Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvolgeores

The volcanic ash record of shallow magma intrusion and dome

emplacement at Nevados de Chillán Volcanic complex, Chile
Damià Benet a,b,⁎, Fidel Costa a,b, Gabriela Pedreros c, Carlos Cardona c
a
Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
b
EOS, Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
c
Observatorio Vulcanológico de los Andes del Sur, Servicio, Nacional de Geología y Minería, Temuco, Chile

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Volcanoes are often monitored by geophysical and geochemical instruments that aim to track and anticipate their
Received 28 January 2021 eruptive activity. However, assessment of the state of the volcano at any given time, and its evolution towards
Received in revised form 1 June 2021 eruption or change in eruptive activity is notoriously difficult. Once explosive activity has begun, the study of vol-
Accepted 3 June 2021
canic ash can provide crucial insights on whether the activity is mainly driven by the hydrothermal system, shal-
Available online 11 June 2021
low gas accumulation, or/and a new stalled intrusion close to the surface. We present the results of a study of ash
componentry from part of the current volcanic crisis that started in December 2015 at Nevados de Chillán Volca-
nic complex (Chile) which we integrate with seismic and visual data. We identified three main stages: (i) an early
one that lasted for about a year and includes two months of increased seismicity and significant amount of juve-
nile ash fragments, and thus suggesting some explosions were fed by a shallow magma intrusion. (ii) A second
one which lasted for about six months with cycles of quiescence and explosions, and a predominance of lithic
particles in the ash, suggesting that the explosions were probably driven by the dynamics in the upper part of
the system, including shallow gas accumulation or/and the hydrothermal system, rather than by fresh magma
intrusion. (iii) Finally, after about two years of unrest and intermittent explosions, seismicity increased again
and the ash became dominated by juvenile particles, and led to the extrusion of a dome. The timing and sequence
of events that we report is broadly similar to other volcanoes that have produced dome eruptions such as
Soufriere Hills (Montserrat), Unzen (Japan) and Sinabung (Indonesia). Our study highlights the usefulness of in-
tegration of volcanic ash studies with other monitoring data and importance of integration of many case studies
to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the processes and evolution of dome-forming eruptions.
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

1. Introduction (Bebbington and Jenkins, 2019). However, it is often not straightfor-

Volcanic activity may start with minor explosions and progress to-
wards larger eruptions, or cease, with the volcano going back to repose
(Moran et al., 2011). Moreover, many dome forming eruptions go
through protracted histories and cycles of intermittent lava extrusion,
explosions, and hiatuses ranging from months to years (Ogburn et al.,
2015), e.g. at Merapi, Indonesia (Voight et al., 2000) or Soufriere Hills,
Montserrat (Wadge et al., 2014). Our ability to assess and anticipate
the likelihood of these different scenarios is of critical importance for
crisis management and hazards mitigation (Scarpa and Tilling, 2012).
Whether the volcano will go towards one eruptive scenario or another
is typically decided using a range of geophysical and geodetical signals,
including increasing deformation, seismicity, or changes in the
degassing behaviour, or the sequence of eruptive phases themselves
⁎ Corresponding author at: Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore.
E-mail address: damia001@e.ntu.edu.sg (D. Benet).
ward to uniquely interpret the monitoring signals in terms of the pro-
cesses that are driving the eruptions (e.g. Salvage et al., 2018;
Yamaoka, 2016). An additional source of information that is still un-
derexploited to understand the origin of the explosions/eruptions
and to anticipate the next volcanic activity is to investigate the compo-
nents found in volcanic ash (e.g. Gaunt et al., 2016). Volcanoes can
produce ash daily, weekly or monthly throughout an entire eruptive
cycle, or more importantly during precursory activity. Tracking the
changes of ash componentry over time provides an invaluable oppor-
tunity to understand the state of the volcano and try to anticipate its
upcoming activity, specially when combined with time series of mon-
itoring data.
Volcanic ash is made of particles <2 mm in diameter that can have a
range of origins, including fragments of the magma that is driving the
eruption, weathered country rock or previous older intrusions. Success-
ful identification of the different ash particles allows for example to pro-
pose whether the activity is mainly a truly magmatic event (e.g. Gaunt
et al., 2016), with volcanic gases driving the fragmentation, and phreatic

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.107308
0377-0273/© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

events, where gases interact with meteoric or hydrothermal fluids
(Alvarado et al., 2016). An important component to be able to identify
in the ash is the so-called juvenile component, which consists of frag-
ments of fresh magma that may be driving the current explosions/erup-
tions. Early identification of juvenile component can be key to
interpretation of the volcanoes' state, as exemplified in the a posteriori
finding of juvenile particles in the ash of the precursory explosion of
Mt. Saint Helens 1980 lateral-blast eruption (Cashman and Hoblitt,
2004). Moreover, tracking the relative amounts of components
(componentry), and textures of the juvenile particles over time has
been shown to provide unique insights into the future evolution of a
volcano (Gaunt et al., 2016; Taddeucci et al., 2004). This is particularly
important for volcanoes that alternate between small explosions and
quiescence during protracted period of times (e.g. months to years) be-
fore they escalate towards a larger magmatic eruption (e.g., at Shinmoe-
dake eruptive cycle 2008 to 2011; Suzuki et al., 2013).
Distinguishing between the different types of particles in volcanic
ash is, however, not straightforward. Although highly altered particles
and free-crystals can be typically easily identified with a binocular mi-
croscope, many other grains are much more difficult to classify. For ex-
ample, juvenile particles may have a wide range of crystallinity
(Cashman and Hoblitt, 2004; Gaunt et al., 2016), color (Taddeucci
et al., 2002), morphology (Liu et al., 2015), and may even be
hydrothermally altered (Alvarado et al., 2016) or recycled from the
same eruptive cycle (D'Oriano et al., 2014).
Here we report the results of a petrological and textural study of ash
particles ejected throughout the eruptive cycle (2016–2018) of the
Nevados de Chillán Volcanic complex (NChVC). We show how changes
in the type and amount of particles are related to changes in the erup-
tive activity as well as to monitoring data. We broadly document the
early stages of shallow intrusions, phreatic and phreatomagmatic activ-
ity, followed by the extrusion of a dome at the Earth's surface, and thus
should be useful to interpret the processes from early unrest to other
eruptions elsewhere.
2. Background on the Nevados de Chillán Volcanic complex
2.1. General geography and geology
The NChVC is located in the central Chilean Andes, in the Southern
Volcanic Zone (Stern, 2004; Fig. 1). The volcanic complex extends over
12 km with at least 20 eruptive centers aligned SE-NW. It is part of
the Cortaderas lineament, a major morphological structure that extends
for 200 km (Stanton-Yonge et al., 2016). Most of the activity that shaped
the volcanic complex landscape occurred through the Holocene with
lavas travelling as far as 150 km (Orozco et al., 2016). The basement at

Fig. 1. (a) Location map of Nevados de Chillán Volcanic Complex (red triangle) and the rest of active volcanoes (black triangles) in Chile (outlined in white). (b) Regional map of the vol-
canic complex; the yellow dashed line shows the major morphological lineament named Cortaderas. The town of Las Trancas (red square) temporarily hosts part of the 30,000 people that
visit the region during the ski season. (c) Map of Las Termas Subcomplex with the recent active craters and their time of activity. Note that the Sebastian lava flow was the last magmatic
event before the ongoing cycle.

