Knowledge of temperature and pressure, however qualitative, has been central to our views of geology since at least the early 19th century. In 1822, for example, Charles Daubeny presented what may be the very first “Geological Thermometer,” comparing temperatures of various geologic processes (Torrens 2006). Daubeny (1835) may even have been the first to measure the temperature of a lava flow, by laying a thermometer on the top of a flow at Vesuvius—albeit several months following the eruption, after intervening rain (his estimate was 390°F). In any case, pressure ( P ) and temperature ( T ) estimation lie at the heart of fundamental questions: How hot is Earth, and at what rate has the planet cooled. Are volcanoes the products of thermally driven mantle plumes? Where are magmas stored, and how are they transported to the surface—and how do storage and transport relate to plate tectonics? Well-calibrated thermometers and barometers are essential tools if we are to fully appreciate the driving forces and inner workings of volcanic systems.

This chapter presents methods to estimate the P-T conditions of volcanic and other igneous processes. The coverage includes a review of existing geothermometers and geobarometers, and a presentation of approximately 30 new models, including a new plagioclase-liquid hygrometer. Our emphasis is on experimentally calibrated “thermobarometers,” based on analytic expressions using P or T as dependent variables. For numerical reasons (touched on below) such expressions will always provide the most accurate means of P-T estimation, and are also most easily employed. Analytical expressions also allow error to be ascertained; in the absence of estimates of error, P-T estimates are nearly meaningless. This chapter is intended to complement the chapters by Anderson et al. (2008), who cover granitic systems, and by Blundy and Cashman (2008) and Hansteen and Klugel (2008), who consider additional methods …

Thermometers and Barometers for Volcanic Systems

A model for the generation of intermediate and silicic igneous rocks is presented, based on experimental data and numerical modelling. The model is directed at subduction-related magmatism, but has general applicability to magmas generated in other plate tectonic settings, including continental rift zones. In the model mantlederived hydrous basalts emplaced as a succession of sills into the lower crust generate a deep crustal hot zone. Numerical modelling of the hot zone shows that melts are generated from two distinct sources; partial crystallization of basalt sills to produce residual H2O-rich melts; and partial melting of pre-existing crustal rocks. Incubation times between the injection of the first sill and generation of residual melts from basalt crystallization are controlled by the initial geotherm, the magma input rate and the emplacement depth. After this incubation period, the melt fraction and composition of residual melts are controlled by the temperature of the crust into which the basalt is intruded. Heat and H2O transfer from the crystallizing basalt promote partial melting of the surrounding crust, which can include meta-sedimentary and meta-igneous basement rocks and earlier basalt intrusions. Mixing of residual and crustal partial melts leads to diversity in isotope and trace element chemistry. Hot zone melts are H2O-rich. Consequently, they have low viscosity and density, and can readily detach from their source and ascend rapidly. In the case of adiabatic ascent the magma attains a super-liquidus state, because of the relative slopes of the adiabat and the liquidus. This leads to resorption of any entrained crystals or country rock xenoliths. Crystallization begins only when the ascending magma intersects its H2O-saturated liquidus at shallow depths. Decompression and degassing are the driving forces behind crystallization, which takes place at shallow depth on timescales of decades or less. Degassing and crystallization at shallow depth lead to large increases in viscosity and stalling of the magma to form volcano-feeding magma chambers and shallow plutons. It is proposed that chemical diversity in arc magmas is largely acquired in the lower crust, whereas textural diversity is related to shallow-level crystallization.

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The Genesis of Intermediate and Silicic Magmas in Deep Crustal Hot Zones

Responding to the latest developments in rock physics research, this popular reference book has been thoroughly updated while retaining its comprehensive coverage of the fundamental theory, concepts, and laboratory results. It brings together the vast literature from the field to address the relationships between geophysical observations and the underlying physical properties of Earth materials - including water, hydrocarbons, gases, minerals, rocks, ice, magma and methane hydrates. This third edition includes expanded coverage of topics such as effective medium models, viscoelasticity, attenuation, anisotropy, electrical-elastic cross relations, and highlights applications in unconventional reservoirs. Appendices have been enhanced with new materials and properties, while worked examples (supplemented by online datasets and MATLAB® codes) enable readers to implement the workflows and models in practice. This significantly revised edition will continue to be the go-to reference for students and researchers interested in rock physics, near-surface geophysics, seismology, and professionals in the oil and gas industries.

