Exact magma locations may improve volcanic eruption forecasts

Date:
February 8, 2023
Source:
Cornell University
Summary:
Cornell University researchers have unearthed precise, microscopic
clues to where magma is stored, offering a way to better assess
the risk of volcanic eruptions.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Cornell University researchers have unearthed precise, microscopic clues
to where magma is stored, offering a way to better assess the risk of
volcanic eruptions.


==========================================================================
In recent years, scientists have used satellite imagery, earthquake
data and GPS to search for ground deformation near active volcanoes, but
those techniques can be inaccurate in locating the depth of magma storage.

By finding microscopic, carbon dioxide-rich fluids encased in cooled
volcanic crystals, scientists can accurately determine -- within one
hundred meters - - where magma is located.

"A fundamental question is where magma is stored in Earth's crust and
mantle," said Esteban Gazel, professor of engineering and lead author
of the study, published in Science Advances. "That location matters
because you can gauge the risk of an eruption by pinpointing the specific location of magma, instead of other signals like hydrothermal system of
a volcano." Gazel notes that speed and precision are essential. "We're demonstrating the enormous potential of this improved technique in terms
of its rapidity and unprecedented accuracy," he said. "We can produce
data within days of the samples arriving from a site, which provides
better, near real-time results." In volcanic events, magma reaches the
Earth's surface, and it erupts as lava and -- depending on how much gas
it contains -- could be explosive in nature.

When deposited as part of the fallout of the eruption, fragmented
fine-grained material -- called tephra -- can be collected and evaluated.

Gazel and doctoral student Kyle Dayton deduced how to use inclusions of
carbon dioxide-rich fluids trapped within olivine crystals to precisely indicate depth, as the carbon dioxide density of these inclusions is
controlled by pressure.

These fluids can be measured quickly using an instrument to determine
-- in terms of kilometers -- how far down the magma was stored and the
depth of the scorching reservoir.

Gazel and Dayton joined a small, elite team of international researchers
to study the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma in the Canary Islands. Gazel
and Dayton picked through tephra to find crystals, which in turn provide
data to improve eruption models and forecasts.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Earth_&_Climate
# Volcanoes # Natural_Disasters # Geology # Earthquakes #
Weather # Global_Warming # Air_Quality # Climate
* RELATED_TERMS
o Caldera o Stratovolcano o Volcanic_ash o Volcanic_rock o
Supervolcano o Decade_Volcanoes o Igneous_rock o Tsunami

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written
by Blaine Friedlander, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kyle Dayton, Esteban Gazel, Penny Wieser, Valentin R. Troll,
Juan Carlos
Carracedo, Hector La Madrid, Diana C. Roman, Jamison Ward,
Meritxell Aulinas, Harri Geiger, Frances M. Deegan, Guillem Gisbert,
Francisco J.

Perez-Torrado. Deep magma storage during the 2021 La Palma eruption.

Science Advances, 2023; 9 (6) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade7641 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230208191727.htm

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