2
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
NChVC zone consists of volcanic rocks, lava flows and clastic sediments
from the Cura-Mallín Formation (Lower Middle Miocene). The Cura-
Mallín is discordantly overlain by the Cola de Zorro Formation (Upper
Pliocene-Pleistocene), which is intruded by Miocene plutonic rocks of
the Batolith unit Santa Gertrudis-Bullileo (Naranjo et al., 2008).
NChVC activity started about 650 ka with widespread andesitic sub-
glacial lava flows that formed the ancestral Complex (Naranjo et al.,
2008). During the Middle Pleistocene, several effusive andesitic mega-
pulses occurred mainly to the west. About 100–60 ka, several vents de-
veloped around the central sector, with sequences of andesite to dacite
lavas that erupted in subaerial and subglacial environments (Dixon
et al., 1999). A 10-km long caldera collapse occurred 40 ka, generating
an ignimbrite of 150 km3. Activity between 40 and 25 ka led to the for-
mation of two subcomplexes that are about 6 km apart: the Cerro
Blanco Subcomplex (CBS) at the northwest, and Las Termas
Subcomplex (LTS) at the southeast. These subcomplexes were active
during the Upper Pleistocene and the historical period, and they have
distinct morphology and magmatic composition, the latter (LTS) with
higher silica contents (Orozco et al., 2016).
2.2. The historical and most recent activity
The historical NChVC activity has been mainly focused on LTS, with
prolonged eruptive cycles lasting several months up to years and a
range of eruptive dynamics and style. During the 20th century, an erup-
tion of Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 2 that occurred between 1906
and 1943 formed a dacitic lava cone, the so-called Nuevo volcano. Dur-
ing 1973–1986, a new eruptive cycle led to the formation of the Arrau
crater (Dixon et al., 1999). More recent activity occurred in 2003, and in-
cluded a small eruption (VEI < 1) from a fissure-like double crater and
intense fumaroles in the saddle between Nuevo and Arrau volcanoes
(Naranjo and Lara, 2004). Renewed activity started on January 2009,
when the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre of Buenos Aires, reported
small ash column (~500 m) above the NChVC (Moussallam et al.,
2018). This eruption was not directly observed at the time, but later in
December 2008, a lava flow 1 km to northeast of the Nuevo volcano
was detected by satellite images analysis and named Sebastian lava
flow (Naranjo and Moreno, 2009).
After about seven years of repose, a seismic swarm in December
2015 indicated the onset of activity of the current eruptive cycle. Phre-
atic events followed in January 2016. Between January and February
2016, Moussallam et al. (2018) performed gas measurements that
were interpreted as evidence for a shallow intrusion, as sudden increase
in seismic tremor also occurred during this period. Later eruptive activ-
ity consisted of several cycles of frequent explosions and ash-bearing
events of low to moderate intensity, with column heights occasionally
raising 3000 m above the active crater, and hiatus of activity which cul-
minated in a dome extruded to the surface on December 20th 2017.
Subsequent activity until early 2019 consisted of ash venting with
column heights up to 3500 m above the Nicanor crater, which was per-
manently incandescent, and the growth and destruction of the dome,
which generated ash-block flows. Between August and December
2019, effusive eruptions resulted in four lava flows. Renewed explosive
activity with ash-bearing events occurred in January 2020, resulting in
the widening of Nicanor crater's diameter. Since June 2020 to date,
eruptive activity is characterized by simultaneous explosions at the
dome and the spread of a new lava flow.
3. Methodology
3.1. Samples and laboratory procedures
Thirteen ash samples erupted between December 9th 2016 and
April 3rd 2018 were studied. These were collected near the vent by
SERNAGEOMIN staff members, including G. Pedreros and A. Amigo
from ashmeters (Table 1), a container where fresh ash is deposited
3
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
and can be periodically sampled, and also from various surfaces (e.g.
snow) after deposition. Five samples were collected from December
2016 to March 2017, and four samples from October 2017 to April
2018, with a sampling gap of seven months between the two periods,
when activity was low but included cycles of quiescence and explosions.
The samples were first treated with an ultrasonic cleaner by several rep-
etitions of 15 s to avoid glass shards damage, and then dried overnight
at 60 °C. The particles were sieved using four meshes of pore-size ɸ1,
ɸ2, ɸ3 and ɸ 4. Componentry analysis was performed on the grain size
fraction ɸ1-ɸ2 (250 to 500 μm) which is a good compromise between
abundance and ease of manipulation.
3.2. Componentry analysis and analytical techniques
We observed about a hundred particles per sample using a Leica
M165 FC binocular microscope equipped with LAS X imaging software
at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. For each particle
of a particular range size, we captured multiple images at various focal
depths to ensure good focus over the 3D particle morphology, and
took note of color, luster, surface texture, surface smoothness, surface
coatings, edge angularity and shape (Table 2). The binocular observa-
tions are the main basis for defining the particle groups. Some particles
were also handpicked and mounted in doubly sticky carbon tape,
C-coated, and surface and 3D morphology were observed with a
JEOL JSM-7600F Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM at NTU) coupled
with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). The same particles
were mounted in epoxy, polished and observed with secondary
backscattered electrons (BSE) with the SEM. Operating conditions for
the SEM analysis were 15 kV of accelerating voltage, 8 nA of probe cur-
rent, at a working distance of 20 mm. Relative proportions of particles
were quantified by the normalized count numbers of each particle,
with unit vol% (e.g. Suzuki et al., 2013). We used an implicit random
error calculated from the square root of the number of particles
(Ahmed, 2015). For example, if 25 particles of a given group were
counted, the absolute error is +/− 5 particles, which translates to 20%
of relative error. For composite particles made of more than one type
of component (e.g. large crystal and matrix glass) are counted as either
0.5 or 1 occurrence of a given particle type depending on the relative
proportions of the components.
3.3. Controls in sampling location and grain-size
We analysed various grain-size fractions <ɸ4, ɸ3-ɸ4, ɸ2-ɸ3 and
ɸ1-ɸ2 for one sample collected on October 14th 2017 (NCh-12; Fig. 2)
and found that the componentry of different grain sizes varies by <20
vol%. The finer fractions are richer in free-crystals, whereas the coarser
have more abundant lithics. The hydrothermal alteration is higher in
the finer fractions, perhaps due to the influence of the ultrasonic
cleaner, more effective to coarser grain-sizes (Busnaina and Gale,
1995). We also analysed two samples (NCh-6 and NCh-8; Fig. 2) from
the same event and grain size (ɸ1-ɸ2) but collected at different loca-
tions. Sample NCh-8 was collected nearer the vent and contains a higher
amount of dome-like fragments (49.50 vol%), and is depleted in low-
crystalline particles, compared to the more distal sample (NCh-6). This
might be due to differences in density of the particles during the disper-
sion of the plume (Beckett et al., 2015).
3.4. Shape analysis
After classifying the particles (see Section 4.1.2 for more detail),
we obtained quantitative data on the shape of juvenile particles to
gain additional insights into the mechanisms that drove the explosive
activity as has been done elsewhere (e.g., Murtagh and White, 2013;
Nurfiani and Bouvet de Maisonneuve, 2018). Previous studies obtained
shape parameters such as convexity and solidity of polished surfaces
in electron microscopes (Liu et al., 2015; Pardo et al., 2020), and of
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

Table 1
Sampling details and componentry of the ash samples. The ratio of juveniles versus lithics is normalized without free-crystals and altered material.

Sample Collection Sampling Distance from Dispersion Altered material Free-crystals Lithics Juveniles Juveniles/Lithics
date vent (km) axis (vol%) (vol%) (vol%) (vol%) (vol%)

NCh-1 9/12/16 Over snow – – 16.5 10 44.5 29 0.6

NCh-2 29/12/16 Unknown 2.8 SW 12 18.5 28 41.5 1.5
surface
NCh-3 14/1/17 Ashmeter 1.4 NE 24 10 34.5 31.5 0.9
NCh-5 15/1/17 Over a car 4.5 SW 9 20 39.5 31.5 0.8
NCh-6 15/3/17 Over snow – – 26 10.5 56 7.5 0.1
NCh-8 15/3/17 Over snow – – 23 6 55 16 0.3
NCh-9 1 14/10/17 Unknown – – 10 13.5 51 25.5 0.5
surface
NCh-10 14/10/17 Unknown – – 15.5 20 46 18.5 0.4
2
surface
NCh-11 14/10/17 Unknown – – 19 24 38.5 18.5 0.5
3
surface
NCh-12 14/10/17 Unknown – – 18.5 9 57.5 15 0.3
4
surface
NCh-13 21/12/17 Unknown 1 NE 2.5 4.5 6 87 14.5
surface
NCh-14 23/1/18 Unknown 1.2 NE 7 11 42.5 39.5 0.9
surface
NCh-15 3/4/18 Ashmeter 1 SE 7 16 44.5 32.5 0.7

The values are number of counts of particles per sample (vol%). The 0.5 decimals are half counts for composite particles. The grain size fractions are 1 finer than ɸ4; 2 between ɸ3-ɸ4; 3
between ɸ2-ɸ3; and 4 between ɸ1-ɸ2. – indicates that values are not available.

