Permeability development during compaction of pumiceous dome lavas: testing the permeable foam collapse model
Abstract
The evolution of the porous network during lava dome extrusions is commonly perceived as the key control on the permeability which regulates the pore pressure, thereby challenging the stability of the dome. Here, we present experimental results of porosity and permeability evolution during compaction of aphiric and crystal-bearing rhyolitic, pumiceous (porosity ~60 %) lavas from Tarawera and Ngongotaha volcanoes (Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand), respectively. The The Ngongotaha sample is from the crystal-free dome carapace (erupted ~200 ka following caldera collapse at Rotorua Caldera), while the Tarawera sample is a crystalline, pumiceous clast from a dome-collapse generated block and ash flow (at Okataina Caldera ~1314 AD). This study tests the validity of the 'permeable foam' model by comparing properties of the experimentally compacted pumice to denser material seen in the exposed cores of Tarawera and Ngongotaha. Cylindrical samples were deformed under an axial stress of 2.8 MPa at 650-750°C (above their calorimetric glass transition temperature) up a total axial strain of 50 %. The porosity and permeability of the samples were characterized at strain increments of 10 %. The samples exhibit strain hardening during compaction. A rapid reduction in permeability along the primary axis occurs during the initial stage of compression and continues to decrease with increasing strain and densification of the lava. Development of permeability of each lava differs as the crystallinity affects the compaction process. The development of textures and microstructures is characterised using petrographic analysis and neutron computed tomography. The findings from the study are then put into the context of lava dome growth at Tarawera and Ngongotaha volcanoes.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFM.V23F2625A
- Keywords:
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- 5112 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS / Microstructure;
- 5114 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCKS / Permeability and porosity;
- 8414 VOLCANOLOGY / Eruption mechanisms and flow emplacement;
- 8429 VOLCANOLOGY / Lava rheology and morphology