Aiuppa, A;
Bitetto, M;
Francofonte, V;
Velasquez, G;
Parra, CB;
Giudice, G;
Liuzzo, M;
... Curtis, A; + view all
(2017)
A CO2-gas precursor to the March 2015 Villarrica volcano eruption.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
, 18
(6)
pp. 2120-2132.
10.1002/2017GC006892.
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Abstract
We present here the first volcanic gas compositional time‐series taken prior to a paroxysmal eruption of Villarrica volcano (Chile). Our gas plume observations were obtained using a fully autonomous Multi‐component Gas Analyser System (Multi‐GAS) in the 3 month‐long phase of escalating volcanic activity that culminated into the 3 March 2015 paroxysm, the largest since 1985. Our results demonstrate a temporal evolution of volcanic plume composition, from low CO2/SO2 ratios (0.65‐2.7) during November 2014‐January 2015 to CO2/SO2 ratios up to ≈ 9 then after. The H2O/CO2 ratio simultaneously declined to <38 in the same temporal interval. We use results of volatile saturation models to demonstrate that this evolution toward CO2‐enriched gas was likely caused by unusual supply of deeply sourced gas bubbles. We propose that separate ascent of over‐pressured gas bubbles, originating from at least 20‐35 MPa pressures, was the driver for activity escalation toward the 3 March climax.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A CO2-gas precursor to the March 2015 Villarrica volcano eruption |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/2017GC006892 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GC006892 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | volcanic gases, multi‐GAS precursor, CO2/SO2 variations, Villarrica volcano, lava lakes |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Electronic and Electrical Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10076611 |
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