From expansion to collapse: Bubble and continuum multiscale modeling in open-system magmas

Abstract

Bubble growth in silicate melts drives significant volume expansion, which has a first order control on magma transport dynamics. When magmas are exposed to external environments, heat and volatile loss at free surfaces can reverse bubble growth, leading to shrinkage and complex feedbacks between diffusion, rheology, and flow. To resolve how magma flow controls, or is controlled by, bubble expansion, we couple a micro-mechanical model for volatile diffusion into individual bubbles, with a macro-scale thermal evolution and fluid flow of the surrounding magmatic suspension. This two-way coupling captures the co-evolution of bubble size, melt viscosity, and pressure gradients, allowing both growth and resorption to emerge naturally from local conditions. We identify distinct dynamical regimes governed by (i) bubble growth limited by (a) viscous resistance or (b) diffusion at the bubble scale, (ii) viscous transport of the suspension, (iii) outgassing through permeable porous networks and exposed magma-fluid interfaces, and (iv) thermal quenching. Across these regimes, thin, high-viscosity boundary layers arising from temperature and volatile concentration gradients play a central role in modulating flow and bubble evolution. The model is implemented in a flexible, modular numerical framework (Multiscale Vesiculation, Fluid flow, Failure, and Interaction Nonlinear model: MVFFIN) enabling extension to a wide range of systems and applications, including conduit flow and pyroclast evolution. By resolving the interplay between internal bubble dynamics and external boundary conditions, this approach provides a unified framework for understanding multiscale degassing and its impact on magmatic transport and fragmentation.