1 How local stress fields prevent volcanic eruptions

3 Agust Gudmundsson1, Sonja L. Brenner2

1
4 Department of Structural Geology and Geodynamics, Geoscience Centre, University of
5 Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
6 (agust.gudmundsson@gwdg.de)
2
7 Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allegaten 41, N-5007 Bergen,
8 Norway (sonja.brenner@geo.uib.no)
9

10 ABSTRACT
11
12 Recent studies show that dike injections in stratovolcanoes and rift zones are much

13 more common than dike-fed eruptions. Although this observation is of fundamental

14 importance in volcanic hazard studies, the mechanisms that prevent dikes from

15 reaching the surface are still poorly understood. Here we present new numerical

16 models of active stratovolcanoes and rift zones consisting of alternating layers of

17 contrasting mechanical properties, such as stiff lava flows and soft pyroclastic rocks.

18 The models show that during magma-chamber inflation, local stresses in the stiff

19 layers encourage dike propagation while those in the soft layers tend to arrest

20 propagation and prevent volcanic eruptions. The local stresses in the stiff layers

21 may also trigger seismogenic faulting while the soft layers remain seismically quiet.

22 The results suggest that for an eruption to occur the stress conditions along the

23 potential pathway of a dike must be basically homogeneous.

24

25 Keywords: stratovolcanoes, dikes, stress fields, layered media, volcanic risk

26
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27 INTRODUCTION
28
29 One principal aim of volcanology is to provide a theoretical understanding of how

30 volcanoes work so as to make it possible to forecast eruptions. There may be several

31 hundred million people living in the vicinity of active volcanoes worldwide (Chester et

32 al., 2002) so that reliable forecasting of eruptions is of a basic concern in hazard studies

33 in many countries. While some eruptions have been predicted, many more have not. And

34 many unrest periods have caused false alarm in the sense that they have, eventually, not

35 lead to eruptions (Newhall and Dzurisin, 1988; Scarth and Tanguy, 2001).

36 Recently, there has been considerable progress in the understanding of the hazards

37 associated with the material produced during volcanic eruptions. In particular, the

38 properties and mechanisms of eruptive columns are now much better understood than a

39 few decades ago (Sparks et al., 1997). By contrast the processes that occur in a volcano

40 before it erupts are less well understood. For example, we are still far from knowing the

41 mechanical conditions that must be satisfied for a magma-driven fracture, a dike, to reach

42 the surface, resulting in an eruption. Also, the reasons why so many volcanic unrest

43 periods with dike injections do not result in eruptions, that is, why most dikes injected in

44 stratovolcanoes never reach the surface (Gudmundsson et al., 1999; Gudmundsson, 2002;

45 Stewart et al., 2003) are still poorly understood.

46 In this paper we focus on how contrasting mechanical properties of the layers that

47 constitute typical stratovolcanoes and rift zones may largely control whether or not

48 eruptions occur during periods of volcanic unrest. We present numerical models that

49 indicate that abrupt changes in mechanical properties between adjacent layers, of the kind

50 that are common in stratovolcanoes, develop temporary local stresses that may prevent
 3

51 dikes from reaching the surface. The results suggest that it is only when such unfavorable

52 local stresses have been changed to favorable ones, through a process referred to as

53 stress-field homogenization, that dikes are likely to reach the surface.

54

55 DATA

56
57 Field studies indicate that nearly all volcanic eruptions reach the surface through

58 magma-driven fractures (Gudmundsson et al., 1999; Gudmundsson, 2002; Stewart et al.,

59 2003), referred to as dikes if subvertical, and as inclined (cone) sheets if inclined. Here

60 we use the word dike in a generic sense covering also inclined sheets. Until recently it

61 was commonly assumed that most or even all dikes were feeders to eruptions (Walker,

62 1960; Longwell et al., 1969; Macdonald, 1972; Williams and McBirney, 1979). Recent

63 studies, however, show that many more dikes are injected in stratovolcanoes and rift

64 zones than reach their surfaces (Gudmundsson et al., 1999; Gudmundsson, 2002; Stewart

65 et al., 2003). This implies that most dikes become arrested on their way to the surface.