apparent 2D particles shapes in camera-coupled microscopes
(Leibrandt and Le Pennec, 2015; Miwa et al., 2015; Nurfiani and
Bouvet de Maisonneuve, 2018). We have used binocular images of
143 particles from which we subtracted the background using an in-
house Python program, and followed Liu et al. (2015) to compute the
shape parameters commonly used to discriminate among shape types
(e.g. dense and vesicular), and the parameters circularity, rectangular-
ity, compactness and elongation (Dellino and La Volpe, 1996) to dis-
criminate between explosion mechanisms (e.g. Murtagh and White,
2013). Raw shape parameters can be found in the supplementary
materials.
3.5. Monitoring network
We complemented our ash componentry time series with visual and
seismic data recorded by the permanent multiparametric network of
the Southern Andes Volcano Observatory (OVDAS), which includes
two webcam stations, and nine seismic stations (more detail and coor-
dinates in supplementary material Table S1). Visual observations of the
volcano were used by SERNAGEOMIN to classify different types of activ-
ity and estimate column heights. White plumes were indicative of
steam-rich, phreatic explosions, whereas darker plumes were classified
ash-bearing eruptions. The seismic signals were classified into four dif-
ferent earthquake types following Chouet (2003) and Lahr et al. (1994):
(i) Long period events (LP), related to fluids dynamics or pressure
changes into volcano conduits; (ii) Tremor events (TR), with similar
sources as LP events but sustained excitation (hours to days);
(iii) Explosions events (EX) associated with explosive activity and
often accompanied by acoustic signals, or by ash venting, ballistics ejec-
tion, or incandescence in the crater; and (iv) volcano tectonic events
(VT) related to minor brittle fracturing of solid material induced by
magmatic and/or hydrothermal activity.
4. Results
4.1. Types of ash particles and componentry analysis
We characterized the particles using attributes as found in the liter-
ature by their texture, color, and shape under the binocular microscope,
and for some particles, by the surface and internal microstructures with
the SEM (Table 2). We recorded the color qualitatively rather than
quantitatively (e.g. at Sakurajima volcano 1974–1985; Yamanoi et al.,
2008). The gloss of the glass-rich particles has been shown to be critical
to distinguish between juvenile and lithic particles at some volcanoes,
including Etna (D'Oriano et al., 2014), Sakurajima (Miwa et al., 2009),
and Cotopaxi (Gaunt et al., 2016). Here, we use ‘vitreous’ luster only
for highly reflective crystals, such as plagioclase (unlike other authors;
e.g. Alvarado et al., 2016), and ‘glossy’ for glass-rich particles (Miwa
et al., 2009). We characterize the degree of alteration with the qualita-
tive amount of hydrothermal and low temperature secondary mineral
coatings (OHba and Akagawa, 2002) and silicification, among other
observations (further details in Pardo et al., 2020).

Table 2
List of visual observations of ash particles made with binocular and SEM-EDS.

Ash visual observations

Binocular SEM-EDS

Color Transparent Black Yellowish White Pitting None Low Mid High
Luster Glossy Vitreous Metallic Dull Glass greyscale Homogeneous Heterogeneous
Alteration Not fresh Slight Moderate High Glass composition Homogeneous Heterogeneous
Shape Blocky Fluidal Spongy Others Stepped surface Yes No
Surface Smooth Rough Iron oxides lineation Yes No
Edges Angular Subangular Subrounded Rounded
Crystallinity Low Medium High
Vesicularity None Low Medium High

4
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
Fig. 2. Radar plots to visualize any effects of the (a) grain-size and (b) sampling site on the main ash componentry (altered material, free-crystals, juveniles and lithics). It is apparent that
for the ranges we have investigated, none of the two variables has a major impact on the results of componentry.
A large number of terms have been used to describe the particle
morphology (e.g. Heiken and Wohletz, 1985). We use the terms blocky
for particles with subperpendicular edges, fluidal for smooth-surface
with rounded walls, spongy for particles that contain a large number
of relatively small vesicles, and highly-vesicular for particles with
fewer but larger vesicles. We characterized the crystallinity and alter-
ation of the particles into qualitative ranges (high, moderate, and
low), see the Section 4.1.3 ‘Additional parameters’ for more detail.
Further particle characterization with the SEM (Table 2) revealed al-
teration features that can be critical to distinguish between juvenile and
lithic particles. These include pitting, a form of chemical weathering that
is visible by micron-sized holes on the particles' surface (e.g. Taddeucci
et al., 2002; Troncoso et al., 2017), the heterogeneous greyscale inten-
sity over the surface (D'Oriano et al., 2014), and the chemical composi-
tion of the glass (Pardo et al., 2020). Other signs of alteration include the
presence of secondary minerals (e.g. zeolites and clays) coating the par-
ticle surface (Cioni et al., 1992). Whereas stepped fractures on the sur-
face is commonly a feature of fresh particles (Miwa et al., 2009).
Using the observations described above (see Table 2) we classified
the NChVC particles into four main groups (Fig. 3): altered material,
free-crystal, juvenile and lithic. Juvenile particles are traditionally asso-
ciated with the latest erupted magma, but as we discuss below, such at-
tribution is problematic for dome forming eruptions where recycling of
particles between previously but recently erupted domes (e.g., within
the same eruptive cycle) may be common. The main features of the dif-
ferent particle groups are described below.
4.1.1. Altered material and free-crystals
Highly altered or heavily weathered particles are typically grey or
pale black, with a variable amount of white clay coatings, that may re-
sult in a granular texture. Their edges are rounded to sub-rounded,
and the surface shows partial dissolution features due to long-term
weathering (Fig. 3a). These particles are fragments of non-volcanic
rocks, or old volcanic rocks which have experienced strong oxidation, si-
licification, and chemical dissolution. The highly hydrothermally altered
particles range from yellow to red (Fig. 3b), and may contain white sul-
phate minerals adhered on the surface. Generally, their luster is dull,
and at times metallic, when metal-bearing sublimates are adhered on
the surface. With increasing abundance of hydrothermal material, the
surface roughness increases resulting in a granular texture. Please,
note we use the term “altered” in two ways. As a main componentry
constituent of highly hydrothermally altered and weathered particles
5
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
(altered material), and to indicate the degree of alteration (slightly
and moderately altered) of lithic particles (see Section 4.1.3).
Free-crystals are identified by their optical properties and in some
cases planar structures (e.g. cleavage). At NChVC, they are phenocrysts
of plagioclase (Fig. 3c) and pyroxene (Fig. 3d). Plagioclase is transparent
with vitreous luster, whereas pyroxene is black, slightly glossy, and both
show well-defined edges, i.e. crystal habits. The use of diascopic light
(from the bottom of the binocular plate) reveals planar crystal struc-
tures, if free-crystals are coated by thin glass films.
4.1.2. Juvenile and lithic particles
The juvenile particles have a glossy luster, well-defined edges,
and fresh aspect (Fig. 3e, f, g and h). SEM observations with backs-
cattered detector reveal that they are typically homogeneous with a lim-
ited range of greyscale, a smooth surface, and sharp edges. We associate
these particles with fragments of the latest erupted magma, as their fea-
tures are common to juvenile particles from other volcanoes (Gaunt
et al., 2016; Miwa et al., 2009).
In contrast, lithic particles are black and grey, with a low to dull lus-
ter, and with rounded or sub-rounded edges (Fig. 3i, j and k). They com-
monly show etch pitting at their surface as observed with SEM. As we
discuss below, these particles may include samples of shallow intru-
sions that were emplaced during recent activity of NChVC in the last de-
cades. Lithic particles may include glass-rich recycled particles from
recent eruptions. Their glassy surface is often micropitted, with distinc-
tive iron oxide mineral lineations, and reabsorption textures observed
in the internal microstructure (D'Oriano et al., 2014).
4.1.3. Additional parameters: crystallinity, color, alteration and shape
We also paid special attention to the proportion of small crystals
(typically <10 μm) in the groundmass of both lithic and juvenile parti-
cles. We qualitatively classified the microcrystallinity according to their
relative abundance as observed under the binocular: low corresponds to
0–20 crystals % (Fig. 3e and f), medium is 20–40% (Fig. 3g), and high if
there are >40% of small crystals (Fig. 3h). Please, note that here we
use the term crystallinity to refer to the groundmass microcrystallinity.
In addition, we also took notice on whether the glass is transparent or
colored (typically black), and the degree of hydrothermal alteration. Ac-
cording to the amount of non-magmatic material adhered on the sur-
face, we classified lithic particles as: not fresh if free of secondary
minerals (Fig. 3i), slight where microparticles or dust are adhered
(Fig. 3j), and moderate, if there are large alteration coatings or
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

Fig. 3. Binocular and SEM images of the main groups found. (a) Weathered particle with typical granular texture, which appears pitted and covered by sulphates with the SEM.
(b) Hydrothermal particle with characteristic red color. Both plagioclase (c) and pyroxene (d) have distinct crystal habits. The juvenile particles (e, f, g and h) show a wide range of
color, crystal content, and morphology (l, m, n and o), which were tracked in this study. The lithic particles have varying amounts of alteration from not fresh (i) and slightly (j), up to
moderately (k).

encrustations (Fig. 3k). Particles that are entirely, or almost entirely, also the vesicular ones, mostly spongy (Fig. 3n) or highly-vesicular,
coated by non-magmatic material are classified as altered material and rarely microtubular (Fig. 3o).
(see Section 4.1.1). Finally, we also recorded the shape, including the Using the characteristics described above, the most abundant juve-
non-vesicular ones such as blocky (Fig. 3l) and fluidal (Fig. 3m), and nile and lithic particles belong to four main types (Fig. 4): (i) Hyaline

6
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

Fig. 4. Summary of the conceptual scheme of the terminology and classification of particles we have used. The juvenile and lithic particle groups are distributed according to the observed
alteration degree (y-axis) and crystallinity (x-axis). Note that some of the fresh and hyaline particles may have hydrothermal coatings that were adhered syneruptively (see ash from 21st
December 2017 in Section 4.2.2 for more detail).

