The South-East Crater (SEC) at Mt. Etna started a period of lava fountaining in December 2020, producing over 60 paroxysms until February 2022. The activity had an intense sequence from February 16 to April 1, 2021, totaling 17 paroxysmal events separated by repose times varying from 1 to 7 days. The eruptive sequence was extensively monitored, providing a unique opportunity to relate the chemistry and texture of the erupted products to eruption dynamics. We investigate the temporal evolution of the magmatic system through this eruptive sequence by quantifying variations in the composition and texture of clinopyroxene. Clinopyroxene major element transects across crystals from five representative lava fountains allow us to determine the relative proportions of deep versus shallow-stored magmas that fed these events. We use hierarchical clustering (HC), an unsupervised machine learning technique, to objectively identify clinopyroxene compositional clusters and their variations during this intense eruptive phase. Our results show that variations of monitoring parameters and eruption intensity are expressed in the mineral record both as changes in cluster proportions and the chemical complexity of single crystals. We also apply random forest thermobarometry to relate each cluster to P-T conditions of formation. We suggest that the February–April 2021 eruptive sequence was sustained by the injection of a hotter and deeper magma into a storage area at 1–3 kbar, where it mixed with a slightly more evolved magma. The February 28 episode emitted the most mafic magma, in association with the highest mean lava fountain height and highest time–averaged discharge rate, which make it the peak of the analyzed eruptive interval. Our results show that after this episode, the deep magma supply decreased and the erupted magma become gradually more chemically evolved, with a lower time–average discharge rate and fountain height. We propose this approach as a means to rapidly, objectively, and effectively link petrological and geophysical/geochemical monitoring during ongoing eruptions. We anticipate that the systematic application of this approach will serve to shed light on the magmatic processes controlling the evolution of ongoing eruptions.

<p>Magma has a dynamic and often-complex journey from source to surface, the record of which is largely encoded in the chemistry of minerals. Its storage conditions prior to eruption and modifications during ascent can influence eruptive dynamics and eruption duration. We present quantitative 2D chemical maps of clinopyroxene crystals from the Cumbre Vieja eruption (La Palma, Canary Islands; 19th September 2021 – 13th December 2021). The histories of individual crystals are constrained using novel thermobarometric (pressure, temperature) and chemometric (equilibrium melt composition) machine learning algorithms. We identify the remobilisation of colder (~950 ˚C), deeper (2 – 3.5 kbar), and more evolved (1 – 2 wt% MgO) cores by a hotter (1050 – 1100 ˚C) and less-evolved (3.5 – 4.5 wt% MgO) carrier melt. Textural evidence shows resorption of these antecrystic cores suggesting an uninterrupted ascent through the crustal column followed by upper-crustal (~ 1kbar) crystallisation and eruption. By using both quantitative maps and reliable single-phase thermobarometric and chemometric calibrations, we overcome several issues associated with acquiring statistically representative mineral chemistry via single spot analyses. In doing so we precisely track the syn-eruptive evolution of storage pressure-temperature and magma composition. These parameters are then related to the variation of geophysical signals (seismicity, gas monitoring) recorded during the La Palma eruption.</p>