New Publication (March 2021): Tracking the behaviour of persistently degassing volcanoes using noble gas analysis of Pele's hairs and tears

Cogliati, S., Sherlock, S., Halton, A., Reid, K., Rymer, H. and Kelley, S. (2021). Tracking the behaviour of persistently degassing volcanoes using noble gas analysis of Pele's hairs and tears: A case study of the Masaya volcano (Nicaragua). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 414, Article 107212.

In this new study just published online in the Journal of Volcanolgy and Geothermal Research Simone Cogliati and collegues looked at using the noble gas signatures in Pele's Hairs and Tears from Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua to investigate the volcanic behaviour of this persistantly degassing volcanic system. Using 4He, 36Ar, 40Ar abundances and 4He/40Ar* and 40Ar/36Ar isotopic ratios this study shows that the variations in the NG abundances of individual glass particles can be attributed to solubility-controlled NG fractionation between melt and bubbles, and consequently correlated with sample vesicularity and vesicle size. Inhomogeneous incorporation of 36Ar, along with kinetic mass fractionation during magma degassing, vesiculation and fast-quenching of the samples after eruption, are all mechanisms controlling the variability of the 40Ar/36Ar ratios. The observed variations can be ascribed to the upwards migration of gas rich magma from depth, recharging the shallow magmatic reservoir between the 2 studied collection periods. The documented resurgence of lava lake activity at Masaya Volcano in December 2015 allowed an opportunity to monitor the variations in noble gases during a specific volcanic event.