Work Package 18 provides Trans-National (TNA) and Virtual Accesses (VA) to a suite of numerical codes at the Volcano Dynamics Computational Centre (VDCC) – INGV Pisa that tackle different aspects of volcano dynamics from the magma chamber to the atmosphere.

Trans-National accesses are offered by means of training and supervision in the use of selected numerical models, including definition of the simulation(s) objective and setup, simulation runs and analysis of post-processed results. 

The models available through TNA are either HPC, transient multi-dimensional transport models or fast-performing, simplified models. In the first category, accesses are provided to:

• GALES (GAlerkin Least Squares) – dynamics of muliphase, multicomponent magmatic systems;
• PDAC (Pyroclastic Dispersal Analysis Code) – multiphase flow simulation of explosive eruption scenarios (volcanic plumes and pyroclastic density currents);
• ASHEE (ASH Equilibrium Eulerian) – explosive eruptions, from the buoyant plume column down to the turbulent dilute part of pyroclastic density currents.

Fast-performing models solve the dynamics of magma ascent and eruption for specific volcanic phenomena and under simplifying assumptions which guarantee sufficient accuracy for a large range of applications, with small computational times:

• CONDUIT4 – fluid dynamics of magma ascent along volcanic conduits;
• MrLavaLoba – probabilistic  lava flow simulation;
• PLUME-MoM – steady-state integral volcanic plume model.

Virtual Access offers the opportunity to anyone with a web access to use online tools related to volcanological research. This installation provides virtual access (and download) to three numerical codes sufficiently fast to be run interactively:

• solwcad – non-ideal, multi-component, compositional-dependent saturation surface of H₂O+CO₂ in silicate melts over P-T-composition conditions relevant to magmatism and volcanism;
• MAMMA –  conservative model for magma ascent in a volcanic conduit, described as a compressible multi-component two-phase flow;
• PyBOX – “box model” equations describing the kinematics of a pyroclastic density current over a flat surface and in a steady atmosphere.

The first call for TNAs had two proposals, both were accepted and the accesses have been offered during summer 2019 (see relative pages for more detail).

CO₂-flux: CO₂ flushing in volcanic reservoirs. Paper in preparation, follow-up TNA foreseen for summer 2020.

COL2PDC: generation and propagation of pyroclastic density currents over the sea. Follow-up TNA foreseen for summer 2020.

WP progress and accomplishments:

The VAs have been very successful. More than 500 single-users have been counted, from all over the world – majority from EU and US, but also from Africa and Asia.