Imperial College London
Alternate

ProfessorGrahamHughes

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Chair in Environmental Fluid Mechanics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 9701g.hughes

 
 
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Location

 

332Skempton BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Henley:2016:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.04.024,
author = {Henley, RW and Hughes, GO},
doi = {10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.04.024},
journal = {Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research},
pages = {190--199},
title = {SO2 flux and the thermal power of volcanic eruptions},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.04.024},
volume = {324},
year = {2016}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - A description of the dynamics, chemistry and energetics governing a volcanic system can be greatlysimplified if the expansion of magmatic gas can be assumed to be adiabatic as it rises towards thesurface. The conditions under which this assumption is valid are clarified by analysis of the transferof thermal energy into the low conductivity wallrocks traversed by fractures and vents from a gasphase expanding over a range of mass flux rates. Adiabatic behavior is predicted to be approachedtypically within a month after perturbations in the release of source gas have stabilized, thistimescale being dependent upon only the characteristic length scale on which the host rock isfractured and the thermal diffusivity of the rock. This analysis then enables the thermal energytransport due to gas release from volcanoes to be evaluated using observations of SO2 flux withreference values for the H2O:SO2 ratio of volcanic gas mixtures discharging through hightemperature fumaroles in arc and mantle-related volcanic systems. Thermal power (MWH/s)estimates for gas discharge are 101.8 to 104.1 MWH during quiescent, continuous degassing of arcvolcanoes and 103.7 to 107.3MWH for their eruptive stages, the higher value being the PlineanPinatubo eruption in 1991. Fewer data are available for quiescent stage mantle-related volcanoes(Kilauea 102.1MWH) but for eruptive events power estimates range from 102.8 MWH to 105.5MWH.These estimates of thermal power and mass of gas discharges are commensurate with powerestimates based on the total mass of gas ejected during eruptions. The sustained discharge ofvolcanic gas during quiescent and short-lived eruptive stages can be related to the hydrodynamicstructure of volcanic systems with large scale gaseous mass transfer from deep in the crust coupledwith episodes of high level intrusive activity and gas release.
AU  - Henley,RW
AU  - Hughes,GO
DO  - 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.04.024
EP  - 199
PY  - 2016///
SN  - 0377-0273
SP  - 190
TI  - SO2 flux and the thermal power of volcanic eruptions
T2  - Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.04.024
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/31555
VL  - 324
ER  -
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