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Flank instability and sector collapses, which pose major threats, are common on volcanic islands. On 22 Dec 2018, a sector collapse event occurred at Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait, triggering a deadly tsunami. Here we use multiparametric ground-based and space-borne data to show that prior to its collapse, the volcano exhibited an elevated state of activity, including precursory thermal anomalies, an increase in the island’s surface area, and a gradual seaward motion of its southwestern flank on a dipping décollement. Two minutes after a small earthquake, seismic signals characterize the collapse of the volcano’s flank at 13:55 UTC. This sector collapse decapitated the cone-shaped edifice and triggered a tsunami that caused 430 fatalities. We discuss the nature of the precursor processes underpinning the collapse that culminated in a complex hazard cascade with important implications for the early detection of potential flank instability at other volcanoes. On 22 December 2018, the western flank of Anak Krakatau collapsed into the sea of the Sunda Strait triggering a tsunami which killed approximately 430 people and displaced 33,000. Here, the authors show that Anak Krakatau exhibited an elevated state of activity several months prior to the collapse, including precursory thermal anomalies, an increase in the island’s surface area, and a gradual seaward motion of the southwestern flank.

Dome-forming volcanoes are among the most hazardous volcanoes on Earth. Magmatic outgassing can be hindered if the permeability of a lava dome is reduced, promoting pore pressure augmentation and explosive behaviour. Laboratory data show that acid-sulphate alteration, common to volcanoes worldwide, can reduce the permeability on the sample lengthscale by up to four orders of magnitude and is the result of pore- and microfracture-filling mineral precipitation. Calculations using these data demonstrate that intense alteration can reduce the equivalent permeability of a dome by two orders of magnitude, which we show using numerical modelling to be sufficient to increase pore pressure. The fragmentation criterion shows that the predicted pore pressure increase is capable of fragmenting the majority of dome-forming materials, thus promoting explosive volcanism. It is crucial that hydrothermal alteration, which develops over months to years, is monitored at dome-forming volcanoes and is incorporated into real-time hazard assessments. The permeability of a dome exerts a control on the outgassing efficiency of the underlying magma. The authors investigate the role of hydrothermal alteration on this process in the laboratory and use these data to model whether the overpressures generated are capable of promoting explosive behaviour.

Kiruna-type apatite-iron-oxide ores are key iron sources for modern industry, yet their origin remains controversial. Diverse ore-forming processes have been discussed, comprising low-temperature hydrothermal processes versus a high-temperature origin from magma or magmatic fluids. We present an extensive set of new and combined iron and oxygen isotope data from magnetite of Kiruna-type ores from Sweden, Chile and Iran, and compare them with new global reference data from layered intrusions, active volcanic provinces, and established low-temperature and hydrothermal iron ores. We show that approximately 80% of the magnetite from the investigated Kiruna-type ores exhibit δ 56 Fe and δ 18 O ratios that overlap with the volcanic and plutonic reference materials (> 800 °C), whereas ~20%, mainly vein-hosted and disseminated magnetite, match the low-temperature reference samples (≤400 °C). Thus, Kiruna-type ores are dominantly magmatic in origin, but may contain late-stage hydrothermal magnetite populations that can locally overprint primary high-temperature magmatic signatures. The origin of giant Kiruna-type iron ores has been debated for nearly 100 years. This study employs extensive stable isotope data from Kiruna-type ores worldwide and magmatic and hydrothermal reference materials to show that iconic Kiruna-type ores originate primarily from ortho-magmatic processes.

Catastrophic lava dome collapse is considered an unpredictable volcanic hazard because the physical properties, stress conditions, and internal structure of lava domes are not well understood and can change rapidly through time. To explain the locations of dome instabilities at Merapi volcano, Indonesia, we combined geochemical and mineralogical analyses, rock physical property measurements, drone-based photogrammetry, and geoinformatics. We show that a horseshoe-shaped alteration zone that formed in 2014 was subsequently buried by renewed lava extrusion in 2018. Drone data, as well as geomechanical, mineralogical, and oxygen isotope data suggest that this zone is characterized by high-porosity hydrothermally altered materials that are mechanically weak. We additionally show that the new lava dome is currently collapsing along this now-hidden weak alteration zone, highlighting that a detailed understanding of dome architecture, made possible using the monitoring techniques employed here, is essential for assessing hazards associated with dome and edifice failure at volcanoes worldwide.

Iron is the most important metal for modern industry and Sweden is by far the largest iron-producer in Europe, yet the genesis of Sweden's main iron-source, the ‘Kiruna-type’ apatite-iron-oxide ores, remains enigmatic. We show that magnetites from the largest central Swedish ‘Kiruna-type’ deposit at Grängesberg have δ 18 O values between −0.4 and +3.7‰, while the 1.90−1.88 Ga meta-volcanic host rocks have δ 18 O values between +4.9 and +9‰. Over 90% of the magnetite data are consistent with direct precipitation from intermediate to felsic magmas or magmatic fluids at high-temperature (δ 18 O mgt > +0.9‰, i.e. ortho-magmatic). A smaller group of magnetites (δ 18 O mgt ≤ +0.9‰), in turn, equilibrated with high-δ 18 O, likely meteoric, hydrothermal fluids at low temperatures. The central Swedish ‘Kiruna-type’ ores thus formed dominantly through magmatic iron-oxide precipitation within a larger volcanic superstructure, while local hydrothermal activity resulted from low-temperature fluid circulation in the shallower parts of this system.

