Isolated Vesicles in Submarine Pumice: Insights from the 2019 Volcano F Eruption, Kingdom of Tonga

Isolated Vesicles in Submarine Pumice: Insights from the 2019 Volcano F Eruption, Kingdom of Tonga | 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 Research Article Isolated Vesicles in Submarine Pumice: Insights from the 2019 Volcano F Eruption, Kingdom of Tonga Sarah D. Ward, Kristen E. Fauria, Martin Jutzeler, Jhardel Dasent, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7044087/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract No reliable method can distinguish between subaerial and submarine pumice, but recent work shows that highly vesicular (total porosity, φ > 65%) submarine pumice from the 2012 Havre and 2021 Fukutoku Oka-no-Ba eruptions contains abundant isolated porosity (connectivity, C < 0.6). This differs from textural measurements of highly vesicular subaerial pumice, which tend to have high connectivities (C ~ 1). To investigate the implications of this uncommon texture for bubble nucleation, growth, and coalescence dynamics at submarine eruptions, we analyze the textural characteristics of rafted pumice clasts from the 2019 submarine eruption of Volcano F, located along the Tonga-Kermadec Arc. We examined clasts collected while floating near the vent (50–200 km) and distally on the shores of Fiji (900 km). Using Helium Pycnometry and X-ray tomography (XRT), we quantified porosity and connectivity in 45 pumice lapilli, classifying them by vesicle macrotexture and edge morphology. Microvesicular clasts, the majority of which have breadcrust and cauliflower textures, exhibit the lowest connectivities (μC = 0.61 ± 0.2), while macrovesicular clasts are highly vesicular with C ~ 1. We propose that isolated porosity abundance varies according to clast location in the eruption column post-fragmentation. Microvesicular clasts erupted on the edges of the column and experienced high levels of sea-water ingestion and subsequent quenching of the entire clast. Macrovesicular clasts, in contrast, erupted in the center of the eruption column and were thus thermally insulated, allowing magmatic bubbles in the molten pumice to nucleate, grow, and coalesce for a longer time. Submarine volcanism Pumice raft Isolated porosity X-Ray Tomography Volcano F Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Information is not available with this version Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted 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. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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-7044087","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":480564305,"identity":"e38d1ec6-0cc8-4066-a5e2-acdebd43acd0","order_by":0,"name":"Sarah D. 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This differs from textural measurements of highly vesicular subaerial pumice, which tend to have high connectivities (C ~ 1). To investigate the implications of this uncommon texture for bubble nucleation, growth, and coalescence dynamics at submarine eruptions, we analyze the textural characteristics of rafted pumice clasts from the 2019 submarine eruption of Volcano F, located along the Tonga-Kermadec Arc. We examined clasts collected while floating near the vent (50–200 km) and distally on the shores of Fiji (900 km). Using Helium Pycnometry and X-ray tomography (XRT), we quantified porosity and connectivity in 45 pumice lapilli, classifying them by vesicle macrotexture and edge morphology. Microvesicular clasts, the majority of which have breadcrust and cauliflower textures, exhibit the lowest connectivities (μC = 0.61 ± 0.2), while macrovesicular clasts are highly vesicular with C ~ 1. We propose that isolated porosity abundance varies according to clast location in the eruption column post-fragmentation. Microvesicular clasts erupted on the edges of the column and experienced high levels of sea-water ingestion and subsequent quenching of the entire clast. 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