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Quantifying explosive processes of the 2022 Meradalir eruption of the Fagradalsfjall Fires, Iceland (2025)
Journal Article
Tisdale, C. M., Houghton, B. F., Thorsdarson, T., Llewellin, E. W., & Pálmadóttir, J. S. (2025). Quantifying explosive processes of the 2022 Meradalir eruption of the Fagradalsfjall Fires, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, 87(6), Article 47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-025-01834-z

The 2022 Meradalir eruption at Fagradalsfjall, Iceland, provided an opportunity to study mildly explosive volcanic activity of a mafic volcano using video analysis. During a field campaign from 10 to 14 August 2022, we recorded high-resolution videos... Read More about Quantifying explosive processes of the 2022 Meradalir eruption of the Fagradalsfjall Fires, Iceland.

Complex staged emplacement of a basaltic lava: The example of the July 1974 flow of Kīlauea (2025)
Journal Article
Biass, S., Houghton, B. F., Llewellin, E. W., Curran, K. C., Thordarson, T., Orr, T. R., Parcheta, C. E., & Mouginis-Mark, P. (2025). Complex staged emplacement of a basaltic lava: The example of the July 1974 flow of Kīlauea. Bulletin of Volcanology, 87(4), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-025-01817-0

Basaltic lava flows can be highly destructive. Forecasting the future path and/or behavior of an active lava flow is challenging because topography is often poorly constrained and lava has a complex rheology and emplacement history. Preserved lavas a... Read More about Complex staged emplacement of a basaltic lava: The example of the July 1974 flow of Kīlauea.

Banding in the Margins of Basaltic Dykes Indicates Pulsatory Propagation During Emplacement (2024)
Journal Article
Allgood, C., Llewellin, E. W., Humphreys, M. C. S., Mathias, S. A., Brown, R. J., & Vye‐Brown, C. (2024). Banding in the Margins of Basaltic Dykes Indicates Pulsatory Propagation During Emplacement. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(4), Article e2023JB028007. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023jb028007

Basaltic fissure eruptions, which are the most common type of eruption on Earth, are fed by dykes which mediate magma transport through the crust. Dyke propagation processes are important because they determine the geometry of the transport pathway a... Read More about Banding in the Margins of Basaltic Dykes Indicates Pulsatory Propagation During Emplacement.

Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014 (2024)
Journal Article
Orr, T. R., Llewellin, E. W., Anderson, K. R., & Patrick, M. R. (2024). Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014. Bulletin of Volcanology, 86(4), Article 41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-024-01725-9

In 2014, the Pāhoa lava flow at Kīlauea, on the Island of Hawaiʻi (USA), entered a string of pre-existing meter-width ground cracks in the volcano’s East Rift Zone. The ground cracks transported lava below the surface in a direction discordant to the... Read More about Pre-existing ground cracks as lava flow pathways at Kīlauea in 2014.

Bubble Formation in Magma (2023)
Journal Article
Gardner, J. E., Wadsworth, F. B., Carley, T. L., Llewellin, E. W., Kusumaatmaja, H., & Sahagian, D. (2023). Bubble Formation in Magma. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 51(1), 131-154. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-031621-080308

Volcanic eruptions are driven by bubbles that form when volatile species exsolve from magma. The conditions under which bubbles form depend mainly on magma composition, volatile concentration, presence of crystals, and magma decompression rate. These... Read More about Bubble Formation in Magma.

Muon Imaging of Volcanic Conduit Explains Link Between Eruption Frequency and Ground Deformation (2023)
Journal Article
Oláh, L., Gallo, G., Hamar, G., Kamoshida, O., Leone, G., Llewellin, E. W., Lo Presti, D., Nyitrai, G., Ohminato, T., Ohno, S., Tanaka, H. K., & Varga, D. (2023). Muon Imaging of Volcanic Conduit Explains Link Between Eruption Frequency and Ground Deformation. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(2), Article e2022GL101170. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl101170

Understanding the physical mechanism of ground deformation at a volcano supports the use of deformation data as a monitoring tool. An inverse correlation was observed between eruption frequency and ground deformation of Sakurajima volcano from Novemb... Read More about Muon Imaging of Volcanic Conduit Explains Link Between Eruption Frequency and Ground Deformation.

