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Porosity-permeability relationships in crystal-rich basalts from Plinian eruptions

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Abstract

Magma permeability allows release of exsolved and pressurized volatiles during magma ascent, potentially modulating explosive volcanic eruptions. While porosity-permeability relationships in the clasts from silicic Plinian eruptions have received considerable interests in recent years, knowledge on magma permeability during Plinian eruptions of basaltic magma is lacking. In this study, we investigate the porosity-permeability relationships in pyroclasts from the well-studied Plinian eruptions of basaltic magma at Mt. Tarawera, New Zealand (1886 CE) and Mt. Etna, Italy (122 BCE). We find that Darcian permeabilities in the studied clasts range between approximately 10−12 m2 and 10−10 m2 over a range of total porosity between 48 and 82%. The vesicles are well connected with values of 45–82% for connected porosity. Pyroclasts from the studied Plinian eruptions contain abundant microlites (∼ 60–90 vol. %) in the matrix surrounding vesicles. At a given total porosity, the measured permeabilities are somewhat higher than that measured in the crystal-poor lapilli from less explosive basaltic eruptions, and about 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than that in silicic Plinian clasts. The estimated percolation threshold is ∼34% for the two basaltic Plinian eruptions. Using modeling of ascent of multiphase magma through volcanic conduits during eruptions, we find that the relative timing of crystallization and the onset of percolation might have played a key role in the development of the measured porosity-permeability relationships. Using scaling analysis, we further show that rheological stiffening of basaltic melt due to a high crystal content just prior to magma fragmentation should have stabilized the vesicle networks, preserving textures reflecting the eruptive conditions with insignificant post-eruptive modification.

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Abbreviations

C :

Fitting parameter (Eq. 5)

d :

Center-to-center distance between two adjacent spheres (m)

F :

Objective function (Eq. 2)

H :

Thickness of bubble wall (m)

k 1 :

Darcian permeability (m2)

k 2 :

Inertial permeability (m)

L :

Length of cylindrical sample (m)

N :

Number of measured data

P :

Magma pressure (Pa)

P atm :

Atmospheric pressure (Pa)

P frag :

Pressure at fragmentation (Pa)

P in :

Air pressure at the entrance of sample (Pa)

P initial :

Initial magma pressure (Pa)

P out :

Air pressure at the exit of sample (Pa)

P′ :

Pressure gradient (MPa m−1)

\(\hat{P}\) :

Dimensionless pressure

q :

Air velocity (m s−1)

q measured :

Measured air velocity (m s−1)

q predicted :

Predicted air velocity (m s−1)

r :

Vesicle radius (m)

R :

Bubble radius (m)

R s :

Sample radius (m)

α :

Fitting parameter (Eq. 5)

β 1 :

Fitting parameter (Eq. 3)

β 2 :

Fitting parameter (Eq. 3)

η :

Magma viscosity (Pa s)

η g :

Viscosity of gas (Pa s)

φ :

Total porosity

φ conn :

Connected porosity

φ cr :

Critical porosity (percolation threshold)

φ m :

Maximum packing fraction of crystals

φ x :

Volume fraction of crystals in the groundmass

ρ g :

Density of gas (kg m−3)

σ :

Surface tension (N m−1)

τ Ca :

Capillary stress (Pa)

τ y :

Yield stress (Pa)

ξ :

Barrier factor (Eq. 4)

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Helge M Gonnermann and Josh Crozier for laboratory help, and Thomas Giachetti and Chinh T Nguyen for useful discussions. We thank the editors A Harris and R. Cioni, as well as F. Arzilli and an anonymous reviewer for their thoughtful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Pranabendu Moitra

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, USA

    Bruce F. Houghton

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  1. Pranabendu Moitra
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  2. Bruce F. Houghton
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Correspondence to Pranabendu Moitra.

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Editorial responsibility: R. Cioni

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Moitra, P., Houghton, B.F. Porosity-permeability relationships in crystal-rich basalts from Plinian eruptions. Bull Volcanol 83, 71 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01496-7

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