The Chthonic Charging of Volcanic Flows: The Generation of Vent Lightning

Abstract:

While volcanic lightning has been reported for millennia, the physics that generate charge in plumes still require clarification. Lightning observations during the Augustine (2006) and Redoubt (2009) eruptions have revealed a new form of lightning: nearly continuous, vent discharges associated with the explosive phase of the eruption. Vent lightning is often small (10-100 m in length) and disorganized, suggesting the existence of multiple, transient charge centers proximal to the volcanic vent. Thomas et al., 2007 and Behnke et al., 2012 have postulated that this form of lightning is driven by fragmentation charging [James et al., 2008]. However, triboelectrification—frictional charging arising from particle-particle collisions as material is advected up to the vent—should also play an important role. Because tribocharging is modulated by collision rates and energies, it is within the conduit and the gas-thrust regions that this frictional process should be most efficient. Indeed, the work of Cimarelli et al., 2014 has suggested that lightning can be generated at the vent via triboelectric charging alone. Using an energy-based comparison, we investigate the relative efficiencies of fracto- and triboelectric charging. To generate charged particles via a fragmentation process, we employ Prince Rupert's Drops (PRDs), meta-stable, tadpole-shaped structures formed by quenching molten glass in water. While a PDR's head is extremely strong, even the slightest damage to the tail causes explosive disintegration of the drop [Silverman et al., 2012]. A set of PDRs are disrupted in a controlled environment and the charge on the resulting particles is measured using a set of Faraday cups. The energy density associated with the breaking of PRDs is on the order of 10⁵-10⁶ J/m³. Then, to investigate tribocharging at similar energies, we eject spherical particles at high velocities, producing particle-particle collisions in a novel Faraday cube sensor. Our setup allows us to measure the initial and resulting charges on impacting particles and explore how charge transfer is modulated by collisional energy. Using these techniques, we construct a complete model for chthonic electrification—that is, subsurface charging—in volcanic systems, describing the dynamics needed to produce vent lighting.