A reappraisal of explosive–effusive silicic eruption dynamics: syn-eruptive assembly of lava from the products of cryptic fragmentation (2022)
Journal Article
Wadsworth, F. B., Llewellin, E. W., Castro, J. M., Tuffen, H., Schipper, C. I., Gardner, J. E., Vasseur, J., Foster, A., Damby, D. E., McIntosh, I. M., Boettcher, S., Unwin, H. E., Heap, M. J., Farquharson, J. I., Dingwell, D. B., Iacovino, K., Paisley, R., Jones, C., & Whattam, J. (2022). A reappraisal of explosive–effusive silicic eruption dynamics: syn-eruptive assembly of lava from the products of cryptic fragmentation. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 432, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2022.107672

Silicic volcanic eruptions range in style from gently effusive to highly explosive, and may switch style unpredictably during a single eruption. Direct observations of subaerial rhyolitic eruptions (Chaiten 2008, Cordón Caulle 2011–2012, Chile) chall... Read More about A reappraisal of explosive–effusive silicic eruption dynamics: syn-eruptive assembly of lava from the products of cryptic fragmentation.

The initial phase of the 2021 Cumbre Vieja ridge eruption (Canary Islands): Products and dynamics controlling edifice growth and collapse (2022)
Journal Article
Romero, J. E., Burton, M., Cáceres, F., Taddeucci, J., Civico, R., Ricci, T., Pankhurst, M. J., Hernández, P. A., Bonadonna, C., Llewellin, E. W., Pistolesi, M., Polacci, M., Solana, C., D'Auria, L., Arzilli, F., Andronico, D., Rodríguez, F., Asensio-Ramos, M., Martín-Lorenzo, A., Hayer, C., …Perez, N. M. (2022). The initial phase of the 2021 Cumbre Vieja ridge eruption (Canary Islands): Products and dynamics controlling edifice growth and collapse. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 431, Article 107642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2022.107642

Tajogaite cone in the Cumbre Vieja ridge (La Palma, Canary Islands) erupted between 19 September and 13 December 2021. The tephra and lava sourced from the newly formed fissure rapidly built a pyroclastic cone. During the early days of eruption and a... Read More about The initial phase of the 2021 Cumbre Vieja ridge eruption (Canary Islands): Products and dynamics controlling edifice growth and collapse.

Development, structure, and behavior of a perched lava channel at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, during 2007 (2022)
Journal Article
Orr, T. R., Llewellin, E. W., & Patrick, M. R. (2022). Development, structure, and behavior of a perched lava channel at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, during 2007. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 430, Article 107637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2022.107637

Channelized lava flows are commonly produced during the early stages of basaltic eruptions. These channels usually maintain their morphology until the eruption ends or discharge is diverted. In some instances, narrower channels can roof over, develop... Read More about Development, structure, and behavior of a perched lava channel at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, during 2007.

Bubble rise in molten glasses and silicate melts during heating and cooling cycles (2022)
Journal Article
Jackson, L. E., Wadsworth, F. B., Mitchell, J., Rennie, C., Llewellin, E. W., Hess, K., & Dingwell, D. B. (2022). Bubble rise in molten glasses and silicate melts during heating and cooling cycles. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 105(12), 7238-7253. https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.18680

The Hadamard–Rybczynski equation describes the steady-state buoyant rise velocity of an unconfined spherical bubble in a viscous liquid. This solution has been experimentally validated for the case where the liquid viscosity is held constant. Here, w... Read More about Bubble rise in molten glasses and silicate melts during heating and cooling cycles.

Dendritic crystallization in hydrous basaltic magmas controls magma mobility within the Earth’s crust (2022)
Journal Article
Arzilli, F., Polacci, M., La Spina, G., Le Gall, N., Llewellin, E. W., Brooker, R. A., Torres-Orozco, R., Di Genova, D., Neave, D. A., Hartley, M. E., Mader, H. M., Giordano, D., Atwood, R., Lee, P. D., Heidelbach, F., & Burton, M. R. (2022). Dendritic crystallization in hydrous basaltic magmas controls magma mobility within the Earth’s crust. Nature Communications, 13(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30890-8

The majority of basaltic magmas stall in the Earth’s crust as a result of the rheological evolution caused by crystallization during transport. However, the relationships between crystallinity, rheology and eruptibility remain uncertain because it is... Read More about Dendritic crystallization in hydrous basaltic magmas controls magma mobility within the Earth’s crust.

Crowd-sourcing observations of volcanic eruptions during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall and Cumbre Vieja events (2022)
Journal Article
Wadsworth, F. B., Llewellin, E. W., Farquharson, J. I., Gillies, J. K., Loisel, A., Frey, L., Ilyinskaya, E., Thordarson, T., Tramontano, S., Lev, E., Pankhurst, M. J., Rull, A. G., Asensio-Ramos, M., Pérez, N. M., Hernández, P. A., Calvo, D., Solana, M. C., Kueppers, U., & Santabárbara, A. P. (2022). Crowd-sourcing observations of volcanic eruptions during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall and Cumbre Vieja events. Nature Communications, 13(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30333-4

The Fagradalsfjall1 and Cumbre Vieja eruptions were spectacular and, in the case of Cumbre Vieja, highly destructive. Over their course, the eruptions waxed and waned, fed lava flows, caused numerous felt earthquakes and explosions, localized from cr... Read More about Crowd-sourcing observations of volcanic eruptions during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall and Cumbre Vieja events.

