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Identifying magma–water interaction from the surface features of ash particles

Nature volume 401, pages 688–690 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The deposits from explosive volcanic eruptions (those eruptions that release mechanical energy over a short time span1) are characterized by an abundance of volcanic ash2,3. This ash is produced by fragmentation of the magma driving the eruption and by fragmenting and ejecting parts of the pre-existing crust (host rocks). Interactions between rising magma and the hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, and ground water) play an important role in explosive volcanism4,5, because of the unique thermodynamic properties of water that allow it to very effectively convert thermal into mechanical energy. Although the relative proportion of magma to host-rock fragments is well preserved in the pyroclastic rocks deposited by such eruptions, it has remained difficult to quantitatively assess the interaction of magma with liquid water from the analysis of pyroclastic deposits2,3,4,5. Here we report the results of a study of natural pyroclastic sequences combined with scaled laboratory experiments. We find that surface features of ash grains can be used to identify the dynamic contact of magma with liquid water. The abundance of such ash grains can then be related to the water/magma mass ratios during their interaction.

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Figure 1: Grain size distribution of phreatomagmatic deposits of La Fossa di Vulcano.
Figure 2: Comparison between characteristic particles from experiments with those from natural deposits of La Fossa di Vulcano using scanning electron microscope images.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Wohletz for his help in improving the quality of this Letter. This work was part of the EC Project “The physics of explosive volcanism”, supported by the European Community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physikalisch Vulkanologisches Labor, Institut für Geologie, Universität Würzburg, Pleicherwall 1, Würzburg, D-97070, Germany

    Ralf Büttner & Bernd Zimanowski

  2. Dipartimento Geomineralogico, Universitá degli Studi di Bari, Via Orabona 4, Bari, 1-70125, Italy

    Pierfrancesco Dellino

Authors
  1. Ralf Büttner
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  2. Pierfrancesco Dellino
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  3. Bernd Zimanowski
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Correspondence to Bernd Zimanowski.

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Büttner, R., Dellino, P. & Zimanowski, B. Identifying magma–water interaction from the surface features of ash particles. Nature 401, 688–690 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/44364

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