How fast does Magma Accumulate? Case Studies from the Eifel Volcanic Fields (Germany)
Volcanic hazard assessments depend on the predictability of eruptive style, volume, and recurrence which are controlled by the physical and chemical parameters of magma. These parameters are critically influenced by ascent and storage of magma in pre-eruptive reservoirs underneath volcanoes. To understand the processes of magma modification in hypabyssal magma chambers, it is critical to constrain realistic rates of magma influx, cooling, and crystallization. This can be uniquely achieved through the analysis of accessory minerals in volcanic rocks, which record at high fidelity the timing of magma evolution. Case studies from basanitic to phonolitic volcanoes in the Eifel (Germany) indicate comparatively rapid timescales of magma accumulation compared to long-lived polygenetic volcanoes, e.g., in arc settings. Nonetheless, crystal-scale dating indicates that large eruptions in the Eifel are preceded by shallow magma intrusion and differentiation over 10’s of ka, without concomitant eruptive activity.
https://www.munich-geocenter.org/events/seminars/frontiers-in-earth-sciences-20/how-fast-does-magma-accumulate-case-studies-from-the-eifel-volcanic-fields-germany
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How fast does Magma Accumulate? Case Studies from the Eifel Volcanic Fields (Germany)
Speaker
Axel Schmitt
(
Isotopengeologie und Petrologie Heidelberg University)
Abstract
Volcanic hazard assessments depend on the predictability of eruptive style, volume, and recurrence which are controlled by the physical and chemical parameters of magma. These parameters are critically influenced by ascent and storage of magma in pre-eruptive reservoirs underneath volcanoes. To understand the processes of magma modification in hypabyssal magma chambers, it is critical to constrain realistic rates of magma influx, cooling, and crystallization. This can be uniquely achieved through the analysis of accessory minerals in volcanic rocks, which record at high fidelity the timing of magma evolution. Case studies from basanitic to phonolitic volcanoes in the Eifel (Germany) indicate comparatively rapid timescales of magma accumulation compared to long-lived polygenetic volcanoes, e.g., in arc settings. Nonetheless, crystal-scale dating indicates that large eruptions in the Eifel are preceded by shallow magma intrusion and differentiation over 10’s of ka, without concomitant eruptive activity.
