Directly tapping crustal magma reveals storage conditions

Directly tapping crustal magma reveals storage conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Directly tapping crustal magma reveals storage conditions Janine Birnbaum, Fabian Wadsworth, Jackie Kendrick, Ben Kennedy, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6455688/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The conditions under which magma accumulates and is stored are fundamental to unraveling the processes of crust formation, planetary differentiation, geothermal heat recharge, and volcanic eruptions. Storage pressure and temperature are typically inferred from erupted volcanic products. However, changes during kilometers of magma ascent induce disequilibrium crystallization and vesiculation, and inverting back to storage conditions comes with arguably unresolvable uncertainties. Here, we explore opportunities arising from magma drilling at Krafla volcano (Iceland) to reconstruct real, in situ magmatic conditions for the first time. The findings show that over the ∼5 min in which the magma is quenched, vapor bubbles consisting of H2O and CO2 exsolve, grow, and resorb, but the changes can be accounted for by careful multiparametric inversion (for chemistry, vesicularity, and vitrification), and that the magma was stored under lithostatic conditions, unlike previous assertions based on classic methods1. This constraint provides us with the unique pairing of precisely measured depth and pressure on a single magma body, and thus a robust method to improve our understanding of magma storage conditions and evolution. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geochemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Volcanology Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geology/Structural geology Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geochemistry Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy/Geothermal energy Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 25 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6455688","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":457262125,"identity":"4c06628c-723c-48bf-8537-1700bec59a32","order_by":0,"name":"Janine 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