66 For example, in dike profiles in Tenerife (Canary Islands) and in Iceland (Fig. 1) arrested

67 dikes are much more common than feeder dikes (Gudmundsson et al., 1999;

68 Gudmundsson, 2002). Similar results are obtained from ophiolites (Dilek et al., 1998) and

69 dike swarms exposed in the walls of large fracture zones (Karson, 1998; Stewart et al.,

70 2003).

71 Observations made during active periods in volcanoes also indicate that the volume of

72 magma intruded greatly exceeds that erupted. For example, the estimated ratio of erupted

73 to intruded volumes of magma in the Etna Volcano in Italy in the period 1980-1995 is
 4

74 0.13, whereas the same ratio for the Krafla Volcano in Iceland in the period 1975-1984 is

75 0.30 (Harris et al., 2000).

76 Active stratovolcanoes and rift zones are composed of layers, mostly pyroclastic

77 rocks and lava flows, that commonly have contrasting mechanical properties. In

78 particular, many young pyroclastic layers are soft (with low Young’s moduli) whereas

79 lava flows, especially those of basalt and intermediate rocks, are normally stiff (with high

80 Young’s moduli). We propose that this mechanical layering, and the associated local

81 stress fields, may explain why most dikes become arrested on their way to the surface.

82

83 MODELS
84
85 To test this proposal, we made numerical models using the finite-element program

86 ANSYS (www.ansys.com). We model the stress field around a magma chamber, of

87 circular cross section, subject to internal magmatic excess pressure (pressure in excess of

88 the lithostatic pressure at the margin of the chamber) of 10 mega-pascals (MPa) as the

89 only loading. In the first model (Fig. 2) the chamber has an initial diameter of 0.25 units,

90 whereas the height of the model is one unit and it is fastened in the corners, where the

91 boundary conditions of no displacement are indicated by crosses.

92 The chamber is located in a layered rift-zone crust, where each of the layers A, B and

93 C has a thickness of 0.1 unit, whereas layer D is 0.7 units thick. In a 10-km-thick crust,

94 the chamber would thus be 2.5 km in diameter and each of the mechanical layers A-C 1

95 km thick. The layer thickness in the models, however, is arbitrary. This is in accordance

96 with field observations (A. Gudmundsson, unpublished data) and theoretical studies
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97 (Hyer, 1998) which indicate that the contrasts in mechanical properties between layers,

98 rather than layer thicknesses, determine the local stress fields.

99 Layer D has a stiffness of 40 GPa, layer C 100 GPa, layer B 1 GPa, and layer A 100

100 GPa. Layers A and C are thus very stiff and may represent piles (acting as mechanical

101 units) of basaltic lava flows; layer B is very soft and may represent soft pyroclastic rocks

102 or sediments, whereas layer D is moderately stiff and corresponds to bodies of various

103 types of rocks (Bell, 2000).

104 In the second model (Fig. 3) the surface layers A and layer C are soft (with a stiffness

105 of 1 GPa) whereas layer B is stiff (with a stiffness of 100 GPa). Otherwise the second

106 model is identical to the first model as presented in Figure 2.

107 The results (Figs 2 & 3) indicate that during a period of unrest in a volcano with

108 magma-chamber inflation and surface doming, the local stresses in some mechanical

109 layers encourage dike injection, while in others they encourage dike arrest and may thus

110 prevent volcanic eruptions. Similarly, some layers become subject to stresses favoring

111 normal faulting and associated seismicity while other layers act as stress barriers to fault

112 propagation.

113 For example, in the second model of a layered stratovolcano during magma-chamber

114 inflation (Fig. 3), the stiff layer B concentrates tensile stresses and encourages normal

115 faulting and associated seismicity, while the high tensile stresses in the layer D next to

116 the magma chamber encourage chamber rupture and dike injection. The soft layer C,

117 however, acts as a barrier to dike propagation and encourages dike arrest. In this model,

118 the soft layers A and C suppress tensile (and shear) stresses and would tend to arrest the

119 upward and downward propagation of the seismogenic normal faults in layer B.
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120 These model predictions are supported by observations of volcanoes during unrest

121 periods. For example, concentration of tensile stresses in the stiff layer B indicates that

122 there may be layers with seismogenic fault slip (here normal faulting) at certain crustal

123 depths during magma-chamber inflation, whereas the layers above and below would be

124 free of fault slip. Such a confined seismicity has recently been reported from Etna

125 (Brancato and Gresta, 2003).

