Reconstructed the dynamics of the two main magma springs underlying the Campi Flegrei caldera
The architecture of the deep magmatic system of the Campi Flegrei at the origin of the dynamics of the caldera has been defined, also of fundamental importance for the evaluation of the volcanic hazard of the area.
These are the results achieved by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study , and just published in the magazine 'Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth' of the AGU.
“Calderas are volcanic depressions formed by the collapse of the roof rocks of the magma chamber that is emptied during massive eruptions”, explains Lucia Pappalardo, INGV researcher and co-author of the study. “They often show phases of 'unrest' (ie 'imbalance'), with frequent earthquakes, ground uplift (so-called 'bradyseism') and a considerable flow of gas and heat. However, since this activity is due to the complex interactions between magma and the hydrothermal system stored under the volcano, it is always difficult to identify the source and predict the evolution of these manifestations".
The recently published study has shown that the variations in the composition of fumarolic gases measured in recent decades at the Campi Flegrei caldera originate from the depressurization and crystallization of two main magmatic sources: a deeper one, located between 16 and 12 km below ground level , which fueled the bradyseismic crisis of 1982-84 by transferring a significant volume of magma (3 km3) towards the second source located about 8 km deep. The latter, on the other hand, fueled fumarolic gases during the crisis that began in 2000 and is still ongoing.
"By comparing the chemical composition of the magmas involved in past Phlegrean eruptions with that of the magmatic gases currently emitted at the Solfatara fumaroles, we have reconstructed the current dynamics of magmatic degassing", continues Antonio Paonita, INGV researcher and co-author of the research.
“Our study shows how the gases released by the rising magma in the deep areas of the volcano's feeding system accumulate at the base of the overlying hydrothermal system, located about 3 km deep, which is heated and pressurized, deforming and fracturing the more superficial crustal rocks and thus giving rise to soil uplift phenomena and earthquakes typically observed in the area”.
The researchers examined the tiny drops of magma trapped in the crystals of volcanic products emitted during the Phlegrean eruptions of the last 15.000 years, thus reconstructing the architecture of the deep magmatic system of Campi Flegrei.
“Through thermodynamic models it has been possible to reproduce the scenarios of deep magmatic degassing which in recent decades have controlled the variations in the chemical composition and flux of fumarolic gases measured at the Solfatara”, adds Gianmarco Buono, INGV volcanologist and co-author of the research.
The study also suggests that the information obtained by combining petrological and geochemical data are essential for reconstructing the dynamics of magma transfer even when this affects hotter portions of the deep crust and therefore "silent" from a seismic point of view, and can therefore have important implications for the definition of the best monitoring strategies.
A contribution that could be useful in the future to refine the forecasting and prevention tools of civil protection but which at the moment has no direct implication on measures concerning the safety of the population.
#INGV #JGR #AGU #CampiFlegrei #bradisismo #caldera #eruptionvolcanica #volcani #campania #italia
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Campi Flegrei | A new study reveals the architecture of the magmatic system at the origin of the bradyseism
The dynamics of the two main magmatic sources underlying the Campi Flegrei caldera have been analysed
The architecture of the deep magmatic system of the Campi Flegrei has been defined to understand the dynamics of the sectors of the caldera, of fundamental importance for the assessment of the volcanic hazard of the area.
These are the results achieved by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study , just published in the journal AGU's 'Journal of Geophysical Research': Solid Earth.
“Calderas are volcanic depressions formed by the collapse of the ground during huge eruptions”, explains Lucia Pappalardo, INGV researcher and author of the study. “They often manifest phases of 'unrest' (or 'imbalance'), with frequent earthquakes, uplift of the ground (the so-called 'bradyseism') and a considerable flux of heat and gas. However, since this activity is due to the complex interactions between magma and the hydrothermal system stored under the volcano, it is always difficult to predict the evolution of these manifestations”.