The Rock Physics Handbook

This work focuses on a rigorous analysis of the physical–chemical, compositional and textural relationships of amphibole stability and the development of new thermobarometric formulations for amphibole-bearing calc-alkaline products of subduction-related systems Literature experimental results (550–1,120°C, 021) and are inferred to represent xenocrysts of crustal or mantle materials Most experimental results on calc-alkaline suites have been found to be unsuitable for using in thermobarometric calibrations due to the high Al# (>021) of amphiboles and high Al2O3/SiO2 ratios of the coexisting melts The pre-eruptive crystallization of consistent amphiboles is confined to relatively narrow physical–chemical ranges, next to their dehydration curves The widespread occurrence of amphiboles with dehydration (breakdown) rims made of anhydrous phases and/or glass, related to sub-volcanic processes such as magma mixing and/or slow ascent during extrusion, confirms that crystal destabilization occurs with relatively low T–P shifts At the stability curves, the variance of the system decreases so that amphibole composition and physical–chemical conditions are strictly linked to each other This allowed us to retrieve some empirical thermobarometric formulations which work independently with different compositional components (ie Si*, AlT, Mg*, [6]Al*) of a single phase (amphibole), and are therefore easily applicable to all types of calc-alkaline volcanic products (including hybrid andesites) The Si*-sensitive thermometer and the fO2–Mg* equation account for accuracies of ±22°C (σest) and 04 log units (maximum error), respectively The uncertainties of the AlT-sensitive barometer increase with pressure and decrease with temperature Near the P–T stability curve, the error is 35%) and lower-T magmas, the uncertainty increases up to 24%, consistent with depth uncertainties of 04 km, at 90 MPa (~34 km), and 79 km, at 800 MPa (~30 km), respectively For magnesiohornblendes, the [6]Al*-sensitive hygrometer has an accuracy of 04 wt% (σest) whereas for magnesiohastingsite and tschermakitic pargasite species, H2Omelt uncertainties can be as high as 15% relative The thermobarometric results obtained with the application of these equations to calc-alkaline amphibole-bearing products were finally, and successfully, crosschecked on several subduction-related volcanoes, through complementary methodologies such as pre-eruptive seismicity (volcano-tectonic earthquake locations and frequency), seismic tomography, Fe–Ti oxides, amphibole–plagioclase, plagioclase–liquid equilibria thermobarometry and melt inclusion studies A user-friendly spreadsheet (ie AMP-TBxls) to calculate the physical–chemical conditions of amphibole crystallization is also provided

Stability and chemical equilibrium of amphibole in calc-alkaline magmas: an overview, new thermobarometric formulations and application to subduction-related volcanoes

Abstract Owing to advances in microanalytical techniques over the last 15 years, there is a growing database on the volatile contents of subduction-related magmas as recorded in melt (glass) inclusions trapped in phenocrysts in volcanic rocks. Basaltic magmas from subduction zones show a wide range of water contents, ranging from as high as 6–8 to 3000 ppm, suggesting that no melt inclusions sample undegassed arc magmas. The Cl and S contents of arc basaltic magmas are greater than midocean ridge basalts, indicating that these volatiles are also recycled from subducted sediment and altered oceanic crust back into the mantle wedge. Comparison of the fluxes of volatiles subducted back into the mantle along subduction zones and returned from the mantle to the surface reservoir (crust, ocean, and atmosphere) via magmatism suggests that there is an approximate balance for structurally bound H2O and Cl. In contrast, ∼50% of subducted C appears to be returned to the deep mantle by subduction, but uncertainties are relatively large. For S, the amount returned to the surface reservoir by subduction zone magmatism is only ∼15–30% of the total amount being subducted. Dacitic and rhyolitic magmas in arcs contain 1–6 wt.% H2O, a range that overlaps considerably with the values for basaltic magmas. Either basaltic parents for these differentiated magmas are relatively H2O-poor, or intermediate to silicic arc magmas form through open-system processes involving variable amounts of crustal melting, mixing with basalt and basaltic differentiates, and fluxing of CO2-rich vapor from mafic magma recharged into silicic magma bodies. Consideration of H2O–CO2 relations and gaseous SO2 emissions for intermediate to silicic arc magmas shows that such magmas are typically vapor-saturated during crystallization in the middle to upper crust. Gas emissions thus reflect migration and accumulation of volatiles within complex open magmatic systems.

