We report on the fluidization dynamics of an attractive gel composed of non-Brownian particles made of fused silica colloids. Extensive rheology coupled to ultrasonic velocimetry allows us to characterize the global stress response together with the local dynamics of the gel during shear startup experiments.In practice, after being rejuvenated by a preshear, the gel is left to age for a time t w before being subjected to a constant shear rate _ g. We investigate in detail the effects of both t w and _ g on the fluidization dynamics and build a detailed state diagram of the gel response to shear startup flows. The gel may display either transient shear banding towards complete fluidization or steady-state shear banding. In the former case, we unravel that the progressive fluidization occurs by successive steps that appear as peaks on the global stress relaxation signal. Flow imaging reveals that the shear band grows until complete fluidization of the material by sudden avalanche-like events which are distributed heterogeneously along the vorticity direction and correlated to large peaks in the slip velocity at the moving wall. These features are robust over a wide range of t w and _ g values, although the very details of the fluidization scenario vary with _ g. Finally, the critical shear rate _ g* that separates steady-state shear-banding from steady-state homogeneous flow depends on the width of the shear cell and exhibits a nonlinear dependence with t w . Our work brings about valuable experimental data on transient flows of attractive dispersions, highlighting the subtle interplay between shear, wall slip and aging whose modeling constitutes a major challenge that has not been met yet.

Kusatsu-Shirane volcano hosts numerous thermal springs, fumaroles, and the crater lake of Yugama. Hence, it has been a particular study field for hydrothermal systems and phreatic eruptions. On 23 January 2018, a phreatic eruption occurred at the Motoshirane cone of Kusatsu-Shirane, where no considerable volcanic activity had been reported in observational and historical records. To understand the eruption process of this unique event, we analyzed seismic, tilt, and infrasound records. The onset of surface activity accompanied by infrasound signal was preceded by volcanic tremor and inflation of the volcano for ~ 2 min. Tremor signals with a frequency band of 5–20 Hz remarkably coincide with the rapid inflation. We apply an amplitude source location method to seismic signals in the 5–20 Hz band to estimate tremor source locations. Our analysis locates tremor sources at 1 km north of Motoshirane and at a depth of 0.5–1 km from the surface. Inferred source locations correspond to a conductive layer of impermeable cap-rock estimated by magnetotelluric investigations. An upper portion of the seismogenic region suggests hydrothermal activity hosted beneath the cap-rock. Examined seismic signals in the 5–20 Hz band are typically excited by volcano-tectonic events with faulting mechanism. Based on the above characteristics and background, we interpret that excitation of examined volcanic tremor reflects small shear fractures induced by sudden hydrothermal fluid injection to the cap-rock layer. The horizontal distance of 1 km between inferred tremor sources and Motoshirane implies lateral migration of the hydrothermal fluid, although direct evidence is not available. Kusatsu-Shirane has exhibited unrest at the Yugama lake since 2014. However, the inferred tremor source locations do not overlap active seismicity beneath Yugama. Therefore, our result suggests that the 2018 eruption was triggered by hydrothermal fluid injection through a different pathway from that has driven unrest activities at Yugama.

Volcanic tremor provides clues to magma migration pathways so that tremor source location is expected to be an efficient tool for tracking dynamic behavior of magma in evolution of eruptive activity. However, clear evidence, which connects between temporal variation in volcanic tremor and evolution of eruption style, is still lacking. We have analyzed volcanic tremors occurred during 1986 Izu‐Oshima eruption using recently digitized data. The results present a clear link between eruption styles, waveform variations and source locations of the tremors. Moreover, precursory activity of the tremors that indicates injection of magma below fissures has been clarified 5 days prior to the fissure eruptions. This demonstrates predominance of tremor activity as an adaptive monitoring tool in volcanic eruption.

[1] Switching between seismic-only harmonic tremor (SHT) and seismo-acoustic harmonic tremor (SAHT) has been reported at few volcanoes worldwide, but its occurrence may indicate important changes in shallow conduit conditions. Switching was simulated in a laboratory experiment in which harmonic signals were produced with a flow-driven valve and compressed air. The harmonic signals were passed through a tank of shear-thinning viscoelastic fluid, and the resulting signals were recorded. At high fluid stiffness, a stable, open conduit was produced, and the harmonic signals generated within the experimental apparatus were efficiently transmitted into the atmosphere. At lower fluid stiffness, bubbling dominated the activity, stable pathways were not generated in the fluid, and HT was not recorded in the atmosphere. These results are compared to observations of switching at Fuego volcano, Guatemala. We conclude that at intermediate magma viscosities, the development of stable degassing pathways open to the atmosphere will allow HT generated in the conduit to be transmitted into the atmosphere. Further, subtle changes in magma properties and supply rate may control whether SHT or SAHT is recorded, providing information about the state of the shallow conduit and vent at active volcanoes.Citation: Lyons J. J., M. Ichihara, A. Kurokawa, and J. M. Lees (2013), Switching between seismic and seismo-acoustic harmonic tremor simulated in the laboratory: Insights into the role of open degassing channels and magma viscosity, J.

No abstract

Infrasonic stations are sparse at many volcanoes, especially those on remote islands and those with less frequent eruptions. When only a single infrasound station is available, the seismic–infrasonic cross-correlation method has been used to extract infrasound from wind noise. However, it does not work with intense seismicity and sometimes mistakes ground-to-atmosphere signals as infrasound. This paper proposes a complementary method to identify the seismic component and the infrasonic component using a single microphone and a seismometer. We applied the method to estimate the surface activity on Ioto Island. We focused on volcanic tremors during the phreatic eruption on April 11, 2013, and during an unconfirmed event on September 12, 2018. We used the spectral amplitude ratios of the vertical ground motion to the pressure oscillation and compared those for the tremors with those for known signals generated by volcano-tectonic earthquakes and airplanes flying over the station. We were able to identify the infrasound component in the part of the seismic tremor with the 2013 eruption. On the other hand, the tremor with the unconfirmed 2018 event was accompanied by no apparent infrasound. We interpreted the results that the infrasound with the 2013 event was excited by the vent opening or the ejection of ballistic rocks, and the 2018 event was not an explosive eruption either on the ground or in the shallow water. If there was any gas (and ash) emission, it might have occurred gently undersea. As the method uses the relative values of on-site records instead of the absolute values, it is available even if the instrument sensitivity and the station site effects are poorly calibrated.

No abstract

In this study, a procedure to measure the viscosity of multi-phase magma at high temperatures (>1000°C) was developed by using a simple apparatus comprising a commercially available desktop furnace and viscometer. In particular, the use of a disposable container enabled observations of the microstructure of an entire sample. The procedure was applied to basaltic andesite magma of the 1986 Izu–Oshima fissure eruption, Japan. The results show that reliable data, consistent with previous studies, were obtained and that the magma rheology became non-Newtonian with decreasing temperature, showing clear shear-thinning behavior. The rheological properties of the magma at 1180°C are quantitatively described as a function of shear rate based on three simple non-Newtonian fluid models. Sectional views of the sample confirm that plagioclase and Fe–Ti oxide crystals were nearly uniformly dispersed in the sample. The mean crystal volume fraction of 0.14 enabled crystal interactions inducing changes in crystal arrangement, affecting the rheology.