Gas Migration Through Crystal-Rich Mafic Volcanic Systems
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GAS MIGRATION THROUGH CRYSTAL-RICH MAFIC VOLCANIC SYSTEMS AND APPLICATION TO STROMBOLI VOLCANO, AEOLIAN ISLANDS, ITALY by ISOLDE LEO MARIA BEATRIJS BELIEN A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Geological Sciences and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2011 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Isolde L.M.B. Belien Title: Gas Migration Through Crystal-Rich Mafic Volcanic Systems and Application to Stromboli Volcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Geological Sciences by: Katharine Cashman Chairperson Alan Rempel Member Mark Reed Member Raghuveer Parthasarathy Outside Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research & Innovation/Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2011 ii © 2011 Isolde Leo Maria Beatrijs iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Isolde L.M.B. Belien Doctor of Philosophy Department of Geological Sciences September 2011 Title: Gas Migration Through Crystal-Rich Mafic Volcanic Systems and Application to Stromboli Volcano, Aeolian Islands, Italy Approved: _______________________________________________ Katharine Cashman Crystals influence the migration of gas through magma. At low concentrations, they increase the bulk fluid properties, especially viscosity. At concentrations close to maximum packing, crystals form a rigid framework and magma cannot erupt. However, erupted pyroclasts with crystal contents close to the packing concentration are common at mafic volcanoes that exhibit Strombolian behavior. In this dissertation, I study the influence of solid particles on gas migration. I apply my results to Stromboli volcano, Italy, type locality of the normal Strombolian eruptive style, where gas moves through an essentially stagnant magma with crystallinity ~50%. Specifically, I investigate the effect of crystals on flow regime, gas content (Chapter II), bubble concentration (number densities), bubble shapes, bubble sizes (Chapter III), and bubble rise velocities (gas flux) (Chapter IV). I find that gas-liquid flow regimes are not applicable at high particle concentrations and should be replaced by new, three-phase (gas-liquid-solid) regimes and that degassing efficiency increases with particle concentration (Chapter II). In Chapter III, I show that crystals modify bubble populations by trapping small bubbles and causing large iv bubbles to split into smaller ones and by modifying bubble shapes. In Chapter IV, I model Stromboli’s crystal-rich magma as a network of capillary tubes and show that bubble rise velocities are significantly slower than free rise velocities in the absence of particles. In each chapter, I use analogue experiments to study the effect of different liquid and solid properties on gas migration in viscous liquids. I then apply my analogue results to magmatic conditions using simple parameterizations and/or numerical modeling or by comparing the results directly to observations made on crystal-rich volcanic rocks. Chapter V proposes a mechanism for Strombolian eruptions and gas migration through the crystal- rich magma in which the effect of crystals is included. This model replaces the current two- phase “slug” model, which cannot account for the high crystallinity observed at Stromboli. There are three appendices in this dissertation: a preliminary study of the influence of particles on gas expansion, image analysis methods, and the numerical code developed in Chapter IV. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Isolde L.M.B. Belien GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Ghent University, Belgium DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Geological Sciences, 2011, University of Oregon Licentiaat, Geology, 2006, Ghent University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Volcanology Fluid Dynamics PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Student intern, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, June 2010-September 2010 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Good Citizen Award, Geology, University of Oregon, 2009 Student Research Grant, GSA, 2009 Staples Fellowship, Geology, University of Oregon, 2008 Kleinman Grant for Volcano Research, USGS, 2008 (shared) Thayer Scholarship, Geology, University of Oregon, 2007 vi Fellow, Francqui Foundation, 2006 Fellow, Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF), 2006 Joint Francqui and BAEF scholarship for study in the United States, 2006-2007 Valère Billiet Prize for outstanding Geology graduate, Ghent University, 2006 PUBLICATIONS: Belien, I.B., Cashman, K.V. and Rempel, A.W. (2010). Gas accumulation in particle-rich suspensions and implications for bubble populations in crystal-rich magma. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 297, 133-140. vii To my family viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction to Stromboli Volcano................................................................. 4 2. Dissertation Overview ................................................................................... 6 II. THE EFFECT OF SOLID PARTICLES ON FLOW REGIME AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DEGASSING AT CRYSTAL-RICH MAFIC VOLCANOES........................................................................................... 11 1. Introduction................................................................................................... 11 2. Background................................................................................................... 13 2.1. Two-Phase Flow Regimes in Volcanology............................................ 14 2.2. The Normal Strombolian Eruption Mechanism ..................................... 17 3. Methods ........................................................................................................ 18 4. Experimental Results..................................................................................... 20 4.1. The Effect of Viscosity on Flow Regime............................................... 21 4.2. The Effect of Particles on Flow Regime................................................ 25 5. Application to Volcanic Systems................................................................... 31 6. Conclusions................................................................................................... 37 7. Bridge ........................................................................................................... 38 III. GAS ACCUMULATION IN PARTICLE-RICH SUSPENSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR BUBBLE POPULATIONS IN CRYSTAL-RICH MAGMA ................................................................................................................ 39 1. Introduction................................................................................................... 39 2. Experiments and Observations....................................................................... 41 2.1. Individual Bubbles................................................................................ 42 ix Chapter Page 2.2. Splitting Probabilities............................................................................ 46 2.3. Bubble Populations............................................................................... 48 2.4. Summary of Experimental Observations ............................................... 50 3. Bubble Populations in Tephra from Stromboli............................................... 53 4. Comparison of Experimental and Volcanic Conditions.................................. 58 5. The Role of Gas in Strombolian Eruptions..................................................... 61 5.1. Gas Migration Through Magma............................................................ 61 5.2. Bubble Populations as a Proxy for Gas Flux.......................................... 63 6. Conclusions................................................................................................... 66 7. Bridge ........................................................................................................... 67 IV. THE RISE SPEED OF A BUBBLE THROUGH A VISCOUS LIQUID IN A NARROW TUBE AND APPLICATION TO BUBBLE PERCOLATION THROUGH CRYSTAL-RICH MAGMA AT STROMBOLI .................................. 69 1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 69 2. Background .................................................................................................. 72 3. Experimental Methods .................................................................................. 76 4. Experimental Results .................................................................................... 80 4.1. Partially Submerged Tubes .................................................................. 80 4.2. Fully Submerged Tubes ....................................................................... 86 4.3. Comparison with Porous Media ........................................................... 91 5. Predicting Bubble Velocities in Fully Submerged Tubes ............................... 93 5.1. Theory.................................................................................................. 94 5.2. An Empirical Prediction.......................................................................