Shallow conduit processes of the 1991 Hekla eruption, Iceland

On January 17, 1991 at 17:00 hrs, the 17th eruption of Hekla since 1104AD began. Lasting for almost two months, it produced 0.02 km3 of icelandite tephra and ~0.15km3 of icelandite lava. This eruption was the third of four eruptions since 1980 with a recurrence period of approximately 10 years, as opposed to a recurrence interval of c. 55 years for the eruptions in the period 1104AD to 1947AD. [1] The last four Hekla eruptions are typified by a 0.5-2 hour-long initial phase of subplinian intensity and discharge ranging from 2900-6700 m3/s [2]. In all 4 events the inital phase was followed by a sustained and relatively low-discharge(<20 m3/s) effusive phase, which in the case of Hekla 1991 lasted until the 11th March 1991 [1]. The initial phase of the 1991 event lasted for ~50 minutes and sustained an eruption plume that rose to 11.5 km in about 10 minutes [1]. The plume was dispersed to the NNE at velocities of 60-70 km/hr producing a well-sorted tephra fall covering >20,000 km2. Here we examine the first phase of the Hekla 1991 eruption with focus on vesiculation and fragmentation processes in the shallow conduit and ash production. Samples of the tephra fall were collected on snow immediately after the initial phase at multiple sites providing a representative spatial coverage within the 0.1mm isopach [3]. This set was augmented by samples collected in 2012 to provide tighter coverage of near vent region. Grain size of all samples has been measured down to 1 micron. Density measurements have been conducted on 4 near-vent pumice samples (100 clasts each) and the pumice vesicle size distribution has been determined in a selected subset of clasts. The reconstructed whole deposit grain size distribution exhibits a unimodal, log-normal distribution peaking at -3 phi, typical of dry, magmatic fragmentation. Pumice densities range from 520-880 kg/m3 and exhibit a tight unimodal and log-normal distribution indicating a mean vesicularity of 77% to 79% for the magma erupted during the initial phase. Along with preliminary results for bubble number density and vesicle size distribution this implies a single late-stage homogeneous bubble nucleation and very uniform conditions of magma fragmentation during this short-lived initial phase of the Hekla 1991 eruption. 1. Gudmundsson, A., et al., The 1991 eruption of Hekla, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, 1992. 54(3): p. 238-246. 2. Höskuldsson, Á., Óskarsson, N., Pedersen, R., Grönvold, K., Vogfjörd, K. & Ólafsdóttir, R. 2007. The millennium eruption of Hekla in February 2000. Bull Volcanol, 70:169-182. 3. Larsen, G., E.G. Vilmundardóttir, and B. Thorkelsson, Heklugosid 1991: Gjóskufall og gjóskulagid frá fyrsta degi gossins. Náttúrufrædingurinn, 1992. 61(3-4): p. 159-176.