Table 3
Classification of different ash componentry particle types, using the ɸ1-ɸ2 grain-size fraction. For each componentry the reported numbers are normalized to 100%.

Sample Juvenile crystallinity fractions Juvenile morphology Lithic crystallinity fractions Lithic alteration degree

Hyaline Obsidian-like Dotted Dome-like Glass Non-ves Ves Ves Hyaline Obsidian-like Dotted Dome-like Not Slight Mid Alter
(vol%) (vol%) (vol%) (vol%) indexa (vol%) (vol%) indexb (vol%) (vol%) (vol%) (vol%) fresh (vol%) (vol%) indexc
(vol%)

NCh-1 6.9 13.8 12.1 67.2 0.3 98.3 1.7 0.0 0.0 5.6 10.1 84.3 76.4 13.5 10.1 0.003
NCh-2 2.4 18.1 28.9 50.6 0.3 89.2 10.8 0.1 0.0 14.3 16.1 69.6 58.9 26.8 14.3 0.006
NCh-3 0.0 22.2 50.8 27.0 0.3 95.2 4.8 0.0 0.0 2.9 52.2 44.9 87.0 11.6 1.4 0.002
NCh-5 42.9 7.9 30.7 19.0 1.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 32.9 6.3 54.4 6.3 74.7 20.2 5.1 0.003
NCh-6 0.0 6.7 80.0 13.3 0.1 93.3 6.7 0.1 1.8 9.8 31.2 57.1 57.1 35.7 7.1 0.01
NCh-12 0.0 6.7 6.7 86.7 0.1 96.7 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 13.9 86.1 68.7 24.3 7.0 0.005
NCh-13 56.9 0.6 0.0 42.5 1.3 63.2 36.8 0.6 0.0 0.0 16.7 83.3 66.7 16.7 16.7 0.096
NCh-14 50.6 6.3 12.7 30.4 1.3 67.1 32.9 0.5 17.6 0.0 9.4 72.9 63.5 36.5 0.0 0.005
NCh-15 16.9 15.4 55.4 12.3 0.5 72.3 27.7 0.4 8.9 3.4 58.4 29.2 87.6 8.9 3.4 0.001
a
Ratio of low crystallinity juvenile particles versus the rest (mid and high crystallinity juvenile particles).
b
Ratio of vesicular and non-vesicular particles.
c
Ratio of the sum of the altered particles (altered material, slightly and moderately altered lithics) and the unaltered particles for both juvenile and lithic components, all terms nor-
malized without free-crystals.

7
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

particles are transparent and nearly holohyaline, ranging from non-
vesicular, blocky (occasionally fluidal), to vesicular with a wide diver-
sity of vesicle abundance, size, and shape. (ii) Obsidian-like particles
are black with low crystallinity, and blocky, dense, and equant. (iii) Dot-
ted particles are transparent with a blocky and equant shape, with me-
dium crystal content made of microphenocrysts of pyroxene and
titanomagnetite that are visible under the binocular. (iv) Dome-like
fragments are black, high crystallinity, blocky, and with a massive as-
pect. Their interstitial glass ranges from dull to glossy, depending on
the degree of weathering.
4.2. Particle componentry variations with eruption sequence
We have studied five samples from December 2016 – March 2017,
and four from October 2017 – April 2018, with a sampling gap of
about seven months between them. We find that overall, the relative
proportion of components, and their textural features vary significantly
from one sample to another (Tables 1 and 3; Fig. 5). The proportion of
juvenile particles vary from about 7 vol% (sample of March 15th
2017), up to 87 vol% (on December 21st 2017; Fig. 6A). Both the
shape and crystallinity are also quite variable (Fig. 6B and F), and
dome-like fragments are up to 67 vol% (on December 9th 2016),
whereas hyaline particles are most abundant 57 vol% (on December
21st 2017). Below we describe the changes in particle proportions
with time, including the altered material, free-crystals, juvenile and
lithic components.
4.2.1. December 2016 – March 2017
The first ash we studied was erupted on December 9th 2016. This
sample post-dates the first explosions and seismic swarms that were re-
corded from December 2015 to February 2016, and which are consid-
ered as the initiation of unrest and shallow intrusions at NChVC
(Moussallam et al., 2018). Moussallam et al. (2018) found potentially
juvenile particles in the ash from explosions that occurred in February
and October 2016. In our first sample, emitted about ten months later,
we also found a considerable amount of juvenile particles (29 vol%),
but it is dominated by lithic particles (44 vol%; Fig. 6a). Both juvenile
and lithic components mostly consist of dome-like fragments (67 vol%
and 84 vol%, respectively; Fig. 6b). The proportion of juvenile particles
increases to 41 vol% on the ash erupted 20 days later (29th December
2016), and it is the only sample of this period that contains more juve-
nile than lithic particles (Fig. 5a). Dome-like fragments are still the main
juvenile type but there is also a relatively high proportion of vesicular
juvenile particles (11 vol%). Compared to the other samples of this pe-
riod, it also has a high amount of lithics with hydrothermal alteration
(40 vol%; Fig. 6e). About two weeks later, on January 14th and 15th
2017, the juvenile component decreased to 31 vol% (Fig. 5a). The juve-
nile and lithic particles on the sample collected on January 14th are

Fig. 5. Pie charts of componentry (outer level), crystallinity (inner level), vesicularity and alteration (inner-most level) of three samples. The values are normalized within their respective
component, i.e., juvenile or lithic. The color of the wedges is darker as the category increases in degree. These samples are characteristic for each type of activity described in Section 5.1.
NCh-2 (a) has a significant amount of juvenile particles, some of which are vesicular, indicative of a shallow magmatic intrusion. Contrarily, NCh-12 particles (b) are clearly lithic, suggest-
ing a limited involvement of magma, and non-vesicular. NCh-13 (c) has a vast a majority of juvenile particles, with half being low crystallinity and vesicular, very likely resulting from the
ascent of magma and fragmentation. Note that the rest of the samples are reported in the supplementary material (Fig. S1).

8
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
Fig. 6. Time series of ash componentry. Crystallinity, alteration and vesicularity are normalized within their respective component, i.e. juvenile or lithic. Note that the x-axis is broken
to represent the sampling gap of seven months from March to October 2017.
rich in Dotted type (51 vol% for both), whereas the sample collected a
day later has very high amount of crystal-poor hyaline in the juveniles
(43 vol%) and lithics (33 vol%; Fig. 6B). The last erupted ash we collected
from this period is from about two months later (March 15th 2017), and
it has abundant lithics (56 vol%; Fig. 6a) and the highest amount of al-
tered material (26 vol%) of the entire period.
4.2.2. October 2017 – April 2018
After a sampling gap of seven months with cycles of quiescence and
explosions, we studied ash from October 14th 2017 (Fig. 5b). It is rich in
lithics (57 vol%) with less juvenile (15 vol%), both characterized by high
amounts of dome-like fragments, and the absence of hyaline type. The
next sample we have is from two months later, when significant in-
crease in seismicity was recorded and from one day after magma
reached the surface and made a dome on December 20th. The sample
from December 21st contains the highest abundance of juvenile parti-
cles (87 vol%; Fig. 5c) with a significant amount of hyaline and dome-
like, both rich in vesicular particles (39 vol%). The majority of juvenile
particles (56 vol%) have hydrothermal coatings (Fig. 6d). This may be
due to syneruptive alteration, as observed at Turrialba volcano
(Alvarado et al., 2016), or during interaction with plume gases
(Spadaro et al., 2002). After the extrusion of the dome, the proportion
of dome-like fragments in both juvenile and lithic particles keeps de-
creasing (Fig. 6b and c). About a month later, on 23rd January 2018,
the proportion of juvenile hyaline and dome-like particles decreases
and is compensated by an increase of blocky dotted particles (Fig. 6b).
The proportion of dotted particles still increases in the last sample we
studied that was erupted on April 3rd which are slightly above 50 vol%.
4.3. Shape of juvenile particles
We find that the shape parameters of the juvenile particles are quite
variable (Fig. 7). The solidity and convexity values of the pre-extrusion
particles show a narrow unimodal distribution and are higher than
those of the syn- and post-extrusion particles (Fig. 7a), whereas their
9
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
circularity x rectangularity values are lower. Such relationships illus-
trate that the syn- and post-extrusion juvenile particles have higher ve-
sicularity than the rest, which are blocky. However, when we apply the
classification of Liu et al. (2015) we find that the NChVC particles are
outside of the dense and vesicular fields, probably because we used bin-
ocular images whereas Liu et al. (2015) used polished surfaces in the
SEM (Nurfiani and Bouvet de Maisonneuve, 2018).
Moreover, the relationships of circularity x rectangularity versus
compactness x elongation have been used to discriminate between
magmatic and hydromagmatic eruptive mechanisms, and almost all
NChVC particles are classified as hydromagmatic (Schipper, 2009;
Murtagh and White, 2013, Fig. 7b). However, we have observed that
the syn-extrusion particles are vesicular and glassy, and thus should
be classified as magmatic mechanism. Such difference in classification
of has been also reported elsewhere (Nurfiani and Bouvet de
Maisonneuve, 2018) and suggests that the grouping may depend on
volcano types or observation technique of the particles. Using our parti-
cles we find that the fragmentation regime boundary (Schipper, 2009)
corresponds to lower values of circularity x rectangularity, and properly
classifies most of the pre-extrusion particles (~85%) as hydromagmatic
(Fig. 7b).
5. Discussion
Lava dome volcanoes typically produce eruptions that can last for
months to decades (Ogburn et al., 2015). The intensity and style of the
activity fluctuates widely, from small phreatic events with or without
effusive dome extrusion, to major explosive events with column col-
lapse (Calder et al., 2015). Explosive activity can be triggered by the di-
rect decompression and fragmentation of magma, or by multiple
processes associated with the presence of magma at varying depths.
These include the degassing of undercooled crystallising magma, creat-
ing excess of fluid pressure (Sparks, 1997), the supply of heat to an older
plug with increase of the pore fluid pressure (e.g. 1974–1987 at
Sakurajima volcano Miwa et al., 2009), and the interaction of
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308