The study just published has shown that the fumarolic gases of the Campi Flegrei caldera come from the depressurization and crystallization of two main magmatic sources: a deeper one, located between 16 and 12 km below ground level, which during the bradyseismic crisis of 1982-84 transferred a significant volume of magma (3 km3) towards the other one, a more shallow source. The latter, located about 8 km deep, fed the fumarolic gases during the crisis that began in 2000 and is currently still underway.
“By comparing the chemical composition of the magmas involved in past Phlegraean eruptions with that of the magmatic gases currently emitted at the fumaroles of the Solfatara, we hypothesized the current dynamics of magmatic degassing”, continues Antonio Paonita, INGV researcher and author of the study.
“Our study shows how the gases released by the rising magma in the deep areas of the volcano's plumbing system accumulate at the base of the overlying hydrothermal system, located about 3 km deep, which is heated and pressurized, deforming and fracturing the more superficial crustal rocks. Thus giving rise to phenomena of ground uplift and earthquakes typically observed in the area".
The researchers examined the tiny drops of magma trapped in the crystals of the volcanic products emitted during the Phlegraean eruptions of the last 15,000 years, thus reconstructing the architecture of the deep magma system of the Phlegraean Fields.
“Through thermodynamic models it has been possible to reproduce the magmatic degassing scenarios which in recent decades have controlled the geochemical variations of the fumarolic gases of the Solfatara”, adds Gianmarco Buono of INGV and author of the study.
The study also suggests that the information obtained by combining petrological and geochemical data are essential to reconstruct the dynamics of magma transfer even when this affects portions of deep crust at high temperature and therefore “silent” from a seismic point of view, and can therefore have important implications for the definition of the best monitoring strategies.
A contribution that could be useful in the future to refine the tools for forecasting and prevention of civil protection but which at the moment has no direct implication on measures concerning the safety of the population.
#INGV #JGR #AGU #CampiFlegrei #bradyseism #caldera #eruption #volcanoes #campania #italy
The architecture of the deep magmatic system of the Campi Flegrei at the origin of the dynamics of the caldera has been defined, also of fundamental importance for the evaluation of the volcanic hazard of the area.
These are the results achieved by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study , and just published in the magazine 'Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth' of the AGU.
“Calderas are volcanic depressions formed by the collapse of the roof rocks of the magma chamber that is emptied during massive eruptions”, explains Lucia Pappalardo, INGV researcher and co-author of the study. “They often show phases of 'unrest' (ie 'imbalance'), with frequent earthquakes, ground uplift (so-called 'bradyseism') and a considerable flow of gas and heat. However, since this activity is due to the complex interactions between magma and the hydrothermal system stored under the volcano, it is always difficult to identify the source and predict the evolution of these manifestations".
The recently published study has shown that the variations in the composition of fumarolic gases measured in recent decades at the Campi Flegrei caldera originate from the depressurization and crystallization of two main magmatic sources: a deeper one, located between 16 and 12 km below ground level , which fueled the bradyseismic crisis of 1982-84 by transferring a significant volume of magma (3 km3) towards the second source located about 8 km deep. The latter, on the other hand, fueled fumarolic gases during the crisis that began in 2000 and is still ongoing.
"By comparing the chemical composition of the magmas involved in past Phlegrean eruptions with that of the magmatic gases currently emitted at the Solfatara fumaroles, we have reconstructed the current dynamics of magmatic degassing", continues Antonio Paonita, INGV researcher and co-author of the research.
“Our study shows how the gases released by the rising magma in the deep areas of the volcano's feeding system accumulate at the base of the overlying hydrothermal system, located about 3 km deep, which is heated and pressurized, deforming and fracturing the more superficial crustal rocks and thus giving rise to soil uplift phenomena and earthquakes typically observed in the area”.
The researchers examined the tiny drops of magma trapped in the crystals of volcanic products emitted during the Phlegrean eruptions of the last 15.000 years, thus reconstructing the architecture of the deep magmatic system of Campi Flegrei.
