0000000000319078
AUTHOR
Bettina Scheu
The roles of microlites and phenocrysts during degassing of silicic magma
Abstract Silicic magmas span a wide range of eruptive styles between explosive and effusive, and transitions between these styles are commonplace. Yet the triggers of switches in eruptive style remain poorly understood. Eruptions are mostly driven by degassing of magmatic water and their eruption style - effusive or explosive - is likely governed by the efficiency of outgassing as well as magma ascent rate. Microlites and phenocrysts are often purported to promote heterogeneous bubble nucleation and outgassing, both key variables in the degassing dynamics that become crucial in controlling the eruptive style. Here, in order to shed light on the role of nature, size and abundance of crystals…
Outgassing: Influence on speed of magma fragmentation
[1] Predicting explosive eruptions remains an outstanding challenge. Knowledge of the controlling parameters and their relative importance is crucial to deepen our understanding of conduit flow dynamics and accurately model the processes involved. This experimental study sheds light on one important parameter—outgassing—and evaluates its influence on magma fragmentation behavior. We perform fragmentation experiments based on the shock tube theory at room temperature on natural pyroclastic material with a connected porosity ranging from 15% to 78%. For each sample series, we determine the initial pressure (P) required to initiate magma fragmentation (fragmentation threshold, Pth). Furthermor…