractures can provide the pathways for magma ascent during pre-emption tumescence (Smith & Bailey 1968), but the shallow radial and polygonal fracture systems may also influence vent location. Changes in fault geometry and sense of movement (extension to compression and vice versa) occur when subsidence initiates, and can account for changes in vent location that occur in many eruptions. Multiple overlapping collapse calderas are associated with magma chamber migration, whereas nested calderas can result from the activity of a single magma chamber.