Fig. 7. Scatter plots with marginal density curves of (a) solidity versus convexity with boundaries from Liu et al. (2015). Note that our values are comparatively higher than Liu et al. (2015)
likely because we used binocular images, which are inherently smoother (Nurfiani and Bouvet de Maisonneuve, 2018), whereas Liu et al. (2015) used polished sections in SEM.
(b) Plot circularity x rectangularity versus compactness x elongation used by Murtagh and White (2013). Note that the fragmentation regime boundary proposed by Shipper (2009) as
y = 6.8182× −8.1136 has been modified as y = 6.8182×-5.65 to fit pre-extrusion particles in the hydromagmatic (Hydro) domain, and some of the syn-, post-extrusion particles in
the magmatic (Magm) domain, as suggested by the extrusion of the dome itself, and componentry and seismic data of this study (see in discussion Section 5.1).

magmatically derived fluids with the hydrothermal system, where boil-
ing of hydrothermal fluids and groundwater may occur resulting in gas
accumulation(e.g., at Merapi volcano, Heap et al., 2019; Pallister et al.,
2013).
At any point in time, it is very difficult to evaluate what processes
are driving a given eruption, and whether volcano is going towards a
more effusive or explosive phase. After five years of persistent eruptive
activity and despite intensive surveillance and monitoring efforts, it is
yet not clear how the current eruption cycle at NChVC will evolve
(SERNAGEOMIN, 2021). In this section we integrate our results from
ash componentry with monitoring time series of seismic data and
other visual observations to propose a more comprehensive model for
the processes and events that led the restarting of the current eruptive
period in 2015 till the dome extrusion on the surface.
5.1. Types of eruptive activity from monitoring data
We correlate our ash componentry time series with visual and seis-
mic data (Fig. 8) monitored by OVDAS multiparametric network
(Section 3.5). As we describe below in some detail, we identified three
main types of eruptive activity that are associated with different pro-
cesses: (1) phreatomagmatic explosions that are partly driven by shal-
lowly stored fresh magma, (2) cycles of repose with shallow gas
accumulation followed by mainly phreatic explosions with limited di-
rect involvement of magma, and (3) ascent of fresh magma with volatile
exsolution and fragmentation, including the extrusion of the dome.
5.1.1. Initial phreatomagmatic events
A small peak of abundance of juvenile magma occurs in December
2016 about one year after the initial phreatic eruptions and high seis-
micity, and about a year before the dome extrusion (December 2017;
Fig. 8a). The presence of such particles indicates a significant involve-
ment of fresh magma, but this was unlikely due to a new intrusion,
since there was no significant increase in seismicity during this time.
It is likely that the magma involved in this event already intruded in
February 2016 when there was a peak in seismic tremor (Moussallam
et al., 2018). The presence of hydrothermally altered material and abun-
dant non-vesicular dense juveniles (Fig. 5a) likely of hydromagmatic or-
igin (Fig. 7), suggests that hydrothermal fluids interacted with fresh
magma (e.g. Kuchinoerabujima 2014–2015; Geshi et al., 2016), which
led to phreatomagmatic events. The ash emitted a month later (January
2017) during a time of increased explosions (Fig. 8c) contains juveniles
with lower crystallinity and includes glass-rich hyaline particles
(Fig. 8b). This could mean that either the explosions reached deeper
and hotter magma that had not yet significantly degassed, or a
shallowing of the already intruded magma, both processes suggesting
an increased pathway of the magma towards the surface (Fig. 8e).
Therefore, we infer that the explosions and activity during this time
were driven by the interaction of the shallowly emplaced magma a
year earlier with the hydrothermal system, and the depth of magma
sampling may have varied depending on the number and types of ex-
plosion, and the presence of shallow magma is also supported by the ob-
servations of incandescence and glowing crater.
5.1.2. Phreatic events, gas accumulation and reworking of surficial material
We have two samples from the beginning and end of a period where
the volcano alternated between quiescence and intense frequent explo-
sions, and during which time the LP seismicity was low suggesting lim-
ited magma movement (Fig. 8). These two samples contain the lowest
proportion of juvenile particles (7 and 15 vol%, respectively), and in-
clude a major component of older fragments of the upper system
(lithics), which might have originated during the two collapse events
of the craters (Moussallam et al., 2018). These samples also have the
highest amount of altered material (Table 1) from a hydrothermally
weathered volcanic system. Moreover, the juvenile particles are non-
vesicular with mid- to high-crystallinities, reflecting the presence of a
relatively degassed magma which may have decompressed by the cra-
ter collapses and induced microlite-growth. We thus suggest that

