A global group of scientists, including UNIGE individuals, utilized warm and trial models to clarify one of the slightest comprehended procedures in volcanology: ‘caldera resurgence’.
Calderas are generally formed by large volcanic eruptions, and sometimes experience an inflation of their floor of up to a kilometer, caused by magma injection. This process is also known as caldera resurgence.
Although, the process is observed several times, but remained unexplained in volcanology.
During Caldera eruption, some magma remains in magma reservoir. Once cool down, it increases its viscosity.
At the point when new magma is infused, the magma left finished after the caldera-framing emission prevents the new magma from engendering to the surface and advances caldera resurgence.
Now, scientists from the University of Roma Tre, Italy, and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, shows that the non-ejected magma left after the caldera-framing emission carries on as an “elastic sheet” that represses the ascent to the surface of the recently infused magma.
Luca Caricchi, associate professor at the Department of Earth Sciences of the UNIGE Faculty of Science said, “The magma is not entirely removed from the magma chamber during the caldera-forming eruption. We used thermal modeling to determine how this residual magma evolves over time, and which role it plays in the resurgence process.”
The magma, more blazing than the stones encompassing the magma chamber, cools continuously and its consistency increments. The higher thickness of the left finished magma, concerning the recently infused magma, influences it to carry on as an elastic sheet halting the proliferation of the new magma to the surface.
Scientists conducted experiments to find out the results. They replaced magma by a silicone layer and the newly injected magma by less viscous vegetable oil.
Federico Galetto, a researcher at the Department of Science of the University of Roma Tre said, “The contrast in viscosity between these two materials is equivalent to the contrast observed between the two magmas in nature.”
“Independently of the depth of the silicone layer, its presence always impede the propagation of the newly injected magma to the surface.”
Based on the results, scientists developed a model provides a theoretical framework to account for the transition from magma eruption to accumulation.