Geologists figured out how the most active volcano in the world appeared

An international team of scientists led by Monash University examined samples of materials

formed during the first eruptions of Kilauea. 

Kilauea is one of the most active activevolcanoes. According to scientists, it was formed from 210 to 280 thousand years ago at the bottom of the ocean off the southeast coast of the Hawaiian Islands. And about 100 thousand years ago, the top of the volcano rose above the surface of the sea.

The researchers note that the materials of the firsteruptions of Hawaiian volcanoes are rarely observed, as they are covered with a large volume of tholeiite basalt, formed as a result of more recent eruptions. The scientists used volcanic sandstone recovered from Kilauea's underwater slope to analyze the volcano's early evolution.

The authors of the work studied the process of formationvolcanic materials in a series of experiments. Including by melting synthetic rocks at high temperatures (over 1100˚C) and pressure (over 3 GPa). In addition, the scientists applied a method for estimating the concentration of rare earth elements.

Research has shown that the material contained in the found samples could only be formed during the process of crystallization and subsequent removal (fractional crystallization) of garnet. 

The authors of the work note that the active crystallization of garnet during the formation of rocks from the first eruptions indicates the deep location of the primary magma chamber of the volcano. 

Our research challenges the current pointview, according to which fractional crystallization is an exclusively surface process. In addition, it suggests that an important early stage in the birth of a Hawaiian volcano is the development of a deep (over 90 km) magma chamber.

Laura Miller, a researcher at Monash University's School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, is one of the study's authors.

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