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1. Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UASs) Reveal the Morphological Changes at Stromboli Volcano (Italy) before, between, and after the 3 July and 28 August 2019 Paroxysmal Eruptions

   https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13152870  

   Civico, Riccardo; Ricci, Tullio; Scarlato, Piergiorgio; Andronico, Daniele; Cantarero, Massimo; Carr, Brett B.; De Beni, Emanuela; Del Bello, Elisabetta; Johnson, Jeffrey B.; Kueppers, Ulrich; et al (August 2021, Remote Sensing)

   In July and August 2019, two paroxysmal eruptions dramatically changed the morphology of the crater terrace that hosts the active vents of Stromboli volcano (Italy). Here, we document these morphological changes, by using 2259 UAS-derived photographs from eight surveys and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques, resulting in 3D point clouds, orthomosaics, and digital surface models (DSMs) with resolution ranging from 8.1 to 12.4 cm/pixel. We focus on the morphological evolution of volcanic features and volume changes in the crater terrace and the upper part of the underlying slope (Sciara del Fuoco). We identify both crater terrace and lava field variations, with vents shifting up to 47 m and the accumulation of tephra deposits. The maximum elevation changes related to the two paroxysmal eruptions (in between May and September 2019) range from +41.4 to −26.4 m at the lava field and N crater area, respectively. Throughout September 2018–June 2020, the total volume change in the surveyed area was +447,335 m3. Despite Stromboli being one of the best-studied volcanoes worldwide, the UAS-based photogrammetry products of this study provide unprecedented high spatiotemporal resolution observations of its entire summit area, in a period when volcanic activity made the classic field inspections and helicopter overflights too risky. Routinely applied UAS operations represent an effective and evolving tool for volcanic hazard assessment and to support decision-makers involved in volcanic surveillance and civil protection operations. 

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2. Lava fountain jet noise during the 2018 eruption of fissure 8 of Kīlauea volcano

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.1027408  

   Gestrich, Julia E.; Fee, David; Matoza, Robin S.; Lyons, John J.; Dietterich, Hannah R.; Cigala, Valeria; Kueppers, Ulrich; Patrick, Matthew R.; Parcheta, Carolyn E. (November 2022, Frontiers in Earth Science)

   Real-time monitoring is crucial to assess hazards and mitigate risks of sustained volcanic eruptions that last hours to months or more. Sustained eruptions have been shown to produce a low frequency (infrasonic) form of jet noise. We analyze the lava fountaining at fissure 8 during the 2018 Lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii, and connect changes in fountain properties with recorded infrasound signals from an array about 500 m from the fountain using jet noise scaling laws and visual imagery. Video footage from the eruption reveals a change in lava fountain dynamics from a tall, distinct fountain at the beginning of June to a low fountain with a turbulent, out-pouring lava pond surrounded by a tephra cone by mid-June. During mid-June, the sound pressure level reaches a maximum, and peak frequency drops. We develop a model that uses jet noise scaling relationships to estimate changes in volcanic jet diameter and jet velocity from infrasound sound pressure levels and peak frequencies. The results of this model indicate a decrease in velocity in mid-June which coincides with the decrease in fountain height. Furthermore, the model results suggest an increase in jet diameter, which can be explained by the larger width of the fountain that resembles a turbulent lava pond compared to the distinct fountain at the beginning of June. The agreement between the infrasound-derived and visually observed changes in fountain dynamics suggests that jet noise scaling relationships can be used to monitor lava fountain dynamics using infrasound recordings. 

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3. Seismo‐Acoustic Characterization of the 2018 Sierra Negra Caldera Resurgence and Fissure Eruption in the Galápagos Islands

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JB029144  

   Ortiz, Hugo D; Matoza, Robin S; Bernard, Benjamin; De_Negri, Rodrigo; Ruiz, Mario C (October 2024, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Abstract The 2018 eruption of Sierra Negra volcano, Galápagos, Ecuador has provided new insights into the mechanisms of caldera resurgence, subsidence, and fissuring at basaltic shield volcanoes. Here, we integrate local (∼0.4 km) seismo‐acoustic records and regional (∼85 km) infrasound array data to present new observations of the 2018 Sierra Negra eruption with improved time and spatial resolutions. These observations include: air‐to‐ground coupling ∼2 hr before the time of the eruption onset, migration of the infrasound tremor from 22:54 June 26 to 12:31 June 27 UT (all times in UT), and persistent infrasound detections during the weeks between 5 July and 18 August from an area that does not coincide with the previously documented eruptive fissures. We interpret air‐to‐ground coupling as infrasound tremor generated in the nearby fissures before the main eruptive phase started, although ambiguity remains in interpreting a single seismic‐infrasonic sensor pair. The progressive location change of the infrasound tremor agrees with the migration of the eruption down the north flank of Sierra Negra at a rate of ∼0.15 ± 0.04 m/s. The weeks‐long persistent detections coincide with a region that has thermal anomalies, co‐eruptive deformation, lava fields, and geological features that could be interpreted as multiple lava tube skylights. Our observations and interpretations provide constraints on the mechanisms underlying fissure formation and magma emplacement at Sierra Negra. 

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4. Eruptive and magma feeding system evolution of Sośnica Hill Volcano (Lower Silesia, SW Poland) revealed from Volcanological, Geophysical, and Rock Magnetic Data

   M.S. Petronis, M. Awdankiewicz (July 2021, Journal of volcanology and geothermal research)

   null (Ed.)

