40Large volcanic eruptions on Earth commonly occur with collapse of the roof of a crustal magma 41 reservoir, forming a caldera. Only a few such collapses occur per century and lack of detailed 42 observations has obscured insight on mechanical interplay between collapse and eruption. We use Calderas are 1 -100 km diameter depressions found in volcanic regions of Earth and other planets. basaltic andesite) intrusive activity and eruptions (2,(9)(10)(11)(12). 59The consensus from field and modelling studies is that caldera collapse progresses from initial 60 surface downsag to fault-controlled subsidence (1, 8, 13, 14). The pre-collapse topography is obtained by subtracting the subsidence observed at the surface. As we recorded the caldera subsidence mainly on the ice (Fig. 1, Fig. S1), we made corrections and (Fig. 3A). We therefore conclude that suggestions of a large increase in ice flow out of the caldera 147 during these events (25) cannot be fitted with our data. 148Bedrock subsidence exceeding 1 m occurred within an area of 110 km 2 that extended beyond the 149 pre-existing caldera (Fig. 1, Fig. S1). After termination of collapse the total subsidence at the pre-150 existing caldera rims amounted to 3 to 11 meters ( Fig. 1D and 1E). Using subglacial radio-echo GPS station in the center of the caldera (Fig. 1A), including the rate of vertical rate of ice surface Cumulative number of M>4 caldera earthquakes, with magnitude evolution colored in red, blue and 176 grey representing clusters on the southern rim, the northern rim and smaller clusters, respectively 177 (see Fig. S5). E) Cumulative seismic moment for M>4 caldera earthquakes. from analysis of subaerial gas measurements (Fig. 4). This depth concurs with our regional on FTIR and Multi-GAS measurements (24). 194Seismicity and subsurface structure 195 We used seismic data and Distinct Element Method (DEM) numerical modelling (24), to 196 characterize the deeper collapse structure as the reactivation of a steeply-inclined ring fault (Fig. 5). 197We mostly observed seismicity at depths of 0-9 km beneath the northern and southern caldera rims 198( Fig. 5B), with earthquakes being more numerous on the northern rim. This spatial pattern of 199 seismicity is consistent with fracturing above a deflating magma reservoir that was elliptical in (Fig. 5C, D). Our best fitting models had preexisting faults dipping out at 80-85¡ from the caldera 207 center on the north side and at 85-90¡ toward the caldera center on the south side. The modeled pre- 208existing faults lay at 1-2 km below the surface on the north side and 3-4 km on the south side. 209Modeling of a more complex fault geometry or the inclusion of greater material heterogeneity may 210 further improve the data fit, but presently lacks robust geophysical constraints. components of the observed earthquakes at B ‡rdarbunga. We, however, narrowed down on 222 plausible solutions by using the micro-earthquakes (Fig. 5A). The moment tensor solutions are well 223 constrained, but the inferred d...

The effusive six months long 2014-2015 Bárðarbunga eruption (31 August-27 February) was the largest in Iceland for more than 200 years, producing 1.6 ± 0.3 km 3 of lava. The total SO 2 emission was 11 ± 5 Mt, more than the amount emitted from Europe in 2011. The ground level concentration of SO 2 exceeded the 350 µg m −3 hourly average health limit over much of Iceland for days to weeks. Anomalously high SO 2 concentrations were also measured at several locations in Europe in September. The lowest pH of fresh snowmelt at the eruption site was 3.3, and 3.2 in precipitation 105 km away from the source. Elevated dissolved H 2 SO 4 , HCl, HF, and metal concentrations were measured in snow and precipitation. Environmental pressures from the eruption and impacts on populated areas were reduced by its remoteness, timing, and the weather. The anticipated primary environmental pressure is on the surface waters, soils, and vegetation of Iceland.

