Magma Chamber Dynamics at the Campi Flegrei Caldera, Italy

Abstract

The Campi Flegrei volcanic system is certainly a remarkable case study for what concerns magma chamber dynamics. In fact, its magmatic and volcanic history appears to have been largely driven by chamber processes like fractional crystallization, magma mixing, and volatile degassing. These processes have been intensely investigated with a variety of approache s. Here we employ physico- mathematical modelling and numerical simulations in order to study the dynamics of magma convection and mixing in a vertically extended, geometrically complex, compositionally heterogeneous magmatic system representing a schematic simplification of an overall picture emerging from previous studies at Campi Flegrei . Although clearly a simplification, a number of first order characteristics of possible real magmatic systems at Campi Flegrei are accounted for, including the more chemically evolved, partially degassed nature of magmas emplaced at shallow depths, and the likely occurrence of multiple reservoirs with different depth, size and shape which can be connected at certain stages during system evolution, allowing deeper, CO 2 -rich magmas to rise and rejuvenate the shallow magmas.