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Phenocryst-hosted melt inclusions record stalling of magma during ascent in the conduit and upper magma reservoir prior to vulcanian explosions, Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, West Indies

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Abstract

The mechanics of explosive eruptions influence magma ascent pathways. Vulcanian explosions involve a stop–start mechanism that recurs on various timescales, evacuating the uppermost portions of the conduit. During the repose time between explosions, magma rises from depth and refills the conduit and stalls until the overpressure is sufficient to generate another explosion. We have analyzed major elements, Cl, S, H2O, and CO2 in plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions, sampled from pumice erupted during four vulcanian events at Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, to determine melt compositions prior to eruption. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we measured values up to 6.7 wt.% H2O and 80 ppm CO2. Of 42 melt inclusions, 81 % cluster between 2.8 and 5.4 wt.% H2O (57 to 173 MPa or 2–7 km), suggesting lower conduit to upper magma reservoir conditions. We propose two models to explain the magmatic conditions prior to eruption. In Model 1, melt inclusions were trapped during crystal growth in magma that was stalled in the lower conduit to upper magma reservoir, and during trapping, the magma was undergoing closed-system degassing with up to 1 wt.% free vapor. This model can explain the melt inclusions with higher H2O contents since these have sampled the upper parts of the magma reservoir. However, the model cannot explain the melt inclusions with lower H2O because the timescale for plagioclase crystallization and melt inclusion entrapment is longer than the magma residence time in the conduit. In Model 2, melt inclusions were originally trapped at deeper levels of the magma chamber, but then lost hydrogen by diffusion through the plagioclase host during periodic stalling of the magma in the lower conduit system. In this second scenario, which we favor, the melt inclusions record re-equilibration depths within the lower conduit to upper magma reservoir.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the staff at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory for their assistance in sample collection and continued hospitality. The students in the FTIR lab at the University of Oregon, in particular Julie Roberge and Emily Johnson, are thanked for instructing CPM how to prepare and analyze melt inclusions. We are grateful to Ilya Bindeman for sharing his technique in mounting melt inclusion wafers for the electron microprobe. Jake Lowenstern and Roman Botcharnikov provided extremely useful and insightful reviews which focused the paper and corrected some misconceptions. Mike Clynne as editor gave us useful guidance in our revision. CPM was supported by student grants from the Geological Society of America and the Centre de Recherche en Géochimie et en Géodynamique (GEOTOP). JS acknowledges support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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  1. Crystal P. Mann

    Present address: De Beers Canada Inc., 900-250 Ferrand Drive, Toronto, ON, M3C 3G8, Canada

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  1. Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7, Canada

    Crystal P. Mann & John Stix

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1272, USA

    Paul J. Wallace

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  1. Crystal P. Mann
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Correspondence to John Stix.

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Mann, C.P., Wallace, P.J. & Stix, J. Phenocryst-hosted melt inclusions record stalling of magma during ascent in the conduit and upper magma reservoir prior to vulcanian explosions, Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, West Indies. Bull Volcanol 75, 687 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-013-0687-4

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