Outgassing: Influence on speed of magma fragmentation

2013

[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…