Reconciling volcanic deformation, degassing and petrological data using
thermodynamic models
Abstract
Two of the most widely observed co-eruptive volcanic phenomena - ground
deformation and volcanic outgassing - are fundamentally linked via the
mechanism of magma degassing and the development of compressibility,
which controls how the volume of magma changes in response to a change
in pressure. Here we use thermodynamic models (constrained by
petrological data) to reconstruct volatile exsolution and the consequent
changes in magma properties. Co-eruptive SO2 degassing
fluxes may be predicted from the mole fraction of exsolved
SO2 that develops in magma whilst stored prior to
eruption and during decompression. Co-eruptive surface deformation may
be predicted given estimates of erupted volume and the ratio between
chamber compressibility and magma compressibility. We conduct
sensitivity tests to assess how varying magma volatile content, crustal
properties, and chamber geometry may affect co-eruptive deformation and
degassing. We find that magmatic H2O content has the
most impact on both SO2 flux and volume change
(normalised for erupted volumes). Our findings have general implications
for typical arc and ocean island volcanic systems. The higher magmatic
water content of arc basalts leads to a high pre-eruptive exsolved
volatile content, making the magma more compressible than ocean island
eruptions. Syn-eruptive gas fluxes are overall higher for arc eruptions,
although SO2 fluxes are similar for both settings
(SO2 flux for ocean island basalt eruptions is dominated
by decompressional degassing). Our models are consistent with
observation: deformation has been detected at 48% of ocean island
eruptions (16/33) during the satellite era (2005-2020), but only 11% of
arc basalt eruptions (7/61).