Seismogenic lavas and explosive eruption forecasting

Seismogenic lavas: Explosive collapse Volcanoes typically undergo cycles of dome growth and — sometimes very explosive — collapse. The nature of the ductile-to-brittle transition in the highly crystalline lavas involved in volcanic dome-building eruptions may hold the key to an accurate description of dome growth and stability. Lavallée et al. have performed rheological experiments combined with continuous micro-seismic monitoring to reveal that such dome lavas are seismogenic and that the character of the seismicity changes markedly across the ductile-to-brittle transition until complete brittle failure occurs at high strain rates. The authors conclude that monitoring such magma seismicity may lead to improved forecasting for some volcanic eruptions.