Titill
Friday seminars of Institute of Earth Sciences and Nordic Volcanological Center 15. March at 12:30 in Askja, 3rd floor meeting room
Alberto Caracciolo, Postdoc, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
"Magma plumbing architectures and timescales of magmatic processes during historical magmatism on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland"
List of Friday seminars of Institute of Earth Sciences and Nordic Volcanological Center
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Abstract:
In the past 4000 years, three rifting episodes have occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula (RP, SW Iceland) at time intervals of about 800-1000 years, with the activation of four of the five volcanic systems on the peninsula: Reykjanes, Svartsengi, Krýsuvík and Brennisteinsfjöll. In 2021 AD, 2022 AD and 2023 AD, three eruptions occurred in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system, the only volcanic system that remained inactive during these past rifting episodes. Considering the eruptive history of the peninsula, this could mark the onset of a new eruptive episode. Although extensive petrochemical datasets have emerged from past rifting episodes, little is known about magma<https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Ftopics%2Fearth-and-planetary-sciences%2Fmagma&data=05%7C02%7Crosao%40hi.is%7C026363a1149a4b635b5008dc41afb5c1%7C09fa5f0e211846568529677ed8fdbe78%7C0%7C0%7C638457470133564178%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=lgy3mhW0QZEeS26jXJfy6Aus%2BwwspHIoBkql9AMdlkY%3D&reserved=0> plumbing configuration and timescales of pre-eruptive magmatic processes. In this work, we focus on 16 medieval basaltic lava units erupted across RP during a well-established rifting episode: the 800-1240 AD Fires. We analysed major and minor element contents of glasses, mineral phases and melt inclusions<https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Ftopics%2Fearth-and-planetary-sciences%2Fmelt-inclusion&data=05%7C02%7Crosao%40hi.is%7C026363a1149a4b635b5008dc41afb5c1%7C09fa5f0e211846568529677ed8fdbe78%7C0%7C0%7C638457470133574418%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JKRkALCqaQaAbMlWcb8uVd4qdpWPZ4BviBcLjlEQWUs%3D&reserved=0>, and we reconstruct plumbing system architecture and constrain mixing-to-eruption timescales, with the goal of assessing likely eruption scenarios of a possible future eruptive episode. Mineral-melt equilibria suggests that most of crystal cores are antecrysts that did not crystallize from the magmas that carried them to the surface, but instead were scavenged from disaggregating mush layers genetically related to the erupted magmas. Magmas erupted in the easternmost part of the RP reveal larger contributions from geochemically enriched mantle-derived melts. Independent clinopyroxene-melt and melt-based barometry<https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Ftopics%2Fearth-and-planetary-sciences%2Fbarometry&data=05%7C02%7Crosao%40hi.is%7C026363a1149a4b635b5008dc41afb5c1%7C09fa5f0e211846568529677ed8fdbe78%7C0%7C0%7C638457470133583054%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=tppt%2FPMqGLdyRq%2B1r1zjgtv9gMNtx0yB5ilqROCx7eU%3D&reserved=0>, after correction for microlite crystallization, show consistent results and suggest that magmas from the western part of the peninsula were extracted from reservoirs located at about 7-10 km depth. In contrast, and similar to observations from recent eruptions at Fagradalsfjall, the easternmost system, Brennisteinsfjöll, was fed from deeper crustal reservoirs, at about 14-21 km depth. Fe-Mg diffusion chronometry applied to olivine rims suggests short mixing-to-eruption timescales on the order of days to weeks and likely faster ascent rates of magmas underneath Brennisteinsfjöll. Compared to 2021 AD Fagradalsfjall, mixing-to-eruption timescales were considerably shorter during the 800-1240 AD Fires. With inferred eruption durations on the order of months, the short olivine rim diffusion records are consistent with several discrete eruptive phases, which eventually assembled the individual magmatic units. In the light of possible future eruptive episodes on the RP, our work suggests that magmas are likely to accumulate at persistent depths across the RP, with key implication for interpreting pre-eruptive signals and eruption mitigation.
Additionally, I will have a mention about SO2 emissions during the 800-1240 AD Fires and the recent 2021-2024 eruptions at Fagradalsfjall and Sundhnúksgígar, which is part of a separate publication currently under review.
All are welcome.