“Through thermodynamic models it has been possible to reproduce the scenarios of deep magmatic degassing which in recent decades have controlled the variations in the chemical composition and flux of fumarolic gases measured at the Solfatara”, adds Gianmarco Buono, INGV volcanologist and co-author of the research.
The study also suggests that the information obtained by combining petrological and geochemical data are essential for reconstructing the dynamics of magma transfer even when this affects hotter portions of the deep crust and therefore "silent" from a seismic point of view, and can therefore have important implications for the definition of the best monitoring strategies.
A contribution that could be useful in the future to refine the forecasting and prevention tools of civil protection but which at the moment has no direct implication on measures concerning the safety of the population.
#INGV #JGR #AGU #CampiFlegrei #bradisismo #caldera #eruptionvolcanica #volcani #campania #italia
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Campi Flegrei | A new study reveals the architecture of the magmatic system at the origin of the bradyseism
The dynamics of the two main magmatic sources underlying the Campi Flegrei caldera have been analysed
The architecture of the deep magmatic system of the Campi Flegrei has been defined to understand the dynamics of the sectors of the caldera, of fundamental importance for the assessment of the volcanic hazard of the area.
These are the results achieved by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study , just published in the journal AGU's 'Journal of Geophysical Research': Solid Earth.
“Calderas are volcanic depressions formed by the collapse of the ground during huge eruptions”, explains Lucia Pappalardo, INGV researcher and author of the study. “They often manifest phases of 'unrest' (or 'imbalance'), with frequent earthquakes, uplift of the ground (the so-called 'bradyseism') and a considerable flux of heat and gas. However, since this activity is due to the complex interactions between magma and the hydrothermal system stored under the volcano, it is always difficult to predict the evolution of these manifestations”.
The study just published has shown that the fumarolic gases of the Campi Flegrei caldera come from the depressurization and crystallization of two main magmatic sources: a deeper one, located between 16 and 12 km below ground level, which during the bradyseismic crisis of 1982-84 transferred a significant volume of magma (3 km3) towards the other one, a more shallow source. The latter, located about 8 km deep, fed the fumarolic gases during the crisis that began in 2000 and is currently still underway.
“By comparing the chemical composition of the magmas involved in past Phlegraean eruptions with that of the magmatic gases currently emitted at the fumaroles of the Solfatara, we hypothesized the current dynamics of magmatic degassing”, continues Antonio Paonita, INGV researcher and author of the study.
“Our study shows how the gases released by the rising magma in the deep areas of the volcano's plumbing system accumulate at the base of the overlying hydrothermal system, located about 3 km deep, which is heated and pressurized, deforming and fracturing the more superficial crustal rocks. Thus giving rise to phenomena of ground uplift and earthquakes typically observed in the area".
The researchers examined the tiny drops of magma trapped in the crystals of the volcanic products emitted during the Phlegraean eruptions of the last 15,000 years, thus reconstructing the architecture of the deep magma system of the Phlegraean Fields.
“Through thermodynamic models it has been possible to reproduce the magmatic degassing scenarios which in recent decades have controlled the geochemical variations of the fumarolic gases of the Solfatara”, adds Gianmarco Buono of INGV and author of the study.
The study also suggests that the information obtained by combining petrological and geochemical data are essential to reconstruct the dynamics of magma transfer even when this affects portions of deep crust at high temperature and therefore “silent” from a seismic point of view, and can therefore have important implications for the definition of the best monitoring strategies.
A contribution that could be useful in the future to refine the tools for forecasting and prevention of civil protection but which at the moment has no direct implication on measures concerning the safety of the population.
#INGV #JGR #AGU #CampiFlegrei #bradyseism #caldera #eruption #volcanoes #campania #italy
Figure: Conceptual model of the magmatic and geothermal feeding system of the Phlegrean Caldera - figure: Conceptual model of the magmatic and geothermal supply system of the Phlegraean caldera