Tobias Dürig

Gradual caldera collapse at Bárdarbunga volcano, Iceland, regulated by lateral magma outflow

Driven to collapse Volcanic eruptions occur frequently, but only rarely are they large enough to cause the top of the mountain to collapse and form a caldera. Gudmundsson et al. used a variety of geophysical tools to monitor the caldera formation that accompanied the 2014 Bárdarbunga volcanic eruption in Iceland. The volcanic edifice became unstable as magma from beneath Bárdarbunga spilled out into the nearby Holuhraun lava field. The timing of the gradual collapse revealed that it is the eruption that drives caldera formation and not the other way around. Science, this issue p. 262 Magma flow from under the Bárdarbunga volcano drove caldera collapse during the 2014 eruption. INTRODUCTION The Bárdarbunga caldera volcano in central Iceland collapsed from August 2014 to February 2015 during the largest eruption in Europe since 1784. An ice-filled subsidence bowl, 110 square kilometers (km2) in area and up to 65 meters (m) deep developed, while magma drained laterally for 48 km along a subterranean path and erupted as a major lava flow northeast of the volcano. Our data provide unprecedented insight into the workings of a collapsing caldera. RATIONALE Collapses of caldera volcanoes are, fortunately, not very frequent, because they are often associated with very large volcanic eruptions. On the other hand, the rarity of caldera collapses limits insight into this major geological hazard. Since the formation of Katmai caldera in 1912, during the 20th century’s largest eruption, only five caldera collapses are known to have occurred before that at Bárdarbunga. We used aircraft-based altimetry, satellite photogrammetry, radar interferometry, ground-based GPS, evolution of seismicity, radio-echo soundings of ice thickness, ice flow modeling, and geobarometry to describe and analyze the evolving subsidence geometry, its underlying cause, the amount of magma erupted, the geometry of the subsurface caldera ring faults, and the moment tensor solutions of the collapse-related earthquakes. RESULTS After initial lateral withdrawal of magma for some days though a magma-filled fracture propagating through Earth’s upper crust, preexisting ring faults under the volcano were reactivated over the period 20 to 24 August, marking the onset of collapse. On 31 August, the eruption started, and it terminated when the collapse stopped, having produced 1.5 km of basaltic lava. The subsidence of the caldera declined with time in a near-exponential manner, in phase with the lava flow rate. The volume of the subsidence bowl was about 1.8 km3. Using radio-echo soundings, we find that the subglacial bedrock surface after the collapse is down-sagged, with no indications of steep fault escarpments. Using geobarometry, we determined the depth of magma reservoir to be ~12 km, and modeling of geodetic observations gives a similar result. High-precision earthquake locations and moment tensor analysis of the remarkable magnitude M5 earthquake series are consistent with steeply dipping ring faults. Statistical analysis of seismicity reveals communication over tens of kilometers between the caldera and the dike. CONCLUSION We conclude that interaction between the pressure exerted by the subsiding reservoir roof and the physical properties of the subsurface flow path explain the gradual near-exponential decline of both the collapse rate and the intensity of the 180-day-long eruption. By combining our various data sets, we show that the onset of collapse was caused by outflow of magma from underneath the caldera when 12 to 20% of the total magma intruded and erupted had flowed from the magma reservoir. However, the continued subsidence was driven by a feedback between the pressure of the piston-like block overlying the reservoir and the 48-km-long magma outflow path. Our data provide better constraints on caldera mechanisms than previously available, demonstrating what caused the onset and how both the roof overburden and the flow path properties regulate the collapse. The Bárdarbunga caldera and the lateral magma flow path to the Holuhraun eruption site. (A) Aerial view of the ice-filled Bárdarbunga caldera on 24 October 2014, view from the north. (B) The effusive eruption in Holuhraun, about 40 km to the northeast of the caldera

MeMoVolc report on classification and dynamics of volcanic explosive eruptions

Classifications of volcanic eruptions were first introduced in the early twentieth century mostly based on qualitative observations of eruptive activity, and over time, they have gradually been developed to incorporate more quantitative descriptions of the eruptive products from both deposits and observations of active volcanoes. Progress in physical volcanology, and increased capability in monitoring, measuring and modelling of explosive eruptions, has highlighted shortcomings in the way we classify eruptions and triggered a debate around the need for eruption classification and the advantages and disadvantages of existing classification schemes. Here, we (i) review and assess existing classification schemes, focussing on subaerial eruptions; (ii) summarize the fundamental processes that drive and parameters that characterize explosive volcanism; (iii) identify and prioritize the main research that will improve the understanding, characterization and classification of volcanic eruptions and (iv) provide a roadmap for producing a rational and comprehensive classification scheme. In particular, classification schemes need to be objective-driven and simple enough to permit scientific exchange and promote transfer of knowledge beyond the scientific community. Schemes should be comprehensive and encompass a variety of products, eruptive styles and processes, including for example, lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, gas emissions and cinder cone or caldera formation. Open questions, processes and parameters that need to be addressed and better characterized in order to develop more comprehensive classification schemes and to advance our understanding of volcanic eruptions include conduit processes and dynamics, abrupt transitions in eruption regime, unsteadiness, eruption energy and energy balance.

