ANR MYGALE: Modelling the phYsical and chemical Gradients of hydrothermal ALteration for warning systems of flank collapse at Explosive volcanoes

Project funded by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), under grant “ANR- 21-CE49-0010 (project MYGALE)”

Hydrothermal alteration, common to many volcanoes worldwide, is often invoked as a mechanism that contributes significantly to volcano instability. Several papers have highlighted that hydrothermal alteration has or can weaken a volcanic slope sufficiently to promote collapse, and rare experimental studies have highlighted that hydrothermal alteration can reduce rock strength. The shape and size of the altered zone and/or the rock properties used to model the relation between alteration and volcano instability are poorly constrained. Further, few is known in terms of how quickly an altered zone within a volcano can expand, and how this future expansion will impact volcano stability. The MYGALE ANR project aims to address these issues. La Soufrière de Guadeloupe, located in the Eastern Caribbean (France), not only serves as an ideal natural laboratory for such a study, but recent unrest at the volcano also demands immediate action.