| Summary: | The southern part of Iceland incorporates two parallel volcanic zones, the Eastern Volcanic Zone and the Western Volcanic Zone. These two branches are connected by an E-W transform. Hekla is located close to intersection between the two plate boundaries. Hekla is one of Iceland's most active and explosive volcanoes. Unique to Hekla is that it is one of the few volcanoes on Iceland that produces explosive silica rich magma. Hekla gives no clear warning of its eruptions and sends out seismic signals with very short notice. It is therefore of interest to try to understand Hekla's magma system and magmatic processes in order to gain an increased knowledge of its volcanic processes. The study is based on calculating crystallization conditions for the minerals plagioclase, clinopyroxene and orthoproxene. Calculations is based on the assumption that minerals, which are in equilibrium with the associated melt are directly associated with the thermodynamics of crystallization. The result of the study shows that Hekla's magma chamber is located at a depth of 8-12 km. The samples from Hekla are poor in minerals, which can be explained by separation due to fractional crystallization that forms a crystal mush. Fast ascending primitive magma along with degassing will eventually lead to an eruption. The absence of crystal zoning indicates a limited chance of magma mixing or crustal contamination. Oxides related to the eruption tend to comprise a low titanium content, which is related with an increased pressure condition. Geospeedometry suggested that recharge occurred up to 10 days before eruption. Erupted oxides shows up to 30 years residence which suggest long-term crystal mush. Hekla är en av Islands mest aktiva och explosiva vulkan. Dess vulkaniska beteende grundar sig i det underliggande magma systemet samt kompositionen av magman. Unikt för Hekla är att det är en av få vulkaner på Island som producerar explosiv kiselrik magma. Hekla sänder dessutom inte ut tydliga varnings signaler innan utbrott. Det är därför av ...
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