The Effect of Cracks and a Steam Cap on Hydrothermal Eruptions

The shock-tube model for a hydrothermal eruption in a geothermal reservoir (Fullard and Lynch, Trans Porous Med, 2011 ) is used to simulate eruptions that have a steam phase present near the surface in the form of a steam cap or a large crack. Simulations are performed with various steam cap/crack depths and it is shown that the presence of a steam phase greatly reduces the size of an eruption. We show that a steam cap type eruption is physically unlikely because of the large pressure differences required, but conclude that rock cracking is potentially a viable initiation mechanism for a hydrothermal eruption.