Imaging active volcanic systems through time

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Volcanoes have played and continue to play a pivotal role in shaping human societies, both modern and ancient. From the eruption of Vesuvius to that of Eyjafjallajökull, volcanoes have killed hundreds of thousands of people and led to billions of dollars in economic losses. Forecasting these eruptions in order to mitigate their impact is thus of the utmost importance. While considerable progress has been made in quantitatively characterising volcanic eruptions, even the most advanced models suffer from a paucity of accurate data due to the difficulty inherent in their acquisition. Consequently, our understanding of the physical, chemical, spatiotemporal “boundary conditions” for the intrusion and migration of magma within the crust beneath volcanoes is still very limited. The proposed multi-faceted research program will enhance our ability to effectively characterize these magmatic systems via accurate modern and forensic geochemical and geophysical measurements of dormant and active volcanic systems.***The storage and release of magmatic volatiles (H2O, CO2) in rising magma largely control the nature (explosive vs. effusive) of volcanic eruptions. However, changes within the volcanic edifice, such as gas scrubbing by hydrothermal systems, can mask changes occurring at depth. Understanding the processes underpinning how shallow reservoirs store and redirect near-surface magma is thus critical in deciphering the interplay of surface-subsurface activity. I and my students will use forensic studies of volatiles preserved in crystal-hosted melt inclusions and direct measurements of surface degassing to provide the first comprehensive degassing history of the parental basalts of two active volcanic arcs. This is essential for understanding the development of these systems, especially the depth of degassing and magma storage. Accurate and repeatable measurements of these temporally and spatially varying parameters are critical inputs for physicochemical models of magma movement and numerical models of lava flow emplacement. My group will capitalize on advances in UAV technology to accurately sample surface emissions and features. Depending on the tectonic setting, very large magma reservoirs may form periodically at relatively shallow depths but the feedback relationships between reservoir growth and the near- and far-field stress regimes are still poorly understood. We will input comprehensive physicochemical data from three well studied basaltic volcanoes into system-level numerical models in order to realistically capture these dynamic interactions and more accurately forecast destructive volcanic events. The results of this research will enable recognition of subtle changes in magmatic systems that are crucial to effective forecasting of potentially hazardous volcanic systems and the mitigation of their inevitable impact on society, in Canada and abroad.**