More Like this

1. Variable magma flow in sills: Can a magma source be constrained?

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.107427  

   Hoyer, Lauren; Hastie, Warwick W. (January 2022, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research)
2. Pressurizing Magma Within Heterogeneous Crust: A Case Study at the Socorro Magma Body, New Mexico, USA

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105689  

   Block, Grant A; Roy, Mousumi; Graves, Emily; Grapenthin, Ronni (October 2023, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract Surface deformation plays a key role in illuminating magma transport at active volcanoes, however, unambiguous separation of deep and shallow transport remains elusive. The Socorro Magma Body (SMB) lacks an upper crustal magma transport system, allowing us to link geodetic measurements with predictions of numerical models investigating rheologic heterogeneities and magma‐mush interaction in the mid‐/lower crust. New InSAR observations confirm that a pattern of central surface uplift surrounded by a region of subsidence (previously coined “sombrero” deformation) has persisted over >100 years at the SMB. Our models suggest this pattern may reflect the presence of a large (>100 km width), weaker‐than‐ambient, compliant region (CR) surrounding the mid‐crustal magma body. Interactions between a pressurizing (e.g., due to melt injection and/or volatile exsolution) sill‐like magma body and CR drive the sombrero pattern, depending on both viscoelastic relaxation and pressurization timescales, explaining its rare observation and transient nature. 

   more » « less
3. A new formulation for coupled magma/mantle dynamics

   https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggz190  

   Dannberg, Juliane; Gassmöller, Rene; Grove, Ryan; Heister, Timo (May 2019, Geophysical Journal International)
4. A critical magma chamber size for volcanic eruptions

   https://doi.org/10.1130/G47045.1  

   Townsend, Meredith; Huber, Christian (February 2020, Geology)

   Abstract We present a model for a coupled magma chamber–dike system to investigate the conditions required to initiate volcanic eruptions and to determine what controls the size of eruptions. The model combines the mechanics of dike propagation with internal chamber dynamics including crystallization, volatile exsolution, and the elastic response of the magma and surrounding crust to pressure changes within the chamber. We find three regimes for dike growth and eruptions: (1) below a critical magma chamber size, eruptions are suppressed because chamber pressure drops to lithostatic before a dike reaches the surface; (2) at an intermediate chamber size, the erupted volume is less than the dike volume (“dike-limited” eruption regime); and (3) above a certain chamber size, dikes can easily reach the surface and the erupted volume follows a classic scaling law, which depends on the attributes of the magma chamber (“chamber-limited” eruption regime). The critical chamber volume for an eruption ranges from ∼0.01 km3 to 10 km3 depending on the water content in the magma, depth of the chamber, and initial overpressure. This implies that the first eruptions at a volcano likely are preceded by a protracted history of magma chamber growth at depth, and that the crust above the magma chamber may have trapped several intrusions or “failed eruptions.” Model results can be combined with field observations of erupted volume, pressure, and crystal and volatile content to provide tighter constraints on parameters such as the eruptible chamber size. 

   more » « less
5. Magma composition drives tremors during a volcanic eruption

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01624-w  

   Longpré, Marc-Antoine; Tramontano, Samantha (February 2025, Nature Geoscience)