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

火山喷发是由岩浆驱动的。为了预测它们的发生，这些模型需要深入了解和定量描述岩浆在运输和喷发过程中的流动特性。然而，岩浆的许多性质我们仍然没有完全了解……岩浆上升和喷发的原因是什么？岩浆是如何流动的？它会作为良性渗出还是灾难性的爆炸性事件爆发？火山喷发将持续多久？对于生活在活火山附近的10%的全球人口来说，所有这些都是至关重要的问题。驱动这些火山系统的岩浆是复杂的液体，携带不同数量的固体晶体和气泡。正是这些晶体和气泡以及它们之间的相互作用控制着岩浆的行为，也就是它是流动还是吹。一般来说，岩浆越结晶，它就越难流动，越有可能破裂；同样，岩浆越有气泡，就越有可能喷发。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，这构成了火山学的重大挑战之一。目前，为建立岩浆储存(在深处)和火山过程(在地球表面附近/在地表)模型而进行的实验研究受到以下事实的限制：传统方法不允许我们在测试期间观察样品内部发生的事情。我们提出的技术将改变这一点，为我们提供看到岩浆流所需的3D X射线眼镜。这将使用英国的同步加速器钻石光源，结合一个可以加热、容纳和流动岩浆的实验台，同时进行超高速CAT扫描，以了解它的侧面。这被称为4D成像--3D加时间。这一设备将使火山学家能够在实验中使岩浆变形，同时实时量化液体、晶体和气泡之间的相互作用。产生的数据将大大加强对这些过程的了解，提供其他小组制作详细新模型所需的信息。这将为火山带来新的曙光，提高我们约束岩浆过程和预测火山喷发的能力。

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.