  Aims: To investigate the relationship between surges and magnetic
reconnection during the emergence of small-scale active regions. In particular,
to examine how the large-scale geometry of the magnetic field, shaped by
different phases of reconnection, guides the flowing of surges. Methods: We
present three flux emergence models. The first model, and the simplest,
consists of a region emerging into a horizontal ambient field that is initially
parallel to the top of the emerging region. The second model is the same as the
first but with an extra smaller emerging region which perturbs the main region.
This is added to create a more complex magnetic topology and to test how this
complicates the development of surges compared to the first model. The last
model has a non-uniform ambient magnetic field to model the effects of
emergence near a sunspot field and impose asymmetry on the system through the
ambient magnetic field. At each stage, we trace the magnetic topology to
identify the locations of reconnection. This allows for field lines to be
plotted from different topological regions, highlighting how their geometry
affects the development of surges. Results: In the first model, we identify
distinct phases of reconnection. Each phase is associated with a particular
geometry for the magnetic field and this determines the paths of the surges.
The second model follows a similar pattern to the first but with a more complex
magnetic topology and extra eruptions. The third model highlights how an
asymmetric ambient field can result in preferred locations for reconnection,
subsequently guiding the direction of surges.
