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The petrologic and degassing behavior of sulfur and other magmatic volatiles from the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, Hawaiʻi: melt concentrations, magma storage depths, and magma recycling

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Abstract

Kīlauea Volcano’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption produced exceptionally high lava effusion rates and record-setting SO2 emissions. The eruption involved a diverse range of magmas, including primitive basalts sourced from Kīlauea’s summit reservoirs. We analyzed LERZ matrix glasses, melt inclusions, and host minerals to identify melt volatile contents and magma storage depths. The LERZ glasses and melt inclusions span nearly the entire compositional range previously recognized at Kīlauea. Melt inclusions in Fo86-89 olivine from the main eruptive vent (fissure 8) underwent 70–170 °C cooling during transport in LERZ carrier melts, causing extensive post-entrapment crystallization and sulfide precipitation. Many of these melt inclusions have low sulfur (400–900 ppm) even after correction for sulfide formation. CO2 and H2O vapor saturation pressures indicate shallow melt inclusion trapping depths (1–5 km), consistent with formation within Kīlauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu and South Caldera reservoirs. Many of these inclusions also have degassed δ34S values (− 1.5 to − 0.5‰). Collectively, these results indicate that some primitive melts experienced near-surface degassing before being trapped into melt inclusions. We propose that decades-to-centuries of repeated lava lake activity and lava drain-back during eruptions (e.g., 1959 Kīlauea Iki) recycled substantial volumes of degassed magma into Kīlauea’s shallow reservoir system. Degassing and magma recycling from the 2008–2018 Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake likely reduced the volatile contents of LERZ fissure 8 magmas, resulting in lower fountain heights compared to many prior Kīlauea eruptions. The eruption’s extreme SO2 emissions were due to high lava effusion rates rather than particularly volatile-rich melts.

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Data are presented in electronic supplemental tables.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Matthew Loewen, Nicole Métrich, and Matt Patrick for constructive input that significantly improved this manuscript. The authors also thank the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Science Center, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo, partner agencies, and the residents of Hawaiʻi for support, field access, data sharing, and for their great care in documenting and responding to the 2018 LERZ eruption crisis. AHL thanks Tina Neal and the HVO volunteer program for support, Mike Zoeller for map assistance, and Carolyn Parcheta for collecting and sharing samples. Geochemical analyses were conducted with the help of John Donovan and Julie Chouinard (EPMA), and Brian Monteleone and Glenn Gaetani (SIMS and MI rehomogenization). AHL thanks Michelle Muth and Madison Myers for discussions on methodology and melt inclusion interpretation. AHL acknowledges funding support from Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon, the Mineralogical Society of America, the Geological Society of America, the Mazamas student research grant program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and the NSF Graduate Research Internship Program (GRIP). Coordination of GRIP at the USGS is through the Youth and Education in Science programs within the Office of Science Quality and Integrity.

Funding

This study received support from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program under grant DGE-1309047 and from an internship provided through the Graduate Research Internship Program (GRIP). Part of the melt inclusion analyses was supported by NSF grant EAR-1725321.

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AHL and PJW led the study conception and design. Petrologic sample preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by AHL, TS, AJM, LRM, CG, and RLL, and were interpreted by AHL, PJW, TS, AJM, CG, and RLL. Gas emission measurements were performed and interpreted by PAN, TE, CK, AHL, PJK, LEC, and CAW.

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Correspondence to Allan H. Lerner.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Any findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Editorial responsibility: M.R. Patrick

This paper constitutes part of a topical collection: The historic events at Kilauea Volcano in 2018: summit collapse, rift zone eruption, and Mw6.9 earthquake

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Lerner, A.H., Wallace, P.J., Shea, T. et al. The petrologic and degassing behavior of sulfur and other magmatic volatiles from the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, Hawaiʻi: melt concentrations, magma storage depths, and magma recycling. Bull Volcanol 83, 43 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01459-y

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