Rheology of three-phase suspensions determined via dam-break experiments (2021)
Journal Article
Birnbaum, J., Lev, E., & Llewellin, E. W. (2021). Rheology of three-phase suspensions determined via dam-break experiments. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 477(2254), Article 20210394. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2021.0394

Three-phase suspensions, of liquid that suspends dispersed solid particles and gas bubbles, are common in both natural and industrial settings. Their rheology is poorly constrained, particularly for high total suspended fractions (0.5). We use a dam-... Read More about Rheology of three-phase suspensions determined via dam-break experiments.

In situ quantification of crystallisation kinetics 1 of plagioclase and clinopyroxene in basaltic magma: implications for lava flow (2021)
Journal Article
Le Gall, N., Arzilli, F., La Spina, G., Polacci, M., Cai, B., E. Hartley, M., T. Vo, N., C. Atwood, R., Di Genova, D., W LLewellin, E., R Burton, M., & D Lee, P. (2021). In situ quantification of crystallisation kinetics 1 of plagioclase and clinopyroxene in basaltic magma: implications for lava flow. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 568, Article 117016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117016

Crystallisation is a complex process that significantly affects the rheology of magma, and thus the flow dynamics during a volcanic eruption. For example, the evolution of crystal fraction, size and shape has a strong impact on the surface crust form... Read More about In situ quantification of crystallisation kinetics 1 of plagioclase and clinopyroxene in basaltic magma: implications for lava flow.

The Birth of a Hawaiian Fissure Eruption (2020)
Journal Article
Houghton, B., Tisdale, C., Llewellin, E., Taddeucci, J., Orr, T., Walker, B., & Patrick, M. (2021). The Birth of a Hawaiian Fissure Eruption. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126(1), Article e2020JB020903. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jb020903

Most basaltic explosive eruptions intensify abruptly, allowing little time to document processes at the start of eruption. One opportunity came with the initiation of activity from fissure 8 (F8) during the 2018 eruption on the lower East Rift Zone o... Read More about The Birth of a Hawaiian Fissure Eruption.

Explosivity of basaltic lava fountains is controlled by magma rheology, ascent rate and outgassing (2020)
Journal Article
La Spina, G., Arzilli, F., Llewellin, E., Burton, M., Clarke, A., de' Michieli Vitturi, M., Polacci, M., Hartley, M., Di Genova, D., & Mader, H. (2021). Explosivity of basaltic lava fountains is controlled by magma rheology, ascent rate and outgassing. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 553, Article 116658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116658

The dichotomy between explosive volcanic eruptions, which produce pyroclasts, and effusive eruptions, which produce lava, is defined by the presence or absence of fragmentation during magma ascent. For lava fountains the distinction is unclear, since... Read More about Explosivity of basaltic lava fountains is controlled by magma rheology, ascent rate and outgassing.

A model for permeability evolution during volcanic welding (2020)
Journal Article
Wadsworth, F. B., Vasseur, J., Llewellin, E. W., Brown, R. J., Tuffen, H., Gardner, J. E., Kendrick, J. E., Lavallée, Y., Dobson, K. J., Heap, M. J., Dingwell, D. B., Hess, K.-U., Schauroth, J., von Aulock, F. W., Kushnir, A. R., & Marone, F. (2021). A model for permeability evolution during volcanic welding. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2020.107118

Volcanic ash and pyroclasts can weld when deposited hot by pyroclastic density currents, in near-vent fall deposits, or in fractures in volcano interiors. Welding progressively decreases the permeability of the particle packs, influencing a range of... Read More about A model for permeability evolution during volcanic welding.

Convective tipping point initiates localization of basaltic fissure eruptions (2020)
Journal Article
Jones, T. J., & Llewellin, E. W. (2021). Convective tipping point initiates localization of basaltic fissure eruptions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 553, Article 116637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116637

Basaltic fissure eruptions may evolve rapidly and unpredictably complicating hazard management. Localization of an elongate fissure to one or more focused vents may take days to months, and depends on fluid dynamic processes, such as thermally-driven... Read More about Convective tipping point initiates localization of basaltic fissure eruptions.