School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

While ascending in the plumbing system of volcanoes, magma undergoes decompression at rates spanning several orders of magnitude and set by a number of factors internal and external to the volcano. Slow decompression generally results in an effusive or mildly explosive expansion of the magma, but counterexamples of sudden switches from effusive to explosive eruptive behaviour have been documented at various volcanoes worldwide. The mechanisms involved in this behavior are currently debated, in particular regarding basaltic magmas. Here, we explore the interplay between decompression rate and vesiculation vigour by decompressing a magma analog obtained by dissolving pine resin into acetone in varying proportions. Our mixtures contain solid particles and upon decompression experience the nucleation of acetone bubbles. We find mixtures high in acetone, containing smaller and fewer solid particles, experience strong supersaturation and fragment for very slow decompressions, despite having low viscosity, while mixtures low in acetone, with more and larger solid particles degas efficiently. We interpret our results in terms of delayed bubble nucleation due to a lack of efficient nucleation sites. We discuss how a similar mechanism might induce violent, explosive expansion in volatile-rich and poorly crystalline low-silica magmas, by analogy to previous inferences for rhyolitic magmas.

The alternative relationships that can exist between a mountain front and the adjacent foreland basin have been recognized for many years. However, seismic reflection data from such areas are commonly of poor quality and therefore structural models may contain large uncertainties. In view of scientific and commercial interest in mountain belts, we have reviewed the methods for discriminating between alternative interpretations using a case study from the Montagna dei Fiori in the central Apennines, Italy. In this area Mesozoic and Tertiary carbonate sediments are juxtaposed with a foredeep basin containing up to 7 km of Messinian and Plio-Pleistocene siliciclastic sediments. A new structural model for this area demonstrates how the structures in this area form a kinematically closed system in which displacement is transferred from the thrust belt to blind structures beneath the present-day foreland. Growth strata show that Pliocene shortening was initially rapid (15 mm a 1) followed by slower rates during the final stages of deformation. Variations in structural elevation indicate a component of basement involvement during thrusting, and this is further supported by magnetic modelling. The results illustrate the interaction of thin- and thick-skinned structures in the central Apennines, and the methods for discriminating between alternative structural models.