Ricerc@Sapienza

The depth, thermal, physical and chemical status of magma storage plumbing systems under active volcanoes may significantly change with time. The crystal mush under persistently active basaltic volcanoes can be completely disrupted, via cannibalization processes, in less than a decade with profound implications for intensity, frequency and type of eruptions. Determining the rates and causes of significant changes in the architecture of magmatic systems is of paramount importance to develop detailed time-integrated models that successfully outline plumbing system evolution over societally relevant timescales. Focusing on crystal cargos and magmatic xenoliths, we investigate the decadal to centennial temporal evolution of magma-mush dynamics at Mt. Etna volcano, a template for persistently active basaltic volcanoes. This project will be the first time that a synergistic approach combining temporal, chemical and petrological evolution and volcanological data over a period of 8 centuries of eruptive activity is undertaken. Results will provide a needed, novel perspective on basaltic magma-mush dynamics at depth, below the ascent gas exsolution level. Through this approach, we will 1) evaluate the state of the crystal mush, 2) obtain microstructural proxies of cooling rate and fluid dynamical regime, 3) determine the extent and dynamics of mush disruption/formation over time, and 4) quantify the magnitude of micro-chemical and -isotopic variation, (dis)equilibria between phases and temporal trends potentially related to mush evolution and/or mafic recharge.