The 2014-2015 Holuhraun eruption, on the Bárðarbunga volcanic system in central Iceland, was one of the best-monitored basaltic fissure eruptions that has ever occurred, and presents a unique opportunity to link petrological and geochemical data with geophysical observations during a major rifting episode. We present major and trace element analyses of melt inclusions and matrix glasses from a suite of ten samples collected over the course of the Holuhraun eruption. The diversity of trace element ratios such as La/Yb in Holuhraun melt inclusions reveals that the magma evolved via concurrent mixing and crystallization of diverse primary melts in the mid-crust. Using olivine-plagioclase-augite-melt (OPAM) barometry, we calculate that the Holuhraun carrier melt equilibrated at 2.1 ± 0.7 kbar (7.5 ± 2.5 km), which is in agreement with the depths of earthquakes (6 ± 1 km) between Bárðarbunga central volcano and the eruption site in the days preceding eruption onset. Using the same approach, melt inclusions equilibrated at pressures between 0.5 and 8.0 kbar, with the most probable pressure being 3.2 kbar. Diffusion chronometry reveals minimum residence timescales of 1-12 days for melt inclusionbearing macrocrysts in the Holuhraun carrier melt. By combining timescales of diffusive dehydration of melt inclusions with the calculated pressure of H 2 O saturation for the Holuhraun magma, we calculate indicative magma ascent rates of 0.12-0.29 m s −1 . Our petrological and geochemical data are consistent with lateral magma transport from Bárðarbunga volcano to the eruption site in a shallow-to mid-crustal dyke, as has been suggested on the basis of seismic and geodetic datasets. This result is a significant step forward in reconciling petrological and geophysical interpretations of magma transport during volcano-tectonic episodes, and provides a critical framework for the interpretation of premonitory seismic and geodetic data in volcanically active regions.

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Clinopyroxene–liquid geothermobarometry is a widely used tool for estimating the conditions under which mafic magmas are stored before they erupt. However, redox variability, sector zoning and disequilibrium crystallization present major challenges to the robust estimation of magma storage conditions. Moreover, most recent studies seeking to address these challenges have focused on clinopyroxenes from alkalic systems and are thus of limited use for understanding clinopyroxenes from the tholeiitic systems that dominate global magma budgets. Here we combine observations on natural clinopyroxenes from the 2014–2015 Holuhraun lava in Iceland with observations on experimental clinopyroxenes synthesized during high-pressure, high-temperature experiments on the same lava in order to investigate clinopyroxene–liquid equilibria in tholeiitic systems and optimize of geothermobarometric strategies. Natural clinopyroxenes from the 2014–2015 Holuhraun lava are sector zoned, with {1-11} hourglass sectors being enriched in the enstatite–ferrosillite component at the expense of all other components with respect to {hk0} prism sectors. In contrast with observations on clinopyroxenes from alkalic systems, sector zoning in clinopyroxenes from the 2014–2015 Holuhraun lava is characterized by differences in Ca and Na contents as well as in Ti and Al contents. The products of crystallization experiments performed at 100–600 MPa and 1140–1220 °C on a powdered starting glass at two sets of melt H2O content–oxygen fugacity conditions (∼0·1 wt % H2O and close to the graphite-oxygen redox buffer, and 0·5–1·0 wt % H2O and approximately one and half log units above the quartz–fayalite–magnetite redox buffer) demonstrate that clinopyroxene crystals from nominally equilibrium experiments can preserve strongly disequilibrium compositions. The compositional systematics of experimental clinopyroxenes are consistent with the presence of sector zoning. Furthermore, the magnitude of compositional variability increases with decreasing melt H2O content and increasing deviations of experimental temperatures below clinopyroxene liquidus temperatures (i.e. degrees of undercooling sensu lato), indicating that kinetic processes play a key role in controlling clinopyroxene compositions, even under notionally equilibrium conditions. Few published analyses of experimental clinopyroxene crystals may thus represent truly equilibrium compositions. Stoichiometric calculations on natural and experimental clinopyroxenes show that Fe3+ is a major constituent of clinopyroxenes from tholeiitic magmas under naturally relevant oxygen fugacity conditions. They also show that Fe3+ is most likely incorporated as Ca- and Al- bearing Ca–Fe-Tschermak’s component rather than Na-bearing aegirine component at oxygen fugacities up to one and a half log units above the quartz–fayalite–magnetite buffer. Elevated oxygen fugacities are thus less likely to compromise clinopyroxene–liquid geothermobarometry than previously thought. Guided by our experimental results, we combined published descriptions of clinopyroxene–liquid equilibria with geothermobarometric equations to develop an internally consistent and widely applicable method for performing geothermobarometry on tholeiitic magmas that does not require equilibrium zones to be selected a priori. Applying this method to natural clinopyroxene crystals from the 2014–2015 Holuhraun lava that formed under low but variable degrees of undercooling (perhaps 25 °C or less) returns values in excellent agreement with those from independent methods (232 ± 86 MPa, 1161 ± 11 °C). Robust estimates of magma storage conditions can thus be obtained by performing clinopyroxene–liquid geothermobarometry on tholeiitic magmas when disequilibrium is suitably accounted for.