Persistent multitiered magma plumbing beneath Katla volcano, Iceland

• Recent seismic unrest and a persistent Holocene eruption record at Katla volcano, Iceland indicate that a near-future eruption is possible. Previous petrological investigations suggest that Katla is supplied by a simple plumbing system that delivers magma directly from depth, while seismic and geodetic data also point toward the existence of upper-crustal magma storage. To characterize Katla's recent plumbing system, we established mineral-melt equilibrium crystallization pressures from four age-constrained Katla tephras spanning from 8 kyr BP to 1918. The results point to persistent shallow- (≤8 km depth) as well as deep-crustal (ca. 10 – 25 km depth) magma storage beneath Katla throughout the last 8 kyr. The presence of multiple magma storage regions implies that mafic magma from the deeper reservoir system may become gas-rich during ascent and storage in the shallow crust and erupt explosively. Alternatively, it might intersect evolved magma pockets in the shallow-level storage region, and so increase the potential for explosive mixed-magma ash eruptions.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Katla volcano; mineral-melt equilibrium thermobarometry; persistent multi-tiered magma plumbing system

Geovetenskap med inriktning mot mineralogi, petrologi och tektonik

Earth Science with specialization in Mineral Chemistry, Petrology and Tectonics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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