Grimsvotn: Pressure of Crystallization and Magma Chamber Depth
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Date
2012-06
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Volcanoes in Iceland pose an enormous threat to not only the environment but a large
portion of the population due to the sheer number and potential destruction that lies under each
one. Grimsvötn, being the most frequently erupting volcano in Iceland, is a great locality to
develop more of an understanding into how these volcanoes actually work and what we can do to
better prepare ourselves for future events. Basaltic glass samples were taken and analyzed using
various methods in order to determine partial pressures of crystallization. From this we can
deduce magma chamber depth and interpret through various petrological methods, a possible
system which lies beneath the volcanoes. As a result of completing this procedure we have
concluded that the data are best explained by the presence of a complex plumbing system,
consisting of both a shallow and deep chamber, and plexus of small chambers at various depths,
or a deep chamber linked to the surface by dikes. Similar models have been proposed for the
plumbing systems beneath other volcanoes in Iceland.
Description
Keywords
crystallization, magma chamber, partial pressure, Iceland, Grimsvotn, Volcanoes