Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions
Understanding the mechanisms that control the start-up of volcanic unrest is crucial to improve the forecasting of eruptions at active volcanoes. Among the most active volcanoes in the world are the so-called persistently degassing ones (e.g., Etna, Italy; Merapi, Indonesia), which emit massive amou...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81545 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/39590 |
| _version_ | 1826124501117566976 |
|---|---|
| author | Girona, Társilo Costa, Fidel Schubert, Gerald |
| author2 | Asian School of the Environment |
| author_facet | Asian School of the Environment Girona, Társilo Costa, Fidel Schubert, Gerald |
| author_sort | Girona, Társilo |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Understanding the mechanisms that control the start-up of volcanic unrest is crucial to improve the forecasting of eruptions at active volcanoes. Among the most active volcanoes in the world are the so-called persistently degassing ones (e.g., Etna, Italy; Merapi, Indonesia), which emit massive amounts of gas during quiescence (several kilotonnes per day) and erupt every few months or years. The hyperactivity of these volcanoes results from frequent pressurizations of the shallow magma plumbing system, which in most cases are thought to occur by the ascent of magma from deep to shallow reservoirs. However, the driving force that causes magma ascent from depth remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that magma ascent can be triggered by the passive release of gas during quiescence, which induces the opening of pathways connecting deep and shallow magma reservoirs. This top-down mechanism for volcanic eruptions contrasts with the more common bottom-up mechanisms in which magma ascent is only driven by processes occurring at depth. A cause-effect relationship between passive degassing and magma ascent can explain the fact that repose times are typically much longer than unrest times preceding eruptions, and may account for the so frequent unrest episodes of persistently degassing volcanoes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:21:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/81545 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:21:39Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/815452022-02-16T16:30:33Z Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions Girona, Társilo Costa, Fidel Schubert, Gerald Asian School of the Environment Earth Observatory of Singapore Geophysics; Volcanology Understanding the mechanisms that control the start-up of volcanic unrest is crucial to improve the forecasting of eruptions at active volcanoes. Among the most active volcanoes in the world are the so-called persistently degassing ones (e.g., Etna, Italy; Merapi, Indonesia), which emit massive amounts of gas during quiescence (several kilotonnes per day) and erupt every few months or years. The hyperactivity of these volcanoes results from frequent pressurizations of the shallow magma plumbing system, which in most cases are thought to occur by the ascent of magma from deep to shallow reservoirs. However, the driving force that causes magma ascent from depth remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that magma ascent can be triggered by the passive release of gas during quiescence, which induces the opening of pathways connecting deep and shallow magma reservoirs. This top-down mechanism for volcanic eruptions contrasts with the more common bottom-up mechanisms in which magma ascent is only driven by processes occurring at depth. A cause-effect relationship between passive degassing and magma ascent can explain the fact that repose times are typically much longer than unrest times preceding eruptions, and may account for the so frequent unrest episodes of persistently degassing volcanoes. NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore) MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version 2016-01-06T06:15:54Z 2019-12-06T14:33:24Z 2016-01-06T06:15:54Z 2019-12-06T14:33:24Z 2015 Journal Article Girona, T., Costa, F., & Schubert, G. (2015). Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions. Scientific Reports, 5, 18212-. 2045-2322 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81545 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/39590 10.1038/srep18212 26666396 en Scientific Reports This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 7 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Geophysics; Volcanology Girona, Társilo Costa, Fidel Schubert, Gerald Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| title | Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| title_full | Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| title_fullStr | Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| title_short | Degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| title_sort | degassing during quiescence as a trigger of magma ascent and volcanic eruptions |
| topic | Geophysics; Volcanology |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81545 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/39590 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gironatarsilo degassingduringquiescenceasatriggerofmagmaascentandvolcaniceruptions AT costafidel degassingduringquiescenceasatriggerofmagmaascentandvolcaniceruptions AT schubertgerald degassingduringquiescenceasatriggerofmagmaascentandvolcaniceruptions |