126 Also, the volcanic unrest in the Campi Flegrei area in Italy in the periods 1969-1972

127 and 1982-1984 can be interpreted in terms of the models presented in Figures 2 & 3. In

128 the period 1969-1972 doming of the Campi Flegrei resulted in a maximum uplift of about

129 1.7 m, while doming in the period 1982-1984 gave rise to a maximum uplift of 1.8 m

130 (Bonafede et al., 1986; DeNatale et al., 1991; Dvorak et al., 1991; Barberi and Carapezza,

131 1996). The total maximum cumulative uplift during these two periods occurred in the

132 town of Pozzuoli and reached about 3.3 m, but did not result in any eruptions. The area

133 was seismically essentially quiet during the earlier uplift period. In the later uplift period,

134 there were earthquakes, but these were mostly confined to a mechanical layer at 3-4 km

135 depth and remained in that layer during the entire period.

136 Similarly, there were 30-40 inflation and deflation events during the 1975-1984

137 Krafla Fires in North Iceland (Bjornsson, 1985). All these events are thought to have

138 been related to dike injections. Also, many of the events were associated with

139 seismogenic normal faulting and changes in geothermal activity of the Krafla Central

140 Volcano. However, in only 9 of these events was the dike able to reach the surface and

141 supply magma to an eruption.

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142 DISCUSSION
143
144 From these results it follows that dike injections lead to eruptions only if special

145 conditions are satisfied, namely that the stress field along the potential pathway of the

146 feeder dike is favorable up to the surface. Thus, for an eruption to occur, the stress field

147 along the entire pathway of the feeder dike must favor extension-fracture formation or,

148 more specifically, magma-fracture propagation. For this to be possible, the stress field

149 along the potential pathway of the feeder dike must be essentially the same, that is, it

150 must be homogenized.

151 Stress-field homogenization in a volcano occurs through smoothing out the stress

152 differences between the mechanical layers that the potential feeder dike dissects. We

153 propose that the homogenization is reached through two principal mechanisms: host-rock

154 alteration and host-rock deformation. The alteration leads to healing and sealing of

155 contacts and faults, filling of fractures and cavities in the rock with secondary minerals,

156 and gradually increases the thicknesses of layers with essentially the same

157 (homogeneous) mechanical properties.

158 The second process, host-rock deformation, operates primarily through dike injection

159 and faulting. In the upper parts of rift zones and young stratovolcanoes, normal faulting

160 often dominates, but dike injection at deeper crustal levels (Acocella and Neri, 2003;

161 Gudmundsson et al., 1999; Gudmundsson, 2002). Dike injection as well as normal

162 faulting tend to lessen stress differences between layers and make the stress fields

163 basically homogeneous in large rock bodies.

164 Using these results and focusing on the local stresses within a volcanic field, one

165 should in principle be able to infer whether a dike injected from a chamber is likely to
 8

166 reach the surface. For example, along a still-molten feeder dike the local stress field is

167 essentially homogeneous, which encourages further eruptions through that conduit.

168 Generally, the local stresses in a stratovolcano or a rift zone are, with current

169 technology, difficult to determine with accuracy. The infrastructure of many

170 stratovolcanoes, active and inactive, however, can be inferred from geological studies of

171 deeply eroded sections. In addition, the seismicity of a volcano is an indication of its state

172 of stress. For example, if during magma-chamber inflation the associated seismicity is

173 widely distributed within the volcano, the stress field is comparatively homogeneous and

174 likely to encourage dikes to reach the surface, resulting in eruptions. By contrast, if the

175 seismicity is largely confined to certain rock bodies or mechanical layers in a

176 stratovolcano or a rift zone, the local stress field must be heterogeneous and likely to

177 prevent volcanic eruptions.

