Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano

Caldera-forming volcanic eruptions are low-frequency, high impact events capable of discharging tens to thousands of cubic kilometres of magma explosively on timescales of hours to days, with devastating effects on local and global scales1. Because no such eruption has been monitored during its long...

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Main Authors: Costa, Fidel, Dungan, Michael, Scaillet, Bruno, Druitt, T. H., Deloule, E.
Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2012
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/94274
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/7536
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-942742023-02-28T19:39:00Z Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano Costa, Fidel Dungan, Michael Scaillet, Bruno Druitt, T. H. Deloule, E. School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences DRNTU::Science::Geology::Structural geology Caldera-forming volcanic eruptions are low-frequency, high impact events capable of discharging tens to thousands of cubic kilometres of magma explosively on timescales of hours to days, with devastating effects on local and global scales1. Because no such eruption has been monitored during its long build-up phase, the precursor phenomena are not well understood. Geophysical signals obtained during recent episodes of unrest at calderas such as Yellowstone, USA, and Campi Flegrei, Italy, are difficult to interpret, and the conditions necessary for large eruptions are poorly constrained. Here we present a study of pre-eruptive magmatic processes and their timescales using chemically zoned crystals from the ‘Minoan’ caldera-forming eruption of Santorini volcano,Greece, which occurred in the late 1600s BC. The results provide insights into how rapidly large silicic systems may pass from a quiescent state to one on the edge of eruption. Despite the large volume of erupted magma (40–60 cubic kilometres), and the 18,000-year gestation period between the Minoan eruption and the previous major eruption, most crystals in the Minoan magma record processes that occurred less than about 100 years before the eruption. Recharge of the magma reservoir by large volumes of silicic magma (and some mafic magma) occurred during the century before eruption, and mixing between different silicic magma batches was still taking place during the final months. Final assembly of large silicic magma reservoirs may occur on timescales that are geologically very short by comparison with the preceding repose period, with major growth phases immediately before eruption. These observations have implications for the monitoring of long-dormant, but potentially active, caldera systems. Accepted version 2012-02-24T08:04:29Z 2019-12-06T18:53:35Z 2012-02-24T08:04:29Z 2019-12-06T18:53:35Z 2012 2012 Journal Article Druitt, T. H., Costa, F., Deloule, E., Dungan, M., & Scaillet, B. (2012). Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano. Nature, 482, 77–80. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/94274 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/7536 10.1038/nature10706 163457 en Nature © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by Nature, Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature10706]. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Science::Geology::Structural geology
spellingShingle DRNTU::Science::Geology::Structural geology
Costa, Fidel
Dungan, Michael
Scaillet, Bruno
Druitt, T. H.
Deloule, E.
Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
description Caldera-forming volcanic eruptions are low-frequency, high impact events capable of discharging tens to thousands of cubic kilometres of magma explosively on timescales of hours to days, with devastating effects on local and global scales1. Because no such eruption has been monitored during its long build-up phase, the precursor phenomena are not well understood. Geophysical signals obtained during recent episodes of unrest at calderas such as Yellowstone, USA, and Campi Flegrei, Italy, are difficult to interpret, and the conditions necessary for large eruptions are poorly constrained. Here we present a study of pre-eruptive magmatic processes and their timescales using chemically zoned crystals from the ‘Minoan’ caldera-forming eruption of Santorini volcano,Greece, which occurred in the late 1600s BC. The results provide insights into how rapidly large silicic systems may pass from a quiescent state to one on the edge of eruption. Despite the large volume of erupted magma (40–60 cubic kilometres), and the 18,000-year gestation period between the Minoan eruption and the previous major eruption, most crystals in the Minoan magma record processes that occurred less than about 100 years before the eruption. Recharge of the magma reservoir by large volumes of silicic magma (and some mafic magma) occurred during the century before eruption, and mixing between different silicic magma batches was still taking place during the final months. Final assembly of large silicic magma reservoirs may occur on timescales that are geologically very short by comparison with the preceding repose period, with major growth phases immediately before eruption. These observations have implications for the monitoring of long-dormant, but potentially active, caldera systems.
author2 School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
author_facet School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Costa, Fidel
Dungan, Michael
Scaillet, Bruno
Druitt, T. H.
Deloule, E.
format Article
author Costa, Fidel
Dungan, Michael
Scaillet, Bruno
Druitt, T. H.
Deloule, E.
author_sort Costa, Fidel
title Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
title_short Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
title_full Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
title_fullStr Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
title_full_unstemmed Decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
title_sort decadal to monthly timescales of magma transfer and reservoir growth at a caldera volcano
publishDate 2012
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/94274
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/7536
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