10
 D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.

11
Fig. 8. Line plot of (a) the ratio between juveniles and lithics, where the marker size is proportional to the amount of vesicularity; the ratio between vesicular and non-vesicular particles. (b) Line plots of the alteration index, glass index (reported in
Table 3) and lithic dome-like fragments, normalized within dome-like particles; (c) Eruption timeline, including observed incandescence, observed column heights of the phreatic and ash-bearing events. R, intraeruptive repose, is attributed to
quiescence periods of low to no activity, with minor phreatic column heights (<150 m height) and seismic explosion events. (d) Recorded Long-Period and Explosion events per day. (e) Interpretative sequence of the main activity drivers.
Dashed lines indicate lack of information or uncertainty during the sampling gap. Note that this plot does not include the early part of stage 1 of unrest and explosions in December 2015 and January–February 2016 (e.g. Moussallam et al., 2018)
as we don't have ash samples from this period. The monitored data can be found in supplementary materials.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
activity during this period was mainly driven by magma degassing
below a variably sealed hydrothermal system, as it has been proposed
for Merapi, 2010–2014 (Heap et al., 2019). Hot and magmatically de-
rived fluids could have flushed the hydrothermal system, causing boil-
ing and pressurization, and eventually leading to explosive release
(Stix & De Moor, 2018). Gas accumulation and pressurization of the hy-
drothermal system could have occurred during the periods when al-
most no explosions were registered (i.e., repose; Fig. 8c and e). We
note that these samples still contain some juvenile particles, but our in-
ference that these events were driven mainly by gas accumulation im-
plies that shallowly stored magma was also sampled during the
explosions, although it did not directly participate, except for the likely
release of magmatic gas. Minor amounts of juvenile component have
also been reported in eruptions that are thought to be driven mainly
by gas accumulation and interaction between magmatic gases and a hy-
drothermal system, e.g. Mount Ontake 2014 (Miyagi et al., 2020), and at
Ruapehu 2007 (Christenson et al., 2010). Therefore, there is a need to
quantify percentage-wise the amount of juveniles that precludes phre-
atic origin, with implications for better assessment of the progression of
the eruption.
5.1.3. Magma ascent to the surface
The highest percentage of juvenile magma particles occurs in the
sample just after the dome was observed at the surface (20th December
2017). These include glass-rich particles with spongy and highly vesic-
ular textures, and also fresh dome-like particles of moderate vesicular-
ity, which may belong to already cooled magma. Prior to the
appearance of the dome at the surface, the number of explosions and
the seismicity increased from about 100 to 150 LP events per day in De-
cember 12th to a peak of 416 LP events on December 28th (Fig. 8c). The
increase in seismicity and explosions, as well as the high proportions of
vesiculated and microlite-poor juveniles reflects fast magma ascent, ve-
sicular fragmentation and opening of a conduit with associated fractur-
ing of the wall-rocks (Shapiro et al., 2017).
5.2. Evolution of the eruption: from conduit opening to dome emplacement
at the surface
The three types of activity that we have identified occur in a tempo-
ral sequence, and we believe they could reflect the stages required for
new dome eruptions to occur from a volcano that has not been signifi-
cantly active in the previous decades (Fig. 8e). The reawakening at
NChVC consisted of increased seismicity and phreatic events in Febru-
ary 2016 during which a small magma intrusion stalled at shallow
depth. This magma cooled and degassed high temperature volatiles
(up to ~850 °C, Moussallam et al., 2018) that travelled through the ac-
tive hydrothermal system towards the surface and led to explosive ac-
tivity. Incandescence was observed for the first time between March
to October 2016, and up to four craters were created during cycles of ex-
plosive activity that included intense events with ash columns of up to
2000 m above the crater (Moussallam et al., 2018). We believe that
these previous activity likely increased the pathway of shallow
magma to the surface (Fig. 8e), and by December 2016 when we have
our first ash, we find evidence of juvenile particles from the shallow in-
trusion. This was followed by explosions that reached the fresh magma,
leading to phreatomagmatic events, but seismicity remained relatively
low. During 2017, there were two collapse episodes of multiple craters
(in January and in March 2017) that may have obstructed the magma
pathways towards the surface and perhaps sealing the hydrothermal
system. The activity that followed was characterized by alternating cy-
cles of quiescence and frequent explosions, probably phreatic and
with limited direct magma involvement. Such activity continued for al-
most a year, and very likely progressively fatigued the host rocks.
This eased the path for the intruded magma to reach the surface
(e.g. Voight et al., 2000) as dome forming eruption on December 20th
(Fig. 8e).
12
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
5.3. Comparison of NChVC with other high silica dome eruptions
Anticipating how an eruption will unfold when a volcano becomes
restless is one of the main challenges in volcanology. A first step to ad-
dress this question is to be able to differentiate between the various un-
rest and eruptive stages, as they provide a more accurate view of the
potential hazards, the driving processes of the activity (e.g. magma re-
charge or shallow gas accumulation), and have the potential to be
used as a forecasting tool (Bebbington and Jenkins, 2019). We have
identified three main stages for the active Nicanor crater of NChVC
(Fig. 9), starting from initial intrusion and phreatic events, through
phreatomagmatic, going back to phreatic and upper gas accumulations,
and leading to the extrusion of the dome at the surface. It is unclear
whether these stages are common to other volcanoes, but below we
provide a comparison of our findings with those of potentially analogue
volcanoes that erupt high-silica domes after a long repose time (hun-
dreds of years). We chose Soufriere Hills (Montserrat), Sinabung
(Indonesia), and Unzen (Japan) as they have relatively well-
documented activity stages prior to the extrusion of the dome, our
main focus, although they were more explosive (i.e. Vulcanian) than
NChVC upon the start of the magmatic phase.
During the stage 1, the volcano reawakens with shallow magma in-
trusions that don't reach the surface and which produce significant seis-
micity, as well as phreatic eruptions driven by a hydrothermal system
or/and degassing of the newly intruded magma (e.g. Ontake eruption
in 2014; Kato et al., 2015). At NChVC, this stage lasted less than a year,
but its duration and intensity varies between volcanoes. For example,
the reawakening of Sinabung eruption began with phreatic events in
2010 that lasted for about three months, but then there was a lull of ac-
tivity of three years until August 2013 (Nakada et al., 2019). Another ex-
ample is the reawakening of Unzen volcano in 1991, where volcanic
unrest consisted of one year of increased seismicity, followed by four
months of phreatic events until the magmatic phase started (Nakada
et al., 1999). In the case of SHV, there was also increased seismicity for
three years (1992–1995) and phreatic eruptions for four months
(Young et al., 1997), but it is unclear if the ash from this stage already
contained juvenile materials.
In stage 2 the volcanic system has many explosions which may occur
as several periods of high frequency followed by almost quiescence.
Seismicity is in general similar or lower than in stage 1, but varies de-
pending on the volcanic system. This stage includes periods of
phreatomagmatic events with direct involvement of the magma
(stage 2a), and others where eruptions are mainly driven by shallow
gas accumulation and thus are mainly phreatic (stage 2b). This stage
2 at NChVC lasted for about a year. The transition between stages 1
and 2 is identified by the presence of juvenile components in the ash,
but might be difficult to recognize using seismic and deformation data
alone given the small volume of juvenile magma involved and the prev-
alence of the hydrothermal system. In Sinabung (Gunawan et al., 2019)
and Unzen (Watanabe et al., 1999), stage 2 lasted for about one to three
months. At Soufrière Hills, it is not clear the duration of stage 2 but in
1995 there were intense explosions and hybrid seismic events
interpreted as the remobilization of pressurized juvenile and hydro-
thermal fluids, which altogether contributed to the fracturing and
weakening of the host rock easing the way of magma to the surface
(Kilburn and Voight, 1998). During this stage the upper part of the vol-
canic system progressively became more fractured which facilitated
new paths for the stalled magma to ascent to the surface.
Finally, during stage 3, magma ascends to the surface and is
emplaced as a viscous dome. This phase contains a vast majority of juve-
nile particles and is characterized by intense ground deformation (e.g. at
Soufriere Hills; Young et al., 1997) and an escalation of the seismicity
(e.g. at Unzen; Nakada et al., 1999). A major increase in juvenile glassy
shards was found in syn-extrusion ash from Sinabung (Primulyana
et al., 2019) and Unzen (Watanabe et al., 1999), similar to the sample
of December 2017 in this study.
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
Fig. 9. Interpretative schematic of the stages that resulted in the emplacement of the dome at the active crater Nicanor, December 20th 2017. The dark brown polygon represents an older
but recent intrusion, which could have fed the Sebastian lava flow in 2008, whereas the red polygon represents the intrusion object of this study. Note that the onset of activity and phreatic