178

179 CONCLUSIONS

180

181 Nearly all volcanic eruptions are supplied with magma through magma-driven

182 fractures, that is, dikes. Thus, normally, if the stress field in a stratovolcano or a rift zone

183 does not allow a dike injected from a magma chamber to reach the surface there will be

184 no eruption. Field observations indicate that most dikes become arrested at certain crustal

185 depths and never reach the surface.

186 The numerical models presented in this paper provide a formal explanation as to why

187 so many dikes become arrested. Most stratovolcanoes and rift zones consist of

188 mechanical layers, such as lava flows and pyroclastic flows, with widely different
 9

189 mechanical properties. Consequently, during periods of unrest the mechanical layers

190 develop local stress fields some of which encourage dike propagation whereas others

191 encourage dike arrest. For a dike to reach the surface the stress field along its entire

192 potential pathway must be favorable to dike propagation. Such conditions are met only

193 rarely (and through stress-field homogenization) in stratovolcanoes and rift zones.

194 The models presented here indicate that during most volcanic unrest periods with dike

195 injections the probability of an eruption is low. Only during those comparatively rare

196 periods when the stress field is essentially the same (homogenized) and favorable to dike

197 propagation all the way to the surface can eruptions be expected.

198

199

200

201 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
202
203 Supported by grants from the Research Council of Norway, Norsk Hydro, Statoil, and the

204 European Commission (through the Prepared project).

205
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205 REFERENCES CITED

206
207 Acocella, V., Neri, M., 2003, What makes flank eruptions? The 2001 Etna eruption and

208 its possible triggering mechanisms: Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 65, p. 517-529.

209 Barberi, F., Carapezza, M.L., 1996, The Campi Flegrei case history, in Scarpa, R.,

210 Tilling, R.I., eds., Monitoring and Mitigation of Volcano Hazards, Springer, Berlin,

211 p. 771-786.

212 Bell, F.G., 2000, Engineering Properties of Rocks, 4th ed, Blackwell, Oxford.

213 Bjornsson, A., 1985, Dynamics of crustal rifting in Iceland, Journal of Geophysical

214 Research, v. 90, p. 151-162.

215 Bonafede, M., Dragoni, M., Quareni, F., 1986, Displacement and stress-fields produced

216 by a center of dilation and by a pressure source in a viscoelastic half-space –

217 application to the study of ground deformation and seismic activity at Campi-

218 Flegrei, Italy: Geophysical Journal International, v. 87, p. 455-485.

219 Brancato, A., Gresta, S., 2003, High precision relocation of microearthquakes at Mt. Etna

220 (1991-1993 eruption onset): a tool for better understanding the volcano seismicity:

221 Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 124, p. 219-239.

222 Chester, D.K., Dibben, C.J.L., Duncan, A.M., 2002, Volcanic hazard assessment in

223 western Europe: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 115, p. 411-

224 435.

225 DeNatale, G., Pingue, F., Allard, P., Zollo, A., 1991, Geophysical and geochemical

226 modeling of the 1982-1984 unrest phenomena at Campi Flegrei Caldera (Southern

227 Italy): Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 48, p. 199-222.

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228 Dilek, Y., Moores, E.M., Furnes, H., 1998, Structure of modern oceanic crust and

229 ophiolites and implications for faulting and magmatism at oceanic spreading

230 centers, in Buck, W.R., Delaney, P.T., Karson, J.A., Lagabrielle, Y., eds., Faulting

231 and Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges, AGU, Washington, p. 219-265.

232 Dvorak, J.J., Berrino, G., 1991, Recent ground movement and seismic activity in Campi

233 Flegrei, Southern Italy – episodic growth of a resurgent dome: Journal of

234 Geophysical Research, v. 96, p. 2309-2323.

235 Gudmundsson, A., 2002, Emplacement and arrest of sheets and dykes in central

236 volcanoes: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 116, p. 279-298.

