Abstract. Modelling has been used in the study of volcanic systems for more than 100 years, building upon the approach first applied by Sir James Hall in 1815. Informed by observations of volcanological phenomena in nature, including eyewitness accounts of eruptions, geophysical or geodetic monitoring of active volcanoes, and geological analysis of ancient deposits, laboratory and numerical models have been used to describe and quantify volcanic and magmatic processes that span orders of magnitudes of time and space. We review the use of laboratory and numerical modelling in volcanological research, focussing on sub-surface and eruptive processes including the accretion and evolution of magma chambers, the propagation of sheet intrusions, the development of volcanic flows (lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, and lahars), volcanic plume formation, and ash dispersal.When first introduced into volcanology, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations marked a transition in approach from broadly qualitative to increasingly quantitative research. These methods are now widely used in volcanology to describe the physical and chemical behaviours that govern volcanic and magmatic systems. Creating simplified models of highly dynamical systems enables volcanologists to simulate and potentially predict the nature and impact of future eruptions. These tools have provided significant insights into many aspects of the volcanic plumbing system and eruptive processes. The largest scientific advances in volcanology have come from a multidisciplinary approach, applying developments in diverse fields such as engineering and computer science to study magmatic and volcanic phenomena. A global effort in the integration of laboratory and numerical volcano modelling is now required to tackle key problems in volcanology and points towards the importance of benchmarking exercises and the need for protocols to be developed so that models are routinely tested against "real world" data.
Studying extinct volcanoes where erosion has exposed dykes and sills provides direct access to the fossil remnants of magma movement, however, linking crystallized magma to emplacement dynamics is challenging. This study investigates how magma flow varies across the thickness of a thin (6 m thick) mafic sill. We use a high-resolution sampling regime to measure micro-scale variations in magnetic anisotropy, which is associated with the orientation of the magnetic particles present within the crystalline rock. Fieldwork was conducted on exposed sills of the British and Irish Palaeogene Igneous Province, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Here Jurassic sedimentary rocks have been intruded by a series of sills, of picrite to crinanite composition, from the Little Minch Sill Complex (c.60 Ma). Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and anisotropy of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (AARM) signals have been used to separate a crinanite sill into distinct magnetic groupings. We identified two AMS groups (the upper and lower sill margins, and the central region) and four AARM groups (the lower margin, the middle region, a region just below the upper margin, and the upper margin). Both AMS and AARM signals originate from titanomagnetite of multi-domain or vortex-state to single-domain sized grains, respectively. The AMS and AARM fabrics are aligned with each other in the margin regions preserving a history of magma flow toward the North during initial emplacement. However, in the sill interior the magnetic fabrics are oblique to each other, thus reflecting multiple origins. We suggest the AMS fabrics have recorded magma flow during sill growth, and AARM fabrics have recorded melt percolation flow as the interstitial melt migrated upward through a solidifying crystal mush. We demonstrate that when AMS and AARM are used in combination they enable a detailed understanding of magma flow and solidification dynamics to be obtained, from initial emplacement to solidification. Overall, our detailed sampling and analysis indicates that magnetic fabrics can be highly variable over small distances, supporting the suggestion of horizontal flow restriction and propagation path migration within growing sills, and that previous reports of magma flow and solidification dynamics based on under-sampled bodies may require reconsideration.
7Modelling has been used in the study of volcanic systems for more than one hundred years, 8 building upon the approach first described by Sir James Hall in 1815. Informed by 9 observations of volcanological phenomenon in nature, including eye-witness accounts of 10 eruptions, geophysical or geodetic monitoring of active volcanoes and geological analysis of 11 ancient deposits, analogue and numerical models have been used to describe and quantify 12 volcanic and magmatic processes that span orders of magnitudes of time and space. We 13 review the use of analogue and numerical modelling in volcanological research, focusing on 14 sub-surface and eruptive processes including the accretion and evolution of magma 15 chambers, the propagation of sheet intrusions, the development of volcanic flows (lava flows, 16 pyroclastic density currents and lahars), volcanic plume formation and ash dispersal. numerical volcano modelling is now required to tackle key problems in volcanology, and 28 points towards the importance of benchmarking exercises and the need for protocols to be 29 developed so that models are routinely tested against 'real world' data. 30
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