stage (stage 1) is documented in Moussallam et al., 2018. The phreatomagmatic stage 2 includes two substages: when the activity is mainly driven by a shallow magmatic intrusion (stage
2a); and when activity is predominantly driven by dynamics in the upper parts of the system, e.g. gas accumulation (stage 2b). The straight lines dipping inwards represent fractures
generated by the continuous explosive activity. The sequence ends with the ascent of magma and extrusion of a dome on Earth's surface (stage 3).
The sequence of stages 1 and 2 we describe can continue to stage 3
and extrusion of silica-rich dome at the Earth's surface, or may instead
be the end of the volcanic activity. For example, a recent study of ash
from eruptions of Zhupanovsky volcano (Alaska) reported the presence
of dacitic, glass-rich particles (< 7 vol%) during three months (January –
March 2016; stage 2 in this study) of explosive activity, but the volcano
went back to dormancy without turning into a magmatic phase
(Gorbach et al., 2018). Similarly, some volcanic events may only reach
stage 1, with a notable seismic crisis and phreatic events may cease ac-
tivity without definitive evidence of juvenile material and go back to
dormancy, e.g. Soufriere de Guadeloupe (Feuillard et al., 1983).
Our study highlights the potential use of the abundance and type of
juvenile particles as a decision criteria for the volcano to move into a
dome eruptive phase (stage 3), and would be a key aid for the mitiga-
tion of volcano hazards. However, the potential use of a threshold of ju-
venile component as diagnosis of dome eruption is at this moment
problematic, and would require continuous ash monitoring during
stage 2, and multiple extrusion episodes (e.g. as in Merapi and Soufriere
Hills), which are only met by few volcanoes (e.g. at Sakurajima, Miwa
et al., 2021). Similarly, decreases in the juvenile abundance could be
used as an indicator of a waning of volcanic activity driven by magma.
Our lithic-dominated sample from March 2016 for instance, preceded
nine months of relatively low activity, but more comprehensive sam-
pling is necessary for drawing definitive conclusions. Continuous ash
monitoring has a lot to offer to better identify at which stage the volcano
might be at any given time, and thus identify the sequence that may
lead to eruption of the dome at the Earth's surface, especially when
combined with geophysical and geodetic monitoring data.
6. Conclusions
Our study illustrates the importance of sampling and studying volca-
nic ash in a time series manner to better understand the state of the vol-
cano at given point in time. Such detailed sampling and analysis are not
systematically done, but are especially important for eruptions with
long periods of unrest and explosions (a year or more) before the
magma reaches the surface. Combination of ash particle componentry
and shape analysis with seismic monitoring data allowed us to identify
three main volcanic stages at Nevados de Chillan volcanic Complex,
which have also occurred at other dome-forming eruptions. These
stages could be used as interpretative framework of the unrest and
explosions of future dome-forming eruptions elsewhere.
13
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
Credit authorship contribution statement
Damià Benet: Conceptualization, Investigation, Software, Visualiza-
tion, Writing – Original draft preparation. Fidel Costa: Conceptualiza-
tion, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Review and editing of the draft.
Gabriela Pedreros: Investigation, Field operation, Visualization, Review
and editing of the draft. Carlos Cardona: Resources, Review and editing
of the draft.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work is part of the Ph.D. thesis of D. Benet, who would like to
thank John Pallister, Patrick Allard and Caroline Bouvet de Maisonneuve
for insightful discussions. Linguistic suggestions by Pavel Adamek
greatly improved the English writing of this manuscript. This research
was supported by the Earth Observatory of Singapore via its funding
from the National Research Foundation Singapore and the Singapore
Ministry of Education under the Research Centres of Excellence initia-
tive. This work comprises EOS contribution number 378.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.107308.
References
Ahmed, S.N., 2015. Essential statistics for data analysis. Phys. Eng. Radiat. Detect. https://
doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-801363-2.00009-7.
Alvarado, G.E., Mele, D., Dellino, P., de Moor, J.M., Avard, G., 2016. Are the ashes from the
latest eruptions (2010–2016) at Turrialba volcano (Costa Rica) related to phreatic or
phreatomagmatic events? J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 327, 407–415. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.09.003.
Bebbington, M.S., Jenkins, S.F., 2019. Intra-Eruption Forecasting.
Beckett, F.M., Witham, C.S., Hort, M.C., Stevenson, J.A., Bonadonna, C., Millington, S.C.,
2015. Sensitivity of dispersion model forecasts of volcanic ash clouds to the physical
characteristics of the particles. J. Geophys. Res. 120, 11,636–11,652. https://doi.org/
10.1002/2015JD023609.
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
Busnaina, A., Gale, G., 1995. Ultrasonic and megasonic particle removal. Proc. Precis. Clean.
347–360.
Calder, E.S., Lavallée, Y., Kendrick, J.E., Bernstein, M., 2015. Lava Dome eruptions. Encycl.
Volcanoes, 343–362 https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-385938-9.00018-3.
Cashman, K.V., Hoblitt, R.P., 2004. Magmatic precursors to the 18 May 1980 eruption of
Mount St. Helens, USA. Geology 32, 141–144. https://doi.org/10.1130/G20078.1.
Chouet, B., 2003. Volcano seismology. Pure Appl. Geophys. 160, 739–788. https://doi.org/
10.1007/PL00012556.
Christenson, B.W., Reyes, A.G., Young, R., Moebis, A., Sherburn, S., Cole-Baker, J.,
Britten, K., 2010. Cyclic processes and factors leading to phreatic eruption events:
Insights from the 25 September 2007 eruption through Ruapehu Crater Lake,
New Zealand. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 191, 15–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jvolgeores.2010.01.008.
Cioni, R., Sbrana, A., Vecci, R., 1992. Morphologic features of juvenile pyroclasts from mag-
matic and phreatomagmatic deposits of Vesuvius. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 51,
61–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(92)90060-Q.
Dellino, P., La Volpe, L., 1996. Image processing analysis in reconstructing fragmentation
and transportation mechanisms of pyroclastic deposits. The case of Monte Pilato-
Rocche Rosse eruptions, Lipari (Aeolian islands, Italy). J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.
71, 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(95)00062-3.
Dixon, H.J., Murphy, M.D., Sparks, S.J., Chávez, R., Naranjo, J.A., Dunkley, P.N., Young, S.R.,
Gilbert, J.S., Pringle, M.R., 1999. The geology of Nevados de Chillán volcano, Chile. Rev.
Geol. Chile 26 (2). https://doi.org/10.4067/s0716-02081999000200006.
D'Oriano, C., Bertagnini, A., Cioni, R., Pompilio, M., 2014. Identifying recycled ash in basal-
tic eruptions. Sci. Rep. 4. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep05851.
Feuillard, M., Allegre, C.J., Brandeis, G., Gaulon, R., Le Mouel, J.L., Mercier, J.C., Pozzi, J.P.,
Semet, M.P., 1983. The 1975–1977 crisis of la Soufriere de Guadeloupe (FWI): a
still-born magmatic eruption. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 16, 317–334. https://doi.
org/10.1016/0377-0273(83)90036-7.
Gaunt, H.E., Bernard, B., Hidalgo, S., Proaño, A., Wright, H., Mothes, P., Criollo, E., Kueppers,
U., 2016. Juvenile magma recognition and eruptive dynamics inferred from the anal-
ysis of ash time series: the 2015 reawakening of Cotopaxi volcano. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. 328, 134–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.10.013.
Geshi, N., Iguchi, M., Shinohara, H., 2016. Phreatomagmatic eruptions of 2014 and 2015 in
Kuchinoerabujima Volcano triggered by a shallow intrusion of magma. J. Nat. Disaster
Sci. 37, 67–78.
Gorbach, N.V., Plechova, A.A., Manevich, T.M., Portnyagin, M.V., Philosofova, T.M.,
Samoilenko, S.B., 2018. The composition of Volcanic Ash and the dynamics of the
2013–2016 Zhupanovsky Volcano eruption. J. Volcanol. Seismol. 12, 155–171.
https://doi.org/10.1134/S0742046318030028.
Gunawan, H., Surono, Budianto, Kristianto, A., Prambada, O., McCausland, W., Pallister, J.,
Iguchi, M., 2019. Overview of the eruptions of Sinabung Volcano, 2010 and 2013–
present and details of the 2013 phreatomagmatic phase. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.
382, 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.08.005.
Heap, M.J., Troll, V.R., Kushnir, A.R.L., Gilg, H.A., Collinson, A.S.D., Deegan, F.M., Darmawan,
H., Seraphine, N., Neuberg, J., Walter, T.R., 2019. Hydrothermal alteration of andesitic
lava domes can lead to explosive volcanic behaviour. Nat. Commun. 10, 1–10. https://
doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13102-8.
Heiken, G., Wohletz, K., 1985. Volcanic Ash. University Presses of California, Chicago, Har-
vard & MIT.
Kato, A., Terakawa, T., Yamanaka, Y., Maeda, Y., Horikawa, S., Matsuhiro, K., Okuda, T.,
2015. Preparatory and precursory processes leading up to the 2014 phreatic eruption
of Mount Ontake, Japan. Earth, Planets Sp. 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-015-
0288-x.
Kilburn, C.R., Voight, B., 1998. Slow rock fracture as eruption precursor at Soufriere Hills
volcano, Montserrat. Geophys. Res. Lett. 25 (19), 3665–3668. https://doi.org/
10.1029/98GL01609.
Lahr, J.C., Chouet, B.A., Stephens, C.D., Power, J.A., Page, R.A., 1994. Earthquake classifica-
tion, location, and error analysis in a volcanic environment: implications for the mag-
matic system of the 1989-1990 eruptions at redoubt volcano, Alaska. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. 62, 137–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(94)90031-0.