   The Sośnica Hill volcano is part of the Oligocene to Miocene (30.9–20.0 Ma) Strzelin volcanic field. . It is located 100 km east of the Ohře Rift in the eastern part of the Fore-Sudetic Block, south of the town of Strzelin, Poland. Modern quarrying has exposed the sub-volcanic magma feeder system of the central part of the volcano and an extrusive volcanic succession that includes a 40 m thick sequence of lava flows and pyroclastic deposits that col- lectively form a complex scoria cone. Geophysical data (ground magnetometry and electric resistivity tomogra- phy (ERT)) reveal sharp linear anomalies that are interpreted to reflect normal faults dissecting the volcano. The ERT data map both high and low resistivity bodies, likely representing coherent clay-free dry rocks and partly argilized volcaniclastic deposits, respectively. Paleomagnetic data from 20 intrusive sites reveal two populations of reverse polarity site mean data; 11 sites are of low dispersion and yield a group mean direction that is discor- dant to the expected field direction, while six sites are highly scattered. Three sites did not yield interpretable re- sults. We interpret the 11 sites as time-averaged field directions that are discordant to the expected field. The high dispersion of the remaining six sites are interpreted to indicate sub-volcanic deformation associated with the growth of the volcanic construct or multiple magma pulses over an extended period of time relative to secu- lar variation. AMS data from 35 sites show a range of flow directions that vary across the quarry without an or- derly pattern of fabric orientations. The flow pattern identified from dike paired margin data exhibits sub- vertical upward flow, sub-vertical downward, and moderately inclined northwest flow. Field observations and mapping indicate a complex development of the system in terms of styles of eruptive activity and structure of the final volcanic edifice. The activity included Strombolian and effusive phases, followed by phreatomagmatic, Hawaiian and again effusive eruptions. Such diversity of eruptive styles shows that the origin of the volcano is more complex than a simple, ‘textbook’ monogenetic scoria cone. Palaesoil on top of Strombolian deposits docu- ment a longer break in activity, after which eruptions resumed with different style; this is also not typical of monogenetic cones. The lateral variation in the volcanic succession suggests eruptions from several smaller, local vents. The complex subvolcanic magma flow patterns recorded in dikes match the variation of surface eruptive products and documents dynamically changing magma distribution paths in the near-surface and intra-cone part of the feeding system of the volcano. 

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5. D/H ratios and H2O contents record degassing and rehydration history of rhyolitic magma and pyroclasts

   Thomas Giachetti, Michael R.Hudak (January 2019, Earth and planetary science letters)

   Volcanic eruptions of rhyolitic magma often show shifts from powerful (Vulcanian to Plinian) explosive episodes to a more gentle effusion of viscous lava forming obsidian flows. Another prevailing characteris-tic of these eruptions is the presence of pyroclastic obsidians intermingled with the explosive tephra. This dense, juvenile product is similar to the tephra and obsidian flow in composition, but is generally less degassed than its flow counterpart. The formation mechanism(s) of pyroclastic obsidians and the information they can provide concerning the extent to which magma degassing modulates the eruptive style of rhyolitic eruptions are currently subject to active research. Porous tephra and pyroclastic and flow obsidians from the 1060CE Glass Mountain rhyolitic eruption at Medicine Lake Volcano (California) were analyzed for their porosity, φ, water content, H2O, and hydrogen isotopic composition, δD. H2O in porous pyroclasts is correlated negatively with δD and positively with φ, indicating that the samples were affected by post-eruptive rehydration. Numerical modeling suggests that this rehydration occurred at an average rate of 10−23.5±0.5m2s−1during the ∼960 years since the eruption, causing some pyroclasts to gain up to 1 wt%of meteoric water. Pyroclastic and flow obsidians were not affected by rehydration due to their very low porosity. Comparison between modeled δD-H2O relationships in degassing magma and values measured in the Glass Mountain samples supports the idea that rhyolitic magma degasses in closed-system until its porosity reaches a value of about 65±5%, beyond which degassing occurs in open-system until quench. During the explosive phase, rapidly ascending magma fragments soon after it becomes permeable, creating porous lapilli and ash that continue to degas in open-system within an expanding gas phase. As suggested by recent studies, some ash may aggregate and sinter on the conduit sides at different depths above the fragmentation level, partly equilibrating with the continuously fluxing heavier magmatic vapor, explaining the wide range of H2O contents and high variability in δD measured in the pyroclastic obsidians. Using only H2O and δD, it is impossible to rule out the possibility that pyroclastic obsidians may also form by permeable foam collapse, either syn-explosively near the conduit sides below the fragmentation level or during more effusive periods interspersed in the explosive phase. During the final effusive phase of the eruption, slowly ascending magma degasses in open-system until it reaches the surface, creating flows with low H2O and δD. This study shows that H2O measured in highly porous pyroclasts of a few hundred years or more cannot be used to infer syn-eruptive magma degassing pathways, unless careful assessment of post-eruptive rehydration is first carried out. If their mechanism of formation can be better understood, detailed analysis of the variations in texture and volatile content of pyroclastic obsidians throughout the explosive phase may help decipher the reasons why rhyolitic eruptions commonly shift from explosive to effusive phases. 

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