Rapid response petrology: During an active volcanic eruption: Techniques, timing, costs and applications

• Jane H. Scarrow ^[1] ; F. Sánchez Aguilar ^[1] ; Katy J. Chamberlain ^[2] ; Matthew J. Pankhurst
  1. [1] Universidad de Granada

     Universidad de Granada

     Granada, España

     
  2. [2] University of Liverpool

     University of Liverpool

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Cosmológica, ISSN 2792-7423, Nº. Extra 1 (Conferencia Internacional: Erupción del Tajogaite (Los Llanos de Aridane, noviembre de 2025)), 2025, págs. 177-179
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • When monitoring volcanic activity, understanding how an eruption will evolve and end is as important as predicting when and where it will begin. During an active eruption, volcanic rocks (magma), glasses (melt), and crystal cargoes (minerals) become available for study, whilst geophysical signals often become noisier. Compositions of the petrological signals directly record magma system dynamics that prime, drive, modulate, and halt eruptions. Petrology is unique in that it can access the present and the past, offering clear potential not only for understanding syn-eruptive processes, but also for immediate application in risk assessment, hazard management, and civil protection.

    Near real-time petrological monitoring is already growing in use (Re et al., 2021; Kent et al., 2023), we advocate its broader adoption by providing a resource-efficient scientific template. For effective monitoring, a rapid-response strategy is essential to optimise resources. The aim is to acquire meaningful data about the evolving active magmatic system. We assess the use of various traditional and advanced methods, considering key aspects such as sample preparation, analysis time, cost and informative value for effective monitoring. Our group learned from the Tajogaite eruption that preparation prior to the eruptive crisis would have improved our response. In brief, petrological monitoring data and applications include: optical microscopy, SEM and QEMSCAN, which analyse mineral compositions and textures to track magma cooling, crystallisation, ascent and eruptive style; XRD, which identifies minerals and glass proportions and compositions indicative of magma composition, cooling, and eruption; XRF, which measures whole-rock elemental changes recording magma source and temperature; microthermometry, which uses fluid inclusion-determined temperatures and pressures to reconstruct magma storage depths and ascent dynamic; and, micro-CT, which offers rapid, non-destructive 3D imaging of porosity, vesicularity, and mineral distribution, key to understanding magma ascent, fragmentation, and degassing...