Yves Moussallam

Experimental Phase-equilibrium Constraints on the Phonolite Magmatic System of Erebus Volcano, Antarctica

connection with the deep feeding system rooted in the mantle. Combined with recent seismological data, our results suggest that if a large phonolitic reservoir exists, then it should lie in the depth range 4^7·5 km.The tight constraints on temperature and redox conditions will be valuable for future thermodynamical and rheological modelling.

A CO2‐gas precursor to the March 2015 Villarrica volcano eruption

We present here the first volcanic gas compositional time-series taken prior to a paroxysmal eruption of Villarrica volcano (Chile). Our gas plume observations were obtained using a fully autonomous Multi-component Gas Analyser System (Multi-GAS) in the 3 month-long phase of escalating volcanic activity that culminated into the March 3 2015 paroxysm, the largest since 1985. Our results demonstrate a temporal evolution of volcanic plume composition, from low CO2/SO2 ratios (0.65-2.7) during November 2014-January 2015 to CO2/SO2 ratios up to ≈ 9 then after. The H2O/CO2 ratio simultaneously declined to <38 in the same temporal interval. We use results of volatile saturation models to demonstrate that this evolution toward CO2-enriched gas was likely caused by unusual supply of deeply sourced gas bubbles. We propose that separate ascent of over-pressured gas bubbles, originating from at least 20-35 MPa pressures, was the driver for activity escalation toward the March 3 climax.

Influence of eruptive style on volcanic gas emission chemistry and temperature

Gas bubbles form as magmas ascend in the crust and exsolve volatiles. These bubbles evolve chemically and physically as magma decompression and crystallization proceed. It is generally assumed that the gas remains in thermal equilibrium with the melt but the relationship between gas and melt redox state is debated. Here, using absorption spectroscopy, we report the composition of gases emitted from the lava lake of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii, and calculate equilibrium conditions for the gas emissions. Our observations span a transition between more and less vigorous-degassing regimes. They reveal a temperature range of up to 250 °C, and progressive oxidation of the gas, relative to solid rock buffers, with decreasing gas temperature. We suggest that these phenomena are the result of changing gas bubble size. We find that even for more viscous magmas, fast-rising bubbles can cool adiabatically, and lose the redox signature of their associated melts. This process can result in rapid changes in the abundances of redox-sensitive gas species. Gas composition is monitored at many volcanoes in support of hazard assessment but time averaging of observations can mask such variability arising from the dynamics of degassing. In addition, the observed redox decoupling between gas and melt calls for caution in using lava chemistry to infer the composition of associated volcanic gases.The redox state of volcanic gases and melts can become decoupled during magma ascent, according to observations of gas emissions from Kīlauea’s lava lake, Hawaii. Cooling of fast-rising bubbles changes the abundance of redox-sensitive gas species.

Temporal redox variation in basaltic tephra from Surtsey volcano (Iceland)

The oxidation state of magma controls and/or tracks myriad petrologic phenomena, and new insights into oxidation are now made possible by high-resolution measurements of Fe3+/∑Fe in volcanic glasses. We present new μ-XANES measurements of Fe3+/∑Fe in a time series of basaltic tephra from the 1963–1967 eruption of Surtsey (Iceland), to examine if the magma mixing between alkalic and tholeiitic basalts that is apparent in the major and trace elements of these glasses is also represented in their oxidation states. Raw Fe3+/∑Fe data show a temporal trend from oxidized to reduced glasses, and this is accompanied by decreasing indices of mantle enrichment (e.g., La/Yb, Zr/Y). When expressed as composition- and temperature-corrected fO2, the trend has a similar magnitude (~0.3 log units) to the variation in fO2 due to ridge-plume interaction along the Reykjanes Ridge. These data indicate that the oxidation state of mixed magmas can be retained through fractionation and degassing processes, and that matrix glass Fe3+/∑Fe in tephras can be used to make inferences about the relative oxidation states of parental magmas during nuanced magma mixing.