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Standardized analysis of juvenile pyroclasts in comparative studies of primary magma fragmentation: 2. Choice of size fraction and method optimization for particle cross-sections

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Abstract

The morphological and textural features of juvenile pyroclasts record crucial details on magma conditions at the time of fragmentation. Their study is therefore essential to better understand the dynamics of explosive eruptions. Unfortunately, the absence of a standardized protocol of investigation hinders data reproducibility and comparison among different laboratories. Here we focus on morphometric parameters, 2D crystallinity and 2D vesicularity resulting from cross-section analysis of juvenile particles using backscattered electron imaging, and address the following questions: (i) how to prepare polished epoxy grain mounts, (ii) which pixel density to be used, (iii) how to facilitate image preparation and image analysis, (iv) which sample size is necessary to obtain statistically robust results, and (v) what is the optimum size fraction for analysis. We test juvenile particles in grain size bins ranging from 2–1 mm (− 1 to 0ɸ) to 88–63 µm (+ 3.5 to + 4ɸ), using samples from the 1977 Ukinrek eruption. We find that the required resolution ranges from 75 000 to 10 000 pixels per particle, depending on the size fraction, higher than previously postulated. In the same size ranges, less than 50 grains per size fraction and sample are needed to get robust averages. Based on theoretical, empirical, and practical considerations, we propose 0.71–0.5 mm (+ 0.5 to + 1ɸ) as the optimum size fraction to be analyzed as particle cross-sections in standardized comparative studies of magma fragmentation. We provide a detailed guide for preparing polished epoxy grain mounts and introduce a software package (PASTA) for semi-automated image preparation, image processing, and measurement of morphological and textural parameters.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ikbel Mouedhen, Philippe Girard, and Arnaud De Coninck for the support during the development of the polishing technique. We acknowledge Caroline Bélanger, Sarah Galloway, and Félix Gagnon for the support in sample preparation and data processing. We thank Jacopo Taddeucci, Lucy Porritt and Pierre Francus for their comments on a draft of this paper. We thank Erin Fitch, an anonymous reviewer, and associate editor Benjamin J. Andrews for constructive journal reviews.

Funding

This study was funded by a Discovery Grant to PSR from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (RGPIN-2015–06782). TD is supported by the Icelandic Research Fund (Rannís), grant Nr. 206527–051.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec, QC, G1K 9A9, Canada

    Pier Paolo Comida & Pierre-Simon Ross

  2. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 101, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Tobias Dürig

  3. Department of Geology, University of Otago, 360 Leith Street, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand

    James D. L. White

  4. Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 25, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Nathalie Lefebvre

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  1. Pier Paolo Comida
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Correspondence to Pier Paolo Comida.

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Editorial responsibility: B.J. Andrews; Deputy Executive Editor: L. Pioli

This paper constitutes part of a topical collection: What pyroclasts can tell us

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Comida, P.P., Ross, PS., Dürig, T. et al. Standardized analysis of juvenile pyroclasts in comparative studies of primary magma fragmentation: 2. Choice of size fraction and method optimization for particle cross-sections. Bull Volcanol 84, 14 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01517-5

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