The 2.6-2.3 ka explosive eruptive period of the Pululahua dome complex, Ecuador: insights from pyroclast analysis.

Unlabelled: Pululahua is an active volcano located 15 km north of Quito, Ecuador, that comprises sixteen dacitic-andesitic lava domes and a 13 km sub-rectangular depression formed between ~ 2.6 and ~ 2.3 ka.

Prince Rupert's Drops: An analysis of fragmentation by thermal stresses and quench granulation of glass and bubbly glass.

When volcanic eruptions involve interaction with external water (hydrovolcanism), the result is an ash-rich and energetic volcanic plume, as illustrated dramatically by the January 2022 Tonga eruption. The origin of the high explosive energy of these events remains an important question. We investigate this question by studying Prince Rupert's Drops (PRDs)-tadpole-shaped glass beads formed by dripping molten glass into water-which have long fascinated materials scientists because the great strength of the head contrasts with the explosivity of the metastable interior when the tail is broken.

Data on the 1902 Plinian eruption of Santa María volcano, Guatemala.

The study of historic volcanic eruptions is often complicated by the lack of recorded primary data and observations of such events. In the case of large-magnitude historic eruptions, these types of data are important to better understand not only the physical nature of these rare events but also the volcanic and social impacts that follow. In this paper, we compile contemporary data on the Santa María Plinian eruption of 1902, in Guatemala.

Deep roots for mid-ocean-ridge volcanoes revealed by plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions.

The global mid-ocean ridge system is the most extensive magmatic system on our planet and is the site of 75 per cent of Earth's volcanism. The vertical extent of mid-ocean-ridge magmatic systems has been considered to be restricted: even at the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel mid-ocean ridge under the Arctic Ocean, where the lithosphere is thickest, crystallization depths of magmas that feed eruptions are thought to be less than nine kilometres. These depths were determined using the volatile-element contents of melt inclusions, which are small volumes of magma that become trapped within crystallizing minerals.

The significance of plagioclase textures in mid-ocean ridge basalt (Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean).

Textures and compositions of minerals can be used to infer the physiochemical conditions present within magmatic systems. Given that plagioclase is an abundant phase in many magmatic systems, understanding the link between texture and process is vital. Here, we present a database of textural and compositional data for > 1800 plagioclase crystals in mid-ocean ridge basalt from the Gakkel Ridge (Arctic Ocean) to investigate the physiochemical conditions and processes that govern the formation of plagioclase textures and compositions.

Mafic glass compositions: a record of magma storage conditions, mixing and ascent.

The trans-crustal magma system paradigm is forcing us to re-think processes responsible for magma evolution and eruption. A key concept in petrology is the liquid line of descent (LLD), which relates a series of liquids derived from a single parent, and therefore tracks the inverse of the crystallization path. It is common practice to attribute multiple magma compositions, and/or multiple melt compositions (from melt inclusions and matrix glass), to a single LLD.

Architecture and dynamics of magma reservoirs.

This introductory article provides a synopsis of our current understanding of the form and dynamics of magma reservoirs in the crust. This knowledge is based on a range of experimental, observational and theoretical approaches, some of which are multidisclipinary and pioneering. We introduce and provide a contextual background for the papers in this issue, which cover a wide range of topics, encompassing magma storage, transport, behaviour and rheology, as well as the timescales on which magma reservoirs operate.

Vertically extensive and unstable magmatic systems: A unified view of igneous processes.

Volcanoes are an expression of their underlying magmatic systems. Over the past three decades, the classical focus on upper crustal magma chambers has expanded to consider magmatic processes throughout the crust. A transcrustal perspective must balance slow (plate tectonic) rates of melt generation and segregation in the lower crust with new evidence for rapid melt accumulation in the upper crust before many volcanic eruptions.