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PREFACE 
NEW ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR UNDERSTANDING VOLCANIC SYSTEMS, 
FROM MAGMA GENERATION TO THE EMPLACEMENT OF VOLCANIC PRODUCTS 
The development of new bi- and tri-dimensional (2D, 3D) analytical techniques of volcanic materials rep-
resents a new frontier in the world of modern volcanology. These advances not only offer important and 
reliable information on, e.g., magma vesiculation, degassing, and crystallization processes but can also 
shade light on the transport and sedimentation processes in volcanic flows (e.g. pyroclastic density cur-
rents, volcanic clouds). Hence, these novel approaches have the potential to contribute both to the un-
derstanding eruption dynamics towards volcanic hazard quantification. 
 

In this special issue, vol. 61, Supplement to No. 6, 2018, of Annals of Geophysics, we present 4 contributions focused on 

the application of both 2D and 3D analytical techniques, addressing the following main topics: 

- A X-Ray microtomography morphological and textural analyses on volcanic particles in order to study how particle 

shape is influenced by their internal structures; 

- A new freeware tool, PARTIcal Shape ANalyzer (PARTISAN), for 2D morphometric analysis, to study and archive re-

sults of particle shape analyses, opening the way towards an inter-group effort for a standardized 2D description of par-

ticle shape;  

- Textural and chemical characterization of crustal xenolithics embedded in lavas by combining different analytical tech-

niques (XRF, SEM-EDS, two-dimensional observation and 3D imaging by Synchrotron X-ray microtomography) to 

provide information on the lithology of the volcano basement and the process occurring during magma ascent; 

- A multi-technique approach (Field emission-Scanning Elecrotn Microscopy, Electron Microprobe Analysis, X-ray power 

diffraction and 3D imaging by X-ray micro-tomography) for understanding the formation mechanism of accretionary 

lapilli. 

 

We thank and congratulate all of the contributors for their valuable contributions, which show the potential of new 

emerging technologies in the understanding of volcanic processes.  

 

 

 
Daniela MELE 

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy 
 

Fabio DIOGUARDI 
British Geological Survey, The Lyell Centre, Edinburgh, United Kingdom 

 
Mattia de’ MICHIELI VITTURI 

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy 

 
 

ANNALS OF GEOPHYSICS, 61, 6 SUP, 2018; doi: 10.4401/ag-8226