Volcanic jets, plumes, and collapsing fountains: Evidence from large-scale experiments, with particular emphasis on the entrainment rate

The source conditions of volcanic plumes and collapsing fountains are investigated by means of large-scale experiments. In the experiments, gas-particle jets issuing from a cylindrical conduit are forced into the atmosphere at different mass flow rates. Dense jets (high particle volumetric concentration, e.g., C0 > 0.01) generate collapsing fountains, whose height scales with the squared exit velocity. This is consistent with Bernoulli’s equation, which is a good approximation if air entrainment is negligible. In this case, kinetic energy is transformed into potential energy without any significant loss by friction with the atmosphere. The dense collapsing fountain, on hitting the ground, generates an intense shear flow similar to a pyroclastic density current. Dilute hot jets (low particle volumetric concentration, e.g., C0 < 0.01) dissipate their initial kinetic energy at much smaller heights than those predicted by Bernoulli’s equation. This is an indication that part of the total mechanical energy is lost by friction with the atmosphere. Significant air entrainment results in this case, leading to the formation of a buoyant column (plume) from which particles settle similarly to pyroclastic fallout. The direct measurement of entrainment coefficient in the experiments suggests that dense collapsing fountains form only when air entrainment is not significant. This is a consequence of the large density difference between the jet and the atmosphere. Cold dilute experiments result in an entrainment coefficient of about 0.06, which is typical of pure jets of fluid dynamics. Hot dilute experiments result in an entrainment coefficient of about 0.11, which is typical of thermally buoyant plumes. The entrainment coefficients obtained by experiments were used as input data in numerical simulations of fountains and plumes. A numerical model was used to solve the classic top-hat system of governing equations, which averages the field variables (e.g., column velocity and density) across the column. The maximum heights calculated with the model agree well with those observed experimentally, showing that our entrainment coefficients are compatible with a top-hat model. Dimensional analysis of the experimental data shows that a value of 3 for the source densimetric Froude number characterizes the transition between dense collapsing fountains and dilute plumes. This value delimits the source conditions (exit velocity, conduit radius, and particle volumetric concentration) for pyroclastic flow (<3) and fallout (>3).

Comparative analyses of glass fragments from brittle fracture experiments and volcanic ash particles

Explosive volcanic eruptions are characterized by the rapid fragmentation of a magmatic melt into ash particles. In order to describe the energy dissipation during fragmentation it is important to understand the mechanism of material failure. A quantitative description of fragmentation is only possible under controlled laboratory conditions. Industrial silicate glasses have a high structural affinity with magmatic melts and have the advantage of being transparent, which allows the study of the evolution of fractures by optical methods on a time scale relevant for explosive volcanism. With this aim, a series of low speed edge-on hammer impact experiments on silicate glass targets has been conducted, leading to the generation of fragments in the grain-size spectra of volcanic ash. In order to verify the general transferability of the experimentally generated fragmentation dynamics to volcanic processes, the resulting products were compared, by means of statistical particle-shape analyses, to particles produced by standardized magma fragmentation experiments and to natural ash particles coming from deposits of basaltic and rhyolitic compositions from the 2004 Grimsvötn and the Quaternary Tepexitl tuff-ring eruptions, respectively. Natural ash particles from both Grimsvötn and Tepexitl show significant similarities with experimental fragments of thermally pre-stressed float glasses, indicating a dominant influence of preexisting stresses on particle shape and suggesting analogous fragmentation processes within the studied materials.

Simulating maar–diatreme volcanic systems in bench-scale experiments

Maar–diatreme eruptions are incompletely understood, and explanations for the processes involved in them have been debated for decades. This study extends bench-scale analogue experiments previously conducted on maar–diatreme systems and attempts to scale the results up to both field-scale experimentation and natural volcanic systems to produce a reconstructive toolkit for maar volcanoes. These experimental runs produced via multiple mechanisms complex deposits that match many features seen in natural maar–diatreme deposits. The runs include deeper single blasts, series of descending discrete blasts, and series of ascending blasts. Debris-jet inception and diatreme formation are indicated by this study to involve multiple types of granular fountains within diatreme deposits produced under varying initial conditions. It is not possible to infer the energies of single blasts in multiple-blast series from the final deposits. The depositional record of blast sequences can be ascertained from the proportion of fallback sedimentation versus maar ejecta rim material, the final crater size and the degree of overturning or slumping of accessory strata. Quantitatively, deeper blasts involve a roughly equal partitioning of energy into crater excavation energy versus mass movement of juvenile material, whereas shallower blasts expend a much greater proportion of energy in crater excavation. Supplementary materials: Five video files, 12 figures and three tables are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18890.

