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Magma Mixing: The Trigger for Explosive Volcanic Eruptions

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The Mixing of Magmas

Part of the book series: Advances in Volcanology ((VOLCAN))

Abstract

Volcanic eruptions are potentially catastrophic phenomena that can have a huge impact on society and the environment. Understanding the causes, dynamics and timescales of eruptions is of greatest importance for mitigating the medium- to large-scale impact of these natural events. In this chapter we show that the most explosive volcanic eruptions occurred on planet Earth are associated with magma mixing processes. Discriminating whether the mixing process was the cause or the effect of the eruptions is not easy, although there is evidence that mixing might have been the triggering factor. In any case, being magma mixing a common factor it is not wise to ignore its occurrence as it may help in shedding light on eruption dynamics. This will be the focus of this chapter.

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.

Enrico Fermi

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  1. Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Diego Perugini

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Correspondence to Diego Perugini .

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Perugini, D. (2021). Magma Mixing: The Trigger for Explosive Volcanic Eruptions. In: The Mixing of Magmas. Advances in Volcanology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81811-1_10

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