The 1971 Teneguía eruption is the most recent volcanic event of the Cumbre Vieja rift zone on La Palma. The eruption produced basanite lavas that host xenoliths, which we investigate to provide insight into the processes of differentiation, assimilation and magma storage beneath La Palma. We compare our results to the older volcano magmatic systems of the island with the aim to reconstruct the temporal development of the magma plumbing system beneath La Palma. The 1971 lavas are clinopyroxene-olivine-phyric basanites that contain augite, sodic-augite and aluminium augite. Kaersutite cumulate xenoliths host olivine, clinopyroxene including sodic-diopside, and calcic-amphibole, whereas an analysed leucogabbro xenolith hosts plagioclase, sodic-augite-diopside, calcic-amphibole and hauyne. Mineral thermobarometry and mineral-melt thermobarometry indicate that clinopyroxene and plagioclase in the 1971 Teneguía lavas crystallised at 20–45 km depth, coinciding with clinopyroxene and calcic-amphibole crystallisation in the kaersutite cumulate xenoliths at 25–45 km and clinopyroxene, calcic-amphibole and plagioclase crystallisation in the leucogabbro xenolith at 30–50 km. Combined mineral chemistry and thermobarometry suggest that the magmas had already crystallised, differentiated and formed multiple crystal populations in the oceanic lithospheric mantle. Notably, the magmas that supplied the 1949 and 1971 events appear to have crystallised deeper than the earlier Cumbre Vieja magmas, which suggests progressive underplating beneath the Cumbre Vieja rift zone. In addition, the lavas and xenoliths of the 1971 event crystallised at a common depth, indicating a reused plumbing system and progressive recycling of Ocean Island plutonic complexes during subsequent magmatic activity.

High‐temperature volcanic gas is widely considered to originate from ascending, mantle‐derived magma. In volcanic arc systems, crustal inputs to magmatic gases mainly occur via subducted sediments in the mantle source region. Our data from Merapi volcano, Indonesia imply, however, that during the April‐October 2006 eruption significant quantities of CO2 were added from shallow crustal sources. We show that prior to the 2006 events, summit fumarole gas δ13C(CO2) is virtually constant (δ13C1994–2005 = −4.1 ± 0.3‰), but during the 2006 eruption and after the shallow Yogyakarta earthquake of late May, 2006 (M6.4; hypocentres at 10–15 km depth), carbon isotope ratios increased to −2.4 ± 0.2‰. This rise in δ13C is consistent with considerable addition of crustal CO2and coincided with an increase in eruptive intensity by a factor of ∼3 to 5. We postulate that this shallow crustal volatile input supplemented the mantle‐derived volatile flux at Merapi, intensifying and sustaining the 2006 eruption. Late‐stage volatile additions from crustal contamination may thus provide a trigger for explosive eruptions independently of conventional magmatic processes. Key Points Carbon isotopes in CO2 at active Merapi show a positive spike from baseline levels Crustal CO2 can be liberated by active volcanism Crustal CO2 can intensify ongoing eruptions making it a factor in hazard assessment

Magma plumbing systems underlying subduction zone volcanoes extend from the mantle through the overlying crust and facilitate protracted fractional crystallisation, assimilation, and mixing, which frequently obscures a clear view of mantle source compositions. In order to see through this crustal noise, we present intracrystal Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) δ 18 O values in clinopyroxene from Merapi, Kelut, Batur, and Agung volcanoes in the Sunda arc, Indonesia, under which the thickness of the crust decreases from ca. 30 km at Merapi to ≤20 km at Agung. Here we show that mean clinopyroxene δ 18 O values decrease concomitantly with crustal thickness and that lavas from Agung possess mantle-like He-Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios and clinopyroxene mean equilibrium melt δ 18 O values of 5.7 ‰ (±0.2 1 SD) indistinguishable from the δ 18 O range for Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB). The oxygen isotope composition of the mantle underlying the East Sunda Arc is therefore largely unaffected by subduction-driven metasomatism and may thus represent a sediment-poor arc end-member. Subduction zone volcanoes are underlain by extensive magma plumbing systems, which can obscure original mantle source signals. Here, the authors show that intra-crystal oxygen isotope analysis of clinopyroxenes from the Sunda arc (Indonesia) reveal the δ18 O value of the sub-arc mantle.

Quartz is a common phase in high-silica igneous rocks and is resistant to post-eruptive alteration, thus offering a reliable record of magmatic processes in silicic magma systems. Here we employ the 75 ka Toba super-eruption as a case study to show that quartz can resolve late-stage temporal changes in magmatic δ 18 O values. Overall, Toba quartz crystals exhibit comparatively high δ 18 O values, up to 10.2‰, due to magma residence within, and assimilation of, local granite basement. However, some 40% of the analysed quartz crystals display a decrease in δ 18 O values in outermost growth zones compared to their cores, with values as low as 6.7‰ (maximum ∆ core−rim  = 1.8‰). These lower values are consistent with the limited zircon record available for Toba, and the crystallisation history of Toba quartz traces an influx of a low-δ 18 O component into the magma reservoir just prior to eruption. Here we argue that this late-stage low-δ 18 O component is derived from hydrothermally-altered roof material. Our study demonstrates that quartz isotope stratigraphy can resolve magmatic events that may remain undetected by whole-rock or zircon isotope studies, and that assimilation of altered roof material may represent a viable eruption trigger in large Toba-style magmatic systems.