Combined effect of permeability and crystallization on the explosive eruption of basaltic magma

Abstract:

Plinian eruptions are the most dangerous style of eruptive activity of basaltic magma. In this study, we focus on the two best studied Plinian eruptions of basaltic magma at Mt. Tarawera, New Zealand (1886 CE) and Mt. Etna, Italy (122 BCE). We measured and analyzed the porosity-permeability relationships of the pyroclasts from both eruptions. We then used numerical modeling to assess the relative importance of two competing processes during eruptive magma ascent, which are the syneruptive crystallization that increases viscosity, potentially increasing bubble overpressure, and the open-system degassing of the permeable magma that allows the pressurized gas to escape, potentially reducing bubble overpressure. We find that the onset of crystallization is likely to have occurred prior to the onset of magma percolation. The orders of magnitude increase in magma viscosity due to the nucleation and growth of microlites had the combined effect of rapidly increasing the decompression rate, due to viscous pressure losses associated with magma flow within the volcanic conduit, and decreasing the rates of bubble growth, thus building up large overpressures inside bubbles. Although measured permeabilities of the studied pyroclasts are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than their silicic counterpart, our model results show that crystallization and subsequent increase in viscosity are likely to surpass the effect of open-system gas loss, thus increasing bubble overpressure, required for explosive magma fragmentation.