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Volcanism and the dynamics of open magma chambers

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Abstract

The repeated eruption of many volcanoes is now accounted for by events taking place in a subterranean magma chamber, which is ‘open’ in the sense that the inflow of material to the chamber from below leads to a magma pressure P which exceeds the lithostatic pressure PL by an amount greater than the tensile strength of the chamber walls (σ) before the contents of the magma chamber have reached thermodynamic and geochemical equilibrium. This is the condition which must be satisfied when an eruption occurs. We have now derived a relationship giving the critical volume of added material (ΔV) required to cause an eruption as a function of magma compressibility and the volume by which the chamber expands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lunar and Planetary Unit, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK

    Stephen Blake

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Blake, S. Volcanism and the dynamics of open magma chambers. Nature 289, 783–785 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/289783a0

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