Tracking bubble evolution inside a silicic dike

Pressure estimates from rapidly erupted crustal xenoliths constrain the depth of intrusion of the silicic lavas hosting them. This represents an opportunity for tracking magmatic bubble's evolution and quantifying the variation in bubble volume during rapid magma ascent through a volcanic dike just prior to eruption. The petrology, stable-isotope geochemistry and X-ray micro-tomography of dacites containing crustal xenoliths, erupted from a Neogene volcano in SE Spain, showed an increase in porosity from ~ 1.7 to 6.4% from ~ 19 to 13 km depth, at nearly constant groundmass and crystal volumes. This result provides additional constraints for experimental and numerical simulations of subvolcanic magma-crust degassing processes in silicic systems, and may allow the characterization of volcanic eruptive styles based on volatile content.