Reconciling bubble nucleation in explosive eruptions with geospeedometers

Sahand Hajimirza (), Helge M. Gonnermann and James E. Gardner
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Sahand Hajimirza: Rice University
Helge M. Gonnermann: Rice University
James E. Gardner: University of Texas at Austin

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Magma from Plinian volcanic eruptions contains an extraordinarily large numbers of bubbles. Nucleation of those bubbles occurs because pressure decreases as magma rises to the surface. As a consequence, dissolved magmatic volatiles, such as water, become supersaturated and cause bubbles to nucleate. At the same time, diffusion of volatiles into existing bubbles reduces supersaturation, resulting in a dynamical feedback between rates of nucleation due to magma decompression and volatile diffusion. Because nucleation rate increases with supersaturation, bubble number density (BND) provides a proxy record of decompression rate, and hence the intensity of eruption dynamics. Using numerical modeling of bubble nucleation, we reconcile a long-standing discrepancy in decompression rate estimated from BND and independent geospeedometers. We demonstrate that BND provides a record of the time-averaged decompression rate that is consistent with independent geospeedometers, if bubble nucleation is heterogeneous and facilitated by magnetite crystals.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20541-1

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