Magmas near the critical degassing pressure drive volcanic unrest towards a critical state

Giovanni Chiodini (), Antonio Paonita, Alessandro Aiuppa, Antonio Costa, Stefano Caliro, Prospero De Martino, Valerio Acocella and Jean Vandemeulebrouck
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Giovanni Chiodini: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Bologna
Antonio Paonita: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Palermo
Alessandro Aiuppa: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Palermo
Antonio Costa: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Bologna
Stefano Caliro: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Napoli Osservatorio Vesuviano
Prospero De Martino: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Napoli Osservatorio Vesuviano
Valerio Acocella: Università Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1
Jean Vandemeulebrouck: Université de Savoie Mont Blanc, Chambéry

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract During the reawaking of a volcano, magmas migrating through the shallow crust have to pass through hydrothermal fluids and rocks. The resulting magma–hydrothermal interactions are still poorly understood, which impairs the ability to interpret volcano monitoring signals and perform hazard assessments. Here we use the results of physical and volatile saturation models to demonstrate that magmatic volatiles released by decompressing magmas at a critical degassing pressure (CDP) can drive volcanic unrest towards a critical state. We show that, at the CDP, the abrupt and voluminous release of H2O-rich magmatic gases can heat hydrothermal fluids and rocks, triggering an accelerating deformation that can ultimately culminate in rock failure and eruption. We propose that magma could be approaching the CDP at Campi Flegrei, a volcano in the metropolitan area of Naples, one of the most densely inhabited areas in the world, and where accelerating deformation and heating are currently being observed.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13712

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