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VOLCANOLOGY

Magma behaving brittly

Low viscosities may not preclude brittle magma fragmentation under certain conditions, according to field observations and experimental evidence that suggest the conditions for brittle fragmentation may be met in many explosive mafic eruptions.

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Fig. 1: Magma fragmentation in the 2018 Kīlauea eruption, Hawai’i.

Hum Images / Alamy Stock Photo.

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Correspondence to Emma J. Liu.

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Liu, E.J. Magma behaving brittly. Nat. Geosci. 14, 180–181 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00724-1

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