237 Gudmundsson, A., Marinoni, L.B., Marti, J., 1999, Injection and arrest of dykes:

238 implications for volcanic hazards: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal

239 Research, v. 88, p. 1-13.

240 Harris, A.J.L., Murray, J.B., Aries, S.E., Davies, M.A., Flynn, L.P., Wooster, M.J.,

241 Wright, R., Rothery, D.A., 2000, Effusion rate trends at Etna and Krafla and their

242 implications for eruptive mechanisms: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal

243 Research, v. 102, p. 237- 270.

244 Hyer, M.W., 1998, Stress Analysis of Fiber-Reinforced Composite Materials, McGraw-

245 Hill, New York.

246 Karson, J.A., 1998, Internal structure of oceanic lithosphere: a perspective from tectonic

247 windows, in Buck, W.R., Delaney, P.T., Karson, J.A., Lagabrielle, Y., eds.,

248 Faulting and Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges, AGU, Washington, p. 177-218.

249 Longwell, C.R., Flint, R.F., Sanders, J.E., 1969, Physical Geology, Wiley, New York.

250 Macdonald, G.A., 1972, Volcanoes, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

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251 Newhall, C.G., Dzurisin, D., 1988, Historical Unrest of Large Calderas of the World:

252 U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1855, Reston, VA.

253 Scarth, A., Tanguy, J.C., 2001, Volcanoes of Europe, Terra Publishing, Harpenden,

254 Hertfordshire.

255 Sparks, R.S.J., Bursik, M.I., Carey, S.N., Gilbert, J.S., Glaze, L.S., Sigurdsson, H., 1997,

256 Volcanic Plumes, Wiley, New York.

257 Stewart, M.A., Klein, E.M., Karson, J.A., Brophy, J.G., 2003, Geochemical relationships

258 between dikes and lavas at the Hess Deep Rift: Implications for magma eruptibility:

259 Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 108, Art. 2184, Doi: 10.1029/2001JB001622.

260 Walker, G.P.L., 1960, Zeolite zones and dike distribution in relation to the structure of

261 the basalts of eastern Iceland: Journal of Geology, v. 68, p. 515-528.

262 Williams, H., McBirney, A.R., 1979, Volcanology, Freeman, San Francisco.

263
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263 Figure Captions

264

265 Figure 1. Tip of a basaltic dike arrested at a contact between a Holocene basaltic lava

266 flow and pyroclastic rock (volcanic tuff). The dike is exposed in sea cliffs where the

267 Reykjanes Ridge comes on land on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Southwest Iceland, and

268 the tip is arrested at only 5 m beneath the present surface of the Holocene rift zone

269 (Gudmundsson, 2002; Gudmundsson et al., 1999). At the bottom of the 8-m-tall

270 exposure the dike is 0.34 m thick, but thins gradually to 0.1 m at the tip. No dike-induced

271 fractures or normal faults occur at the dike tip (cf. Fig. 2B).

272

273 Figure 2. Numerical model of a magma chamber with internal magmatic overpressure of

274 10 MPa as the only loading. The chamber is located in a layered crust of a stratovolcano

275 or a rift zone where layers A and C are very stiff, layer B is very soft, and layer D is

276 moderately stiff. (A) The magnitudes of the minimum principal compressive (maximum

277 tensile) stress ( σ 3 ) are given in mega-pascals (MPa). (B) The ticks show the trajectories

278 of the maximum principal compressive stress ( σ 1 ) along which ideal dikes should

279 propagate. The change in the direction of σ 1 from vertical (favoring dike propagation) to

280 horizontal (favoring dike arrest) at the contact between layers A and B would encourage

281 dike arrest in a very similar way to that observed in Figure 1.

282

283 Figure 3. Numerical model of a magma chamber in a layered crust, identical to the

284 model in Figure 2 except that here the surface layer A and layer C are soft (with a

285 stiffness of 1GPa) whereas layer B is stiff (with a stiffness of 100 GPa). (A)
 14

286 Concentration of tensile stresses in the stiff layer B indicates that seismogenic fault slip

287 may be confined to certain mechanical layers during magma-chamber inflation, whereas

288 the layers above and below would be free of fault slip. Such a confined seismicity

289 (presumably in stiff layers) was observed during the 1982-1984 uplift of the Campi

290 Flegrei area in Italy and has recently been reported from Etna. (B) The ticks represent the

291 trajectories of the maximum principal compressive stress ( σ 1 ) along which ideal dikes

292 propagate. The change in the direction of σ 1 from vertical (favoring dikes) to horizontal

293 at the contact between layers B and C would encourage dike arrest.

294