Peleʹs hairs and tears: Natural probe of volcanic plume

We present a detailed petrographic study of Peleʹs hairs and tears sampled from Masaya volcano (Nicaragua). This study provides new observations of these little-known pyroclastic objects using both secondary electron images (SEI) and back scattering electron images (BSEI). Our work shows that Peleʹs tears can be associated with Peleʹs hairs after their formation: tears can be trapped on the walls and/or in the cavities of Peleʹs hairs. Moreover, chemical investigations of the Peleʹs hairs and tears highlight the presence of a chemical zonation. The edge of these tears and hairs show a siliceous enrichment, allowing us to quantify the interaction time of the silicate glass with acid gases in the volcanic plume. This study confirms the syneruptive and post eruptive volatile exsolution from Peleʹs hairs and tears.