Volatiles are a key component of volcanic activity. The amount of volatiles, depth of magma storage, and ascent rate likely control the variety of eruption styles.
Volcanic Petrology Group - Fidel Costa
The aim of the Volcanic Petrology group is to conduct fundamental research on magmatic processes and rocks from active volcanoes, toward better understanding and forecasting of volcanic eruptions.
Some of our underlying research questions include
- triggering mechanisms of eruptions
- storage conditions (P, T, fO2, fH2O, fS2, fCO2) of magmas prior to eruption
- unraveling the processes that occur in the reservoir and volcanic conduit
- time scales for all these processes
- integration of topics #1-4 with monitoring signals (seismicity, deformation, gas chemistry) of active volcanoes
- numerical modeling of magmatic, and volcanic processes, plus monitoring signals towards predictability of volcanic phenomena
The signature and strength that distinguishes this group from others worldwide is that we focus our research on deciphering the time scales for all of these processes.
Some of our research tools include:
- Mineralogical and geochemical analyses, in-situ and bulk (techniques: electron microprobe, ion probe, FTIR, XRF, TEM, LA-ICP-MS: These mainly take place at EOS and NTU facilities: We also utilize facilities of our international collaborators.
- High P and T experiments (phase equilibria and kinetics: in collaboration with colleagues from France and Germany)
- Dating and geochronology (in collaboration with colleagues from France and USA )
- Field mapping and stratigraphic studies of eruption sequences (other EOS Volcano group members and colleagues from PHIVOLCS and CVI)
- Numerical modeling (FD, FEM; EOS and in collaboration with colleagues from Spain and USA)
Latest Publications
"Rapid cooling and cold storage in a silicic magma reservoir recorded in individual crystals." Science 356, no. 6343 (2107): 1154-1156.
" Magma interactions, crystal mush formation, timescales, and unrest during caldera collapse and lateral eruption at ocean island basaltic volcanoes (Piton de la Fournaise, La Reunion)." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 515 (2019): 187-199.
"Necking and fracking may explain stationary seismicity and full degassing in volcanic silicic spine extrusion." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 503 (2018): 47-57.
"Lithium diffusion in olivine records magmatic priming of explosive basaltic eruptions." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 500 (2018): 127-135.
Events
14 Oct 2019 to 15 Oct 2019
10 Dec 2018 to 14 Dec 2018
26 Nov 2018 to 29 Nov 2018
24 Aug 2018
Latest Projects
Chemical and textural zoning in crystals from volcanic rocks can be used to fingerprint the processes that lead to magma storage and eruption, but decoding the crystal record is not straightforward.
Petrological studies can inform of the processes and time scales of magma movement and ascent, and thus allow associating them with monitoring unrest signals, and thus better mitigate volcano hazards.
Using an approach that integrates geochemistry, mineralogy, numerical modelling, and physical models, this project aims to improve open-vent volcano forecasts in Southeast Asia.
The team uses micro and nano-analytical techniques, thermodynamics, and kinetic models to reconstruct the plumbing system and produce a time series of magmatic events leading to eruptions.
In this project we aim to combine new statistical tools based on pattern recognition with simple thermodynamic models to understand the crystal zoning patterns and thus unravel the processes that drive eruptions at open vent volcano like Mayon....
Awards
2019
Provost’s Chair in Earth Sciences
2016
AGU 2016 Natural Hazards Focus Group Award for Graduate Research
2016