Volatiles in subduction zone magmas : concentration and fluxes based on melt inclusion and volcanic gas data

Three methods of estimating H20 contents of geologic glasses are compared: (1) ion microprobe analysis (secondary ion mass spectrometry), (2) Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), and (3) electron microprobe analysis using the Na decay-curve method. Each analytical method has its own advantages under certain conditions, depending on the relative importance of analytical accuracy, precision, sensitivity, spatial resolution, and convenience, and each is capable of providing reasonably accurate estimates of the H20, or total volatile, content of geologicglasses.The accuracy of ion microprobe analyses depends critically on the availability of well-characterized hydrous standard glasses. Precision is often better than 0,2 wt% (10). The method provides good spatial resolution (-15 #m) and the capability to determine simultaneously the abundance of other volatile species of interest (e.g., F, B). FTIR spectroscopy provides excellent analytical sensitivity (-10 ppm), accuracy and precision «0.1 wt%),and the capability to determine the abundance of H20 and C02 species (H20, OH-, C02' eOj-) in analyzed glasses, although the spatial resolution (> 25-35 #m) is not as good as that of the ion microprobe. The main advantages of the estimation of H20 contents of hydrous glasses using the electron microprobe are excellent spatial resolution (- 10 #m) and analytical convenience. The disadvantages are that accuracy and precision (>0.5 wt%) are not as good as those associated with the other methods, but, for certain applications, these uncertainties may be acceptable for the estimation of H20 contents of H20-rich (> 1 wt%) samples.

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Comparison of microanalytical methods for estimating H2O contents of silicic volcanic glasses

New experimental results are used to constrain the P. T, X(H 2 O) conditions of the Soufriere Hills magma prior to ascent and eruption. The experiments were performed on a powdered andesite erupted in January, 1996, at an fO 2 corresponding to ∼NNO+1 with P H2 O and temperatures in the range 50 to 200 MPa and 800 to 940°C. Amphibole is stable at P H2 O >115 MPa and temperatures 72 wt% SiO 2 in residual melt) at P H2 O >115 MPa. Analyses of rhyolitic glass inclusions in quartz and plagioclase from recently erupted samples indicate melt water contents of 4.27±0.54 wt% H 2 O and CO 2 contents <60 ppm. The evolved Soufriere Hills magma would therefore be H 2 O-saturated at pressures <130 MPa. These results suggest that the Soufriere Hills magma containing the stable assemblage amphibole, quartz, plagioclase, orthopyroxene, magnetite and ilmenite was stored at P H2 O of 115-130 MPa, equivalent to a minimum depth for a water-saturated magma chamber of 5-6 km depth. Magma temperatures were initially low (820-840°C). Quartz is believed to have been destabilised by a heating event involving injection of new basaltic magma. The stability field of hornblende provides a useful upper limit (∼880°C) for the extent of this reheating.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/98GL00856

Experimental phase equilibria constraints on pre‐eruptive storage conditions of the Soufriere Hills magma

Experimental constraints on degassing of magma: isothermal bubble growth during continuous decompression from high pressure

