External surface water influence on explosive eruption dynamics, with implications for stratospheric sulfur delivery and volcano-climate feedback

Explosive volcanic eruptions can inject sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the stratosphere to form aerosol particles that modify Earth’s radiation balance and drive surface cooling. Eruptions involving interactions with shallow layers (< 500 m) of surface water and ice modify the eruption dynamics that govern the delivery of SO2 to the stratosphere. External surface water potentially controls the evolution of explosive eruptions in two ways that are poorly understood: (1) by modulating the hydrostatic pressure within the conduit and at the vent, and (2) through the ingestion and mixing of external water, which governs fine ash production as well as eruption column buoyancy flux. To make progress, we couple one-dimensional models of magma flow in the conduit and atmospheric column rise through a novel ”magma-water interaction” model that simulates the occurrence, extent and consequences of water entrainment depending on the depth of a surface water layer. We explore the effects of hydrostatic pressure on magma ascent in the conduit and gas decompression at the vent, and the conditions for which water entrainment drives fine ash production by quench fragmentation, eruption column collapse, or outright failure of the jet to breach the water surface. We show that the efficiency of water entrainment into the jet is the predominant control on jet behavior. For an increase in water depth of 50 to 100 m, the critical magma mass eruption rate required for eruption columns to reach the tropopause increases by an order of magnitude. Finally, we estimate that enhanced emission of fine ash leads to up to a 2-fold increase in the mass flux of particles < 125 microns to spreading umbrella clouds, together with up to a 10-fold increase in water mass flux, conditions that can enhance the removal of SO2 via chemical scavenging and ash sedimentation. Overall, compared to purely magmatic eruptions, we suggest that hydrovolcanic eruptions will be characterized by a reduced delivery of SO2 to the stratosphere. Our results thus suggest the possibility of an unrecognized volcano-climate feedback mechanism arising from modification of volcanic climate forcing by direct interaction of erupting magma with varying distributions of water and ice at the Earth’s surface.

Development of Self-Cured Sustainable Concrete Using Local Water-Entrainment Aggregates of Vesicular Basalt

The environmental and economic concerns pertaining to the construction industry have necessitated the development of sustainable concrete. Durability and strength are the two primary properties which determine the sustainability of concrete. This study evaluated the performance of self-cured concrete produced from local vesicular basalt porous aggregates. The durability indicators, porosity, permeability and pore size of the hardened concrete, were obtained from the water sorptivity (water permeability under capillary action) test, the water permeability under pressure action test and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area test and strength was evaluated in terms of compressive strength of concrete. The concrete specimens were produced with 10% porous vesicular basalt aggregate in replacement of coarse aggregate. The concrete specimens were tested at 3, 7 and 28 days. The self-curing effect on concrete strength was evaluated against water, air and membrane cured specimens, at surface/volume ratio of 26.4/40 and w/c ratio of 0.35/0.5. A 20% decrease in sorptivity coefficient, 10% increase in solid surface area and about 10% increase in compressive strength of the self-cured concrete was observed over the conventionally cured concrete. The study concludes that the addition of water-entrainment aggregates to concrete reduces water permeability, results in a finer pore structure of concrete and increases the quality and durability of concrete.

Flow processes and sedimentation in a straight submarine channel on the Qiongdongnan margin, northwestern South China Sea

ABSTRACT Straight channels are ubiquitous in deep-water settings, yet flow dynamics and sedimentation in them are far from being well understood. Stratigraphy and flow dynamics of a middle to late Miocene straight channel in Qiongdongnan Basin were quantified, in terms of angle of channel-complex-growth trajectories (Tc), stratigraphic mobility number (M), Froude number (Fr), layer-averaged flow velocity (U), flow thickness (h), and water entrainment coefficient (Ew). The documented channels are composed of three channel complexes (CC1 to CC3) all of which are all characterized by symmetrical channel cross sections without levees and by organized vertical channel-stacking patterns (represented by high mean value of Tc = 37.4° and low mean value of M = 0.038). Turbidity currents in them were estimated to have U of 1.6 to 2.0 m/s (averaging 1.8 m/s), h of 63 to 89 m (averaging 78), Fr of 0.849 to 0.999 (averaging 0.912), and Ew of 0.0003 to 0.0005. They were, in most case, subcritical over most of the channel length, and had a low degree of water entrainment and low flow height scaled to the channel depth (i.e., 0.786 to 0.81 of the channel depth), most likely inhibiting the gradual loss of sediment to form levees. With reference to modeling results of secondary flow velocity vectors of numerical straight channels with the same sinuosity, two parallel gullies seen on both sides of the interpreted channel beds are interpreted to be induced by high-velocity downward backflows produced by the negative buoyancy. Such symmetrical secondary flow structures most likely promoted symmetrical intrachannel deposition (i.e., less deposition along both channel margins but more deposition near the channel center), and thus forced individual channel complexes to progressively aggrade in a synchronous manner, forming straight-channel complexes with symmetrical channel cross sections and organized vertical channel-stacking patterns.

Covariability of Near-Surface Wind Speed Statistics and Mesoscale Sea Surface Temperature Fluctuations

The atmospheric (ABL) and ocean (OBL) boundary layers are intimately linked via mechanical and thermal coupling processes. In many regions over the world’s oceans, this results in a strong covariability between anomalies in wind speed and SST. At oceanic mesoscale, this coupling can be driven either from the atmosphere or the ocean. Gridded SST and wind speed data at 0.25° resolution show that over the western North Atlantic, the ABL mainly responds to the OBL, whereas in the eastern North Pacific and in the Southern Ocean, the OBL largely responds to wind speed anomalies. This general behavior is also verified by in situ buoy observations in the Atlantic and Pacific. A stochastic, nondimensional, 1D coupled air–sea boundary layer model is utilized to assess the relative importance of the coupling processes. For regions of little intrinsic SST fluctuations (i.e., most regions of the world’s oceans away from strong temperature fronts), the inclusion of cold water entrainment at the thermocline is crucial. In regions with strong frontal activities (e.g., the western boundary regions), the coupling is dominated by the SST fluctuations, and the frontal variability needs to be included in models. Generally, atmospheric and ocean-driven coupling lead to an opposite relationship between SST and wind speed fluctuations. This effect can be especially important for higher wind speed quantiles.

Effect of bed roughness on velocity profile and water entrainment in a sedimentary density current

In this study, the effect of bed roughness on velocity profile and water entrainment in a sedimentary density current for Richardson numbers of 1.2–7 (subcritical flow conditions) was investigated. Experiments were carried out in a tilting flume with four different bed slopes, four roughness heights, and two fluid densities of sedimentary density currents. The results showed that bed roughness significantly affects the general shapes of velocity profiles, especially in the wall region. Two empirical equations were developed as the functions of the relative roughness for the wall and jet regions of velocity profile using the measured velocities of density currents. Water entrainment was also affected by bed roughness and an empirical equation was developed describing the relationship of this phenomenon with the Richardson number and relative roughness. Sensitivity analysis of this equation by using elasticity coefficient method showed that the effectiveness of the Richardson number is 3.9 times more than the effect of relative roughness on water entrainment.