Shedding new light on volcanoes: real time synchrotron x-ray tomography of magmatic phenomena

火山喷发是由岩浆推动的。为了预测它们的发生，模型需要深入了解和定量描述的岩浆在运输和喷发过程中的流动特性。然而，岩浆的许多特性我们仍然不完全了解..是什么导致岩浆上升和喷发？岩浆是如何流动的？它会以良性积液的形式爆发还是灾难性的爆炸事件？喷发会持续多久？所有这些都是生活在活火山附近的全球10%人口的重要问题。驱动这些火山系统的岩浆是复杂的液体，携带着不同量的固体晶体和气泡。正是这些晶体和气泡货物以及它们之间的相互作用控制了岩浆的行为，即它是否会流动或爆炸。一般来说，岩浆的结晶度越高，流动就越困难，破裂的可能性就越大;同样，岩浆的气泡越多，爆炸的可能性就越大。了解液体、晶体和气泡之间的相互作用是了解岩浆行为的关键，也是火山学面临的重大挑战之一。目前，开发岩浆储存（在深处）和火山过程（在地球表面附近）模型的实验研究受到了传统方法的限制，因为传统方法不允许我们在测试期间观察样品内部发生的情况。我们提出的技术将改变这一点，为我们提供所需的3D X射线眼镜来观察岩浆流。这将使用英国的同步加速器钻石光源，结合一个实验装置，可以加热，容纳和流动岩浆，同时超高速CAT扫描可以看到它。这就是所谓的4D成像- 3D加上时间。该设备将使火山学家能够通过实验使岩浆变形，同时实时量化液体，晶体和气泡之间的相互作用。所产生的数据将大大提高对这些过程的理解，为其他小组提供制作详细的新模型所需的信息。这将为火山提供新的认识，提高我们限制岩浆过程和预测火山爆发的能力。

Volcanic eruptions are powered by magma. To predict their occurrence the models require an in depth understand and quantitative description of the flow properties of magma during transport and eruption. However, there are many properties of magma we still don't fully understand... What causes magma to ascend and erupt? How does magma flow? Will it erupt as a benign effusion or as a catastrophic explosive event? How long will eruptions last? All these are vital questions to the 10% of the global population that lives in the vicinity of an active volcano. The magmas that drive these volcanic systems are complex liquids that carry variable amounts of both solid crystals and gas bubbles. It is these crystal and bubble cargos and the interactions between them that control how magma behaves, i.e. whether it will flow or blow. Generally, the more crystalline a magma, the more difficult it is to flow and the more likely it will break; similarly, the more bubbly a magma, the more likely it will blow. Understanding the interactions between the liquid, crystals and bubbles is key to understanding magma behaviour, forming one of the grand challenge of volcanology. At present experimental studies performed to develop models of magma storage (at depth) and volcanic processes (near/at the Earth surface) have been limited by the fact that traditional methods do not allow us to observe what is happening inside the sample during a test. The technology we propose will transform this, giving us the 3D X-ray glasses needed to see into magmatic flow. This will be done using the UK's synchrotron, Diamond Light Source, combined with an experimental rig that can heat, contain, and flow magma whilst ultra-high speed CAT scans are taken to see in side it. This is called 4D imaging - 3D plus time. This equipment will enable volcanologists to experimentally deform magma whilst quantifying the interaction between liquid, crystals and bubbles in real-time. The data produced will provide a greatly enhanced understanding of these processes, providing the information needed by other groups to produce detailed new models. This will shed new light on volcanoes, improving our ability to constrain magmatic processes and forecast volcanic eruption.