The ratio of the volume of vesicles (gas) to that of glass (liquid) in pumice clasts (V
 G
 /V
 L
 ) reflects the degassing and dynamic history experienced by a magma during an explosive eruption. V
 G
 /V
 L
 in pumices from a large number of Plinian eruption deposits is shown here to vary by two orders of magnitude, even between pumices at a given level in a deposit. These variations in V
 G
 /V
 L
 do not correlate with crystallinity or initial water content of the magmas or their eruptive intensities, despite large ranges in these variables. Gas volume ratios of pumices do, however, vary systematically with magma viscosity estimated at the point of fragmentation, and we infer that pumices do not quench at the level of fragmentation but undergo some post-fragmentary evolution. On the timescale of Plinian eruptions, pumices with viscosities <109 Pa s can expand after fragmentation, as long as their bubbles retain gas, at a rate inversely proportional to their viscosity. Once the bubbles connect to form a permeable network and lose their gas, expansion halts and pumices with viscosities <105 Pa s can collapse under the action of surface tension. Textural evidence from bubble sizes and shapes in pumices indicates that both expansion and collapse have taken place. The magnitudes of expansion and collapse, therefore, depend critically on the timing of bubble connectivity relative to the final moment of quenching. We propose that bubbles in different pumices become connected at different times throughout the time span between fragmentation and quenching. After accounting for these effects, we derive new information on the fragmentation process from two characteristics of pumices. The most important is a relatively constant minimum value of V
 G
 /V
 L
 of ∼1.78 (64 vol.% vesicularity) in all samples with viscosities >105 Pa s. This value is independent of magma composition and thus reflects a property of the eruptive mechanism. The other characteristic is that highly expanded pumices (>85 vol.% vesicularities) are common, which argues against overpressure in bubbles as a mechanism for fragmenting magma. We suggest that magma fragments when it reaches a vesicularity of ∼64 vol.%, but only if sheared sufficiently strongly. The intensity of shear varies as a function of velocity in the conduit, which is related to overpressure in the chamber, so that changes in overpressure with time are important in controlling the common progression from explosive to effusive activity at volcanoes.

Fragmentation of magma during Plinian volcanic eruptions

Compositionally diverse dacitic magmas have erupted from Mount St Helens over the last 4000 years. Phase assemblages and their compositions in these dacites provide information about the composition of the pre-eruptive melt, the phases in equilibrium with that melt and the magmatic temperature. From this information pre-eruptive pressures and water fugacities of many of the dacites have been inferred. This was done by conducting hydrothermal experiments at 850°C and a range of pressures and water fugacities and combining the results with those from experiments at temperatures of 780 and 920°C, to cover the likely range in equilibration conditions of the dacites. Natural phase assemblages and compositions were compared with the experimental results to infer the most likely conditions for the magmas prior to eruption. Water contents disolved in the melts of the dacites were then estimated from the inferred conditions. Water contents in the dacites have varied greatly, from 3.7 to 6.5 wt.%, in the last 4000 years. Between 4000 and about 3000 years ago the dacites tended to be water saturated and contained 5.5 to 6.5 wt.% water. Since then, however, the dacites have been significantly water-undersaturated and contained less than 5.0 wt.% water. These dacites have tended to be hotter and more mafic, and andesitic and basaltic magmas have erupted. These changes can be explained by variable amounts of mixing between felsic dacite and basalt, to produce hotter, drier and more mafic dacites and andesites. The magma storage region of the dacitic magmas has also varied significantly during the 4000 years, with shifts to shallower levels in the crust occurring within very short time periods, possibly even two years. These shifts may be related to fracturing of overlying roof rock as a result of magma with-drawal during larger volume eruptions.

James E. Gardner

Papers

Comparison of microanalytical methods for estimating H2O contents of silicic volcanic glasses

Experimental phase equilibria constraints on pre‐eruptive storage conditions of the Soufriere Hills magma

Experimental constraints on degassing of magma: isothermal bubble growth during continuous decompression from high pressure

Fragmentation of magma during Plinian volcanic eruptions

Experimental constraints on pre-eruptive water contents and changing magma storage prior to explosive eruptions of Mount St Helens volcano