Leibrandt, S., Le Pennec, J.L., 2015. Towards fast and routine analyses of volcanic ash mor-
phometry for eruption surveillance applications. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 297,
11–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2015.03.014.
Liu, E.J., Cashman, K.V., Rust, A.C., 2015. Optimising shape analysis to quantify volcanic ash
morphology. GeoResJ 8, 14–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.grj.2015.09.001.
Miwa, T., Toramaru, A., Iguchi, M., 2009. Correlations of volcanic ash texture with explo-
sion earthquakes from vulcanian eruptions at Sakurajima volcano, Japan. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. 184, 473–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.05.012.
Miwa, T., Shimano, T., Nishimura, T., 2015. Characterization of the luminance and shape of
ash particles at Sakurajima volcano, Japan, using CCD camera images. Bull. Volcanol.
77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-014-0886-7.
Miwa, T., Geshi, N., Tanada, T., Iguchi, M., 2021. Automatic onsite imaging of volcanic ash
particles with VOLCAT: Towards quasi-real-time eruption style monitoring.
J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 416, 107267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2021.
107267.
Miyagi, I., Geshi, N., Hamasaki, S., Oikawa, T., Tomiya, A., 2020. Heat source of the 2014
phreatic eruption of Mount Ontake, Japan. Bull. Volcanol. 82. https://doi.org/
10.1007/s00445-020-1358-x.
Moran, S.C., Newhall, C., Roman, D.C., 2011. Failed magmatic eruptions: Late-stage cessa-
tion of magma ascent. Bull. Volcanol. 73, 115–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-
010-0444-x.
Moussallam, Y., Bani, P., Schipper, C.I., Cardona, C., Franco, L., Barnie, T., Amigo, Á., Curtis,
A., Peters, N., Aiuppa, A., Giudice, G., Oppenheimer, C., 2018. Unrest at the Nevados de
Chillán volcanic complex: a failed or yet to unfold magmatic eruption? Volcanica 1,
19–32. https://doi.org/10.30909/vol.01.01.1932.
14
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
Murtagh, R.M., White, J.D.L., 2013. Pyroclast characteristics of a subaqueous to emergent
Surtseyan eruption, black point volcano, California. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 267,
75–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2013.08.015.
Nakada, S., Shimizu, H., Ohta, K., 1999. Overview of the 1990-1995 eruption at Unzen Vol-
cano. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 89, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-0273(98)
00118-8.
Nakada, S., Zaennudin, A., Yoshimoto, M., Maeno, F., Suzuki, Y., Hokanishi, N., Sasaki, H.,
Iguchi, M., Ohkura, T., Gunawan, H., Triastuty, H., 2019. Growth process of the lava
dome/flow complex at Sinabung Volcano during 2013–2016. J. Volcanol. Geotherm.
Res. 382, 120–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.06.012.
Naranjo, J.A., Lara, L.E., 2004. August-September 2003 small vulcanian eruption at the
Nevados de Chillán Volcanic Complex (36° 50'S), Southern Andes (Chile). Rev. geol.
Chile 31 (2), 359–366.
Naranjo, J., Moreno, H., 2009. Reciente erupción en el Complejo Volcánico Nevados de
Chillán, Región del Biobío. XII Congreso Geológico Chileno, Santiago, Actas. 3, p. 16.
Naranjo, J., Gilbert, J.S., Sparks, R., 2008. Geología del complejo volcánico Nevados de
Chillán, Région del Biobío. Servicio Nacional Geología y Minería, Carta Geológía de
Chile, Serie Geología Básica, mapa escala 1:50,000, Santiago. Tech. Rep. 114.
Nurfiani, D., Bouvet de Maisonneuve, C., 2018. Furthering the investigation of eruption
styles through quantitative shape analyses of volcanic ash particles. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. 354, 102–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.12.001.
Ogburn, S.E., Loughlin, S.C., Calder, E.S., 2015. The association of lava dome growth with
major explosive activity (VEI ≥ 4): DomeHaz, a global dataset. Bull. Volcanol. 77.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-015-0919-x.
OHba, T., Akagawa, M.N., 2002. Minerals in Volcanic Ash 2: non-magmatic minerals. Glob.
Environ. Res. 53–59.
Orozco, G., Jara, G., Bertin, D., 2016. Peligros del Complejo Volcánico Nevados de Chillán,
Región del Biobío. Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Carta Geológica de
Chile, Serie Geología Ambiental 28: 34p., 1 mapa escala 1:75.000, Santiago. Tech.
Rep. 28.
Pallister, J.S., Schneider, D.J., Griswold, J.P., Keeler, R.H., Burton, W.C., Noyles, C., Newhall,
C.G., Ratdomopurbo, A., 2013. Merapi 2010 eruption-Chronology and extrusion
rates monitored with satellite radar and used in eruption forecasting. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2012.07.012.
Pardo, N., Avellaneda, J.D., Rausch, J., Jaramillo-Vogel, D., Gutiérrez, M., Foubert, A., 2020.
Decrypting silicic magma/plug fragmentation at Azufral crater lake, Northern
Andes: insights from fine to extremely fine ash morpho-chemistry. Bull. Volcanol.
82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-020-01418-z.
Primulyana, S., Kern, C., Lerner, A.H., Saing, U.B., Kunrat, S.L., Alfianti, H., Marlia, M., 2019.
Gas and ash emissions associated with the 2010–present activity of Sinabung Vol-
cano, Indonesia. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 382, 184–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jvolgeores.2017.11.018.
Salvage, R.O., Avard, G., De Moor, J.M., Pacheco, J.F., 2018. Renewed Explosive
Phreatomagmatic Activity at Poás Volcano, Costa Rica in April 2017 6. , pp. 1–18
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00160.
Scarpa, R., Tilling, R.I., 2012. Monitoring and mitigation of volcano hazards. Springer Sci-
ence & Business Media.
Schipper, C.I., 2009. Explosive Submarine Volcanism at Lo'ihi Seamount. University of
Otago, Hawai'i.
SERNAGEOMIN, 2021. Complejo Volcánico Nevados de Chillán. Reporte regional de
actividad volcánica (RAV). http://sitiohistorico.sernageomin.cl/volcan.php?iId=32
(visited on 25/01/2021).
Shapiro, N.M., Droznin, D.V., Droznina, S.Y., Senyukov, S.L., Gusev, A.A., Gordeev, E.I., 2017.
Deep and shallow long-period volcanic seismicity linked by fluid-pressure transfer.
Nat. Geosci. 10, 442–445. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2952.
Spadaro, F.R., Lefèvre, R.A., Ausset, P., 2002. Experimental rapid alteration of basaltic glass:
Implications for the origins of atmospheric particulates. Geology 30, 671–674.
https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0671:ERAOBG>2.0.CO;2.
Sparks, R.S.J., 1997. Causes and consequences of pressurisation in lava dome eruptions.
Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 150, 177–189.
Stanton-Yonge, A., Griffith, W.A., Cembrano, J., St. Julien, R., Iturrieta, P., 2016. Tectonic
role of margin-parallel and margin-transverse faults during oblique subduction in
the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes: Insights from Boundary Element Modeling.
Tectonics 35, 1990–2013. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016TC004226.
Stern, C., 2004. Active Andean volcanism: Its geologic and tectonic setting. Rev. Geol. Chile
31 (2), 161–206.
Stix, J., de Moor, J.M., 2018. Understanding and forecasting phreatic eruptions driven by
magmatic degassing. Earth, Planets Sp. 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-018-
0855-z.
Suzuki, Y., Nagai, M., Maeno, F., Yasuda, A., Hokanishi, N., Shimano, T., Ichihara, M.,
Kaneko, T., Nakada, S., 2013. Precursory activity and evolution of the 2011 eruption
of Shinmoe-dake in Kirishima volcano-insights from ash samples. Earth, Planets Sp.
65, 591–607. https://doi.org/10.5047/eps.2013.02.004.
Taddeucci, J., Pompilio, M., Scarlato, P., 2002. Monitoring the explosive activity of the July–
August 2001 eruption of Mt. Etna (Italy) by ash characterization. Geophys. Res. Lett.
29. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL014372 71–1–71–4.
Taddeucci, J., Pompilio, M., Scarlato, P., 2004. Conduit processes during the July-August
2001 explosive activity of Mt. Etna (Italy): Inferences from glass chemistry and crys-
tal size distribution of ash particles. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 137, 33–54. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2004.05.011.
Troncoso, L., Bustillos, J., Romero, J.E., Guevara, A., Carrillo, J., Montalvo, E., Izquierdo, T.,
2017. Hydrovolcanic ash emission between August 14 and 24, 2015 at Cotopaxi vol-
cano (Ecuador): Characterization and eruption mechanisms. J. Volcanol. Geotherm.
Res. 341, 228–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.05.032.
D. Benet, F. Costa, G. Pedreros et al.
Voight, B., Constantine, E.K., Siswowidjoyo, S., Torley, R., 2000. Historical eruptions of
Merapi Volcano, Central Java, Indonesia, 1768-1998. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.
100, 69–138.
Wadge, G., Voight, B., Sparks, R.S.J., Cole, P.D., Loughlin, S.C., Robertson, R.E.A., 2014. An
overview of the eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat from 2000 to 2010.
Geol. Soc. Mem. 39, 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1144/M39.1.
Watanabe, Koichiro, Danhara, T., Watanabe, Kazunori, Terai, K., Yamashita, T., 1999. Juve-
nile volcanic glass erupted before the appearance of the 1991 lava dome, Unzen vol-
cano, Kyushu, Japan. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 89, 113–121. https://doi.org/
10.1016/S0377-0273(98)00127-9.
15
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 417 (2021) 107308
Yamanoi, Y., Takeuchi, S., Okumura, S., Nakashima, S., Yokoyama, T., 2008. Color measure-
ments of volcanic ash deposits from three different styles of summit activity
at Sakurajima volcano, Japan: Conduit processes recorded in color of volcanic ash.
J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 178, 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.
2007.11.013.
Yamaoka, K., 2016. The phreatic eruption of Mt. Ontake Volcano in 2014. Earth, Planets Sp. 68.
Young, S., Sparks, S., Robertson, R., Lynch, L., Aspinall, W., 1997. Eruption of Soufriere Hills
volcano in Montserrat continues. Eos (Washington. DC). 78, 401–409. https://doi.org/
10.1029/97eo00255.