Reconstruction of the geometry of volcanic vents by trajectory tracking of fast ejecta - the case of the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption (Iceland)

Two methods are introduced to estimate the depth of origin of ejecta trajectories (depth to magma level in conduit) and the diameter of a conduit in an erupting crater, using analysis of videos from the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption to evaluate their applicability. Both methods rely on the identification of straight, initial trajectories of fast ejecta, observed near the crater rims before they are appreciably bent by air drag and gravity. In the first method, through tracking these straight trajectories and identifying a cut-off angle, the inner diameter and the depth level of the vent can be constrained. In the second method, the intersection point of straight trajectories from individual pulses is used to determine the maximum possible depth from which the tracked ejecta originated and the width of the region from which the pulses emanated. The two methods give nearly identical results on the depth to magma level in the crater of Eyjafjallajökull on 8 to 10 May of 51 ± 7 m. The inner vent diameter, at the level of origin of the pulses and ejecta, is found to have been 8 to 15 m. These methods open up the possibility to feed (near) real-time monitoring systems with otherwise inaccessible information about vent geometry during an ongoing eruption and help defining important eruption source parameters.

High-Resolution Digital Elevation Modeling from TLS and UAV Campaign Reveals Structural Complexity at the 2014/2015 Holuhraun Eruption Site, Iceland

Fissure eruptions are commonly linked to magma dikes at depth, associated with elastic and anelastic surface deformation. Elastic deformation is well described by subsidence above, uplift and lateral widening perpendicular to the dike plane. The anelastic part is associated with the formation of a graben, bordered by graben parallel faults that might express as sets of fractures at the surface. Additionally secondary structures, like push ups, bends and step overs yield information about the deforming domain. The formation of such structures associated with fissure eruptions, however, is barely preserved in nature because of the rapid erosion or sediment coverage. Therefore, simple normal fault displacements are commonly assumed at dikes. At the 2014/2015 Holuhraun eruption sites (Iceland), evidence is increasing that the developing fractures are showing variations in their displacement modes. In an attempt to investigate these variations, a fieldwork mapping project combining Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based aerophoto analysis was realized. From this data, we generated locally high resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and a structural map that allows for identification of kinematic indicators and assessing particularities of the observed structures. We identified 315 fracture segments from satellite data. For single segments we measured strike directions including the amount of opening and opening angles, indicating that many of the measured fractures show transtensional dislocations. Out of these, 81 % are showing significant left-lateral slip, only 17% right-lateral slip and 2% pure tensile opening. We show that local complexities in the fracture traces and geometries are closely related to variations in the transtensional opening direction. Moreover, we identified local changes in fracture azimuths and offsets close to eruption sites, which we speculate to be associated with geometrical changes in the magma feeder itself. Results highlight that opening of fractures associated with an erupting fissure commonly show transtensional modes having both, left-lateral and right-lateral slip, with important implications for interpreting the expression of surface structures at rift zones elsewhere. Results further highlight the great value of UAV based high resolution data to contribute to the integrity of observations of structural complexities at local geologic events.

Investigating Source Conditions and Controlling Parameters of Explosive Eruptions: Some Experimental-Observational- Modelling Case Studies

Explosive volcanic eruptions are complex systems that can generate a variety of hazardous phenomena, for example, the injection of volcanic ash into the atmosphere or the generation of pyroclastic density currents. Explosive eruptions occur when a turbulent multiphase mixture, initially predominantly composedf of fragmented magma and gases, is injected from the volcanic vent into the atmosphere. For plume modelling purposes, a specific volcanic eruption scenario based on eruption type, style or magnitude is strictly linked to magmatic and vent conditions, despite the subsequent evolution of the plume being influenced by the interaction of the erupted material with the atmosphere. In this chapter, different methodologies for investigating eruptive source conditions and the subsequent evolution of the eruptive plumes are presented. The methodologies range from observational techniques to large-scale experiments and numerical models. Results confirm the relevance of measuring and observing source conditions, as such studies can improve predictions of the hazards of eruptive columns. The results also demonstrate the need for fundamental future research specifically tailored to answer some of the still open questions: the effect of unsteady flow conditions at the source on the eruptive column dynamics and the interaction between a convective plume and wind.