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Using the characteristics of rootless cone deposits to estimate the energetics of explosive lava–water interactions

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Abstract

During volcanic eruptions, the interaction of magma and groundwater can produce thermohydraulic explosions capable of significantly increasing the eruption energy. The most well-known mechanism by which explosive magma–water interactions occur, molten fuel–coolant interaction (MFCI), is a complex series of macro- and microscale processes which have been simulated using laboratory-scale experiments. As a natural analog for MFCI experiments, we utilize rootless cone beds formed by lava–water explosions to estimate explosion energy. The specific mechanical energy of the lava–water explosions studied here occurs over a broader range (4 to 178 kJ/kg) than MFCI experiments and includes estimates for the highest-energy lava–water explosions studied to date. Explosion energy is partitioned similarly over the two systems, with kinetic transport and fragmentation energy making up 25–40% and 42–80% of the mechanical energy, respectively, which overlap the ranges estimated for MFCI experiments. Our study of lava–water explosions therefore provides a field-scale analog of MFCI laboratory experiments for understanding the energetics, and therefore hazards, of MFCI in natural systems.

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Acknowledgments

This work was improved by discussions with Scott Rowland and Thorvaldur Thordarson and was supported by the University of Hawai‘i Bullard Fellowship. We are grateful to the Journal reviewers Alison Graettinger and Tobias Dürig, and associate editor Pierre-Simon Ross, for their thorough reviews of the manuscript. This work constitutes HIGP publication number 2435 and SOEST publication number 11197.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, 1272 University of Oregon, 100 Cascade Hall, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Erin P. Fitch

  2. Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Sarah A. Fagents

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  1. Erin P. Fitch
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  2. Sarah A. Fagents
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Correspondence to Erin P. Fitch.

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Editorial responsibility: P-S. Ross; Deputy Executive Editor: J. Tadeucci

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Fitch, E.P., Fagents, S.A. Using the characteristics of rootless cone deposits to estimate the energetics of explosive lava–water interactions. Bull Volcanol 82, 83 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-020-01422-3

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