Volcanic eruptions are commonly subdivided into effusive and explosive activity depending on conduit dynamics that can either result in the outflow of lava when the degassed magma reaches the surface (effusive eruptions), or in the fragmentation of magma at various depths (dry explosive eruptions, from Hawaiian to Ultra-Plinian, and wet explosive eruptions from Surtseyan to phreato-Plinian in the classification of Walker ( 1980)). Nonetheless, some
Dominguez et al.Aeolian Remobilisation of Tephra Fallout deposit features (morphology and structures) alone are insufficient to interpret transport mechanisms, their combination suggests that whilst saltation is the most common particle transport mechanism, suspension and creep also play an important role. As well as inferring transport mechanisms from this combined approach, we also demonstrate how the correlation of the primary volcanic source with the associated remobilised deposits is fundamental to our understanding of the life cycle of volcanic ash.
Available online xxxx Editor: T.A. MatherKeywords: explosions pulsatory activity magma viscosity repose interval source dynamics eruptive style Pulsatory eruptions are marked by a sequence of explosions which can be separated by time intervals ranging from a few seconds to several hours. The quantification of the periodicities associated with these eruptions is essential not only for the comprehension of the mechanisms controlling explosivity, but also for classification purposes. We focus on the dynamics of pulsatory activity and quantify unsteadiness based on the distribution of the repose time intervals between single explosive events in relation to magma properties and eruptive styles. A broad range of pulsatory eruption styles are considered, including Strombolian, violent Strombolian and Vulcanian explosions. We find a general relationship between the median of the observed repose times in eruptive sequences and the viscosity of magma given by η ≈ 100 · t median . This relationship applies to the complete range of magma viscosities considered in our study (10 2 to 10 9 Pa s) regardless of the eruption length, eruptive style and associated plume heights, suggesting that viscosity is the main magma property controlling eruption periodicity. Furthermore, the analysis of the explosive sequences in terms of failure time through statistical survival analysis provides further information: dynamics of pulsatory activity can be successfully described in terms of frequency and regularity of the explosions, quantified based on the log-logistic distribution.A linear relationship is identified between the log-logistic parameters, μ and s. This relationship is useful for quantifying differences among eruptive styles from very frequent and regular mafic events (Strombolian activity) to more sporadic and irregular Vulcanian explosions in silicic systems. The time scale controlled by the parameter μ, as a function of the median of the distribution, can be therefore correlated with the viscosity of magmas; while the complexity of the erupting system, including magma rise rate, degassing and fragmentation efficiency, can be also described based on the log-logistic parameter s, which is found to increase from regular mafic systems to highly variable silicic systems. These results suggest that the periodicity of explosions, quantified in terms of the distribution of repose times, can give fundamental information about the system dynamics and change regularly across eruptive styles (i.e., Strombolian to Vulcanian), allowing for direct comparison and quantification of different types of pulsatory activity during these eruptions.
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