John Browning

Cooling dominated cracking in thermally stressed volcanic rocks

Most studies of thermally induced cracking in rocks have focused on the generation of cracks formed during heating and thermal expansion. Both the nature and the mechanism of crack formation during cooling are hypothesized to be different from those formed during heating. We present in situ acoustic emission data recorded as a proxy for crack damage evolution in a series of heating and cooling experiments on samples of basalt and dacite. Results show that both the rate and the energy of acoustic emission are consistently much higher during cooling than during heating. Seismic velocity comparisons and crack morphology analysis of our heated and cooled samples support the contemporaneous acoustic emission data and also indicate that thermal cracking is largely isotropic. These new data are important for assessing the contribution of cooling-induced damage within volcanic structures and layers such as dikes, sills, and lava flows.

Forecasting magma-chamber rupture at Santorini volcano, Greece

How much magma needs to be added to a shallow magma chamber to cause rupture, dyke injection, and a potential eruption? Models that yield reliable answers to this question are needed in order to facilitate eruption forecasting. Development of a long-lived shallow magma chamber requires periodic influx of magmas from a parental body at depth. This redistribution process does not necessarily cause an eruption but produces a net volume change that can be measured geodetically by inversion techniques. Using continuum-mechanics and fracture-mechanics principles, we calculate the amount of magma contained at shallow depth beneath Santorini volcano, Greece. We demonstrate through structural analysis of dykes exposed within the Santorini caldera, previously published data on the volume of recent eruptions, and geodetic measurements of the 2011–2012 unrest period, that the measured 0.02% increase in volume of Santorini’s shallow magma chamber was associated with magmatic excess pressure increase of around 1.1 MPa. This excess pressure was high enough to bring the chamber roof close to rupture and dyke injection. For volcanoes with known typical extrusion and intrusion (dyke) volumes, the new methodology presented here makes it possible to forecast the conditions for magma-chamber failure and dyke injection at any geodetically well-monitored volcano.

Crustal Thickness Beneath Libya and the Origin of Partial Melt Beneath AS Sawda Volcanic Province From Receiver Function Constraints

This study investigates crustal thickness and properties within the Libyan region. Results obtained from 15 seismic stations belonging to the Libyan Center for Remote Sensing and Space Science are reported, in addition to 3 seismic stations publically available, using receiver functions. The results show crustal thicknesses ranging from 24 km to 36 km (with uncertainties ranging between ±0.10 km to ±0.90 km). More specifically, crustal thickness ranges from 32 km to 36 km in the southern portion of the Libyan territory then becomes thinner, between 24 km and 30 km, in the coastal areas of Libya and thinnest, between 24 km and 28 km, in the Sirt Basin. The observed high Vp/Vs value of 1.91 at one station located at the As Sawda Volcanic Province in central Libya indicates the presence of either partial melt or an abnormally warm area. This finding suggests that magma reservoirs beneath the Libyan territory may still be partially molten and active, thereby posing significant earthquake and volcanic risks. The hypothesis of an active magma source is further demonstrated though the presence of asthenospheric upwelling and extension of the Sirt Basin. This study provides a new calculation of unconsolidated sediment layers by using the arrival time of the P-to-S converted phases. The results show sediments thicknesses of 0.4 km to 3.7 km, with the Vp/Vs values ranging from 2.2 to 4.8. The variations in crustal thickness throughout the region are correlated with surface elevation and Bouguer gravity anomalies, which suggest that they are isostatically compensated.

A Directional Crack Damage Memory Effect in Sandstone Under True Triaxial Loading

Crack damage leading to failure in rocks can be accumulated through cyclic stressing in the crust. However, the vast majority of experimental studies to investigate cyclic stressing apply conventional triaxial stress states (σ1 > σ2 = σ3), while in nature the state of stress in the crust is generally truly triaxial (σ1 > σ2 > σ3). Furthermore, the magnitude of these crustal stresses can vary over time and their orientations can also rotate over time, generating multiple crack populations and bulk anisotropic crack damage. We investigate the evolution of crack damage under both conventional and true triaxial stress conditions by sequentially and cyclically varying stresses in all three principal directions on cubic samples of dry sandstone using independently controlled stress paths. We have measured, simultaneously with stress, the bulk acoustic emission output, as a proxy for crack damage. We report a directionally controlled crack damage memory effect which has implications for the approach to failure in complex tectonic stress environments.

Correction to: Depths of magma chambers at three volcanic provinces in the Karlıova region of Eastern Turkey

In the article “Depths of magma chambers at three volcanic provinces in the Karlıova region of Eastern Turkey”, the figure captions for Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 were switched.