科研之友
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摘要
It has been hypothesized that for a Plinian eruption of mafic magma to occur, that magma must ascend rapidly from the chamber to cause it to fragment into a jet containing juvenile and nonjuvenile tephra. To determine how fast mafic Plinian magmas need to travel to the level of fragmentation, a number of decompression experiments were carried out on two hydrous mafic magmas, and the results are compared to the products of two well-documented mafic Plinian eruptions: the basaltic andesite Fontana eruption of Masaya (Nicaragua) and the hawaiite 122 B.C. eruption of Etna (Italy). Comparison of natural and experimental textures shows that the Fontana eruption can be replicated in the lab at decompression rates between 0.1 MPa s(-1) and 0.2 MPa s(-1). This decompression rate is faster than any previously determined experimentally rate for more silicic eruptions. The hawaiite was unable to be reproduced in the lab. The natural groundmass is highly crystalline, which would have raised the viscosity of the initial melt by 1-2 orders of magnitude, which may not be enough to cause fragmentation.
