Volcanology Commons^™

Investigation Of Cryptotephra In Polar Ice Cores, Meredith Helmick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Volcanic ash (tephra) present within polar ice cores greatly supplements our understanding of past volcanism and its impacts on society and the state of the climate system. This thesis investigates the utility and limitations of ice core tephrochronology in answering questions related to volcanic source identification of ice core glaciochemical signals, tephrostratigraphy of an Antarctic ice core, and the timing of major and climate forcing eruptions. This thesis explores the efficacy of SEM-EDS measurements on ultra-fine (µm) volcanic particles for the purpose of geochemically characterizing a non-visible ice-embedded tephra and the subsequent identification of the volcanic source. In combination with …

Natural, Experimental, And Educational Explorations Of The Interiors Of Terrestrial Planetary Bodies, Nadine L. Grambling

Doctoral Dissertations

Planetary interiors are enigmatic, inaccessible, and vital to the processes that have formed the rocks we see on the surface of bodies in the inner Solar System today. Based on geophysical explorations of the Moon and Earth, along with information gleaned from rocks at the surface today, there is understanding of the basic structure and processes at depth. Using a combination of natural samples and experimental studies, we attempt to learn more about the physical conditions beneath the surface, and their effect on material properties and tectonics processes in the mantle.

On Earth, mid-ocean ridge processes have long been debated, …

Sulfur Behavior In The 1257 Ce Samalas Magma (Lombok, Indonesia) As Revealed By Volcanic Apatite, Yasmin Jackson

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Explosive volcanic eruptions can inject massive amounts of volatiles, including SO₂ and H₂S, into the stratosphere, inducing drastic tropospheric cooling via sulfate aerosols. Greenland and Antarctic ice cores record evidence of these substantial releases of SO₂ and H₂S, including the massive release during the ultraplinian 1257 CE Samalas eruption. The 1257 CE Samalas eruption is estimated to have released ~158 Tg of SO₂, making it the largest volcanogenic release of SO₂ within the last 2000 years. Vidal et al. (2016) propose that most of this sulfur (S) was hosted in a …

A Transformer-Based Classification System For Volcanic Seismic Signals, Anthony P. Rinaldi, Cindy Mora Stock, Cristián Bravo Roman, Alexander Hemming

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Monitoring volcanic events as they occur is a task that, to this day, requires significant human capital. The current process requires geologists to monitor seismographs around the clock, making it extremely labour-intensive and inefficient. The ability to automatically classify volcanic events as they happen in real-time would allow for quicker responses to these events by the surrounding communities. Timely knowledge of the type of event that is occurring can allow these surrounding communities to prepare or evacuate sooner depending on the magnitude of the event. Up until recently, not much research has been conducted regarding the potential for machine learning …

Differentiating Fissure-Fed Lava Flow Types And Facies Using Radar And Lidar: An Example From The 2014–2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field, Gavin Douglas Tolometti, Catherine D. Neish, Christopher W. Hamilton, Gordon R. Osinski, Antero Kukko, Joana R.C. Voigt

Earth Sciences Publications

Distinguishing between lava types and facies using remote sensing data is important for interpreting the emplacement history of lava flow-fields on Earth and other planetary bodies. Lava facies typically include a mixture of lava types and record the collective emplacement history of material preserved at a particular location. We seek to determine if lava facies in the 2014–2015 Holuhraun lava flow-field are discernible using radar roughness analysis. Furthermore, we also seek to distinguish between lava types using high resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. We extracted circular polarization ratios (CPR) from the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar and …

Geochronological And Geochemical Investigation Into Rhyolite Volcanism Of The High Lava Plains And Columbia River Basalt Group Provinces Of Eastern Oregon, Usa, Vanessa Marie Swenton

Dissertations and Theses

Voluminous and widespread bimodal volcanism has significantly impacted the Pacific Northwest, USA, throughout the Miocene to present day. The two primary volcanic provinces of eastern Oregon include the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) province and the High Lava Plains (HLP) trend. The magmatic and tectonic processes responsible for generating bimodal volcanism, and particularly rhyolites of the ~17-15 Ma CRBG and 12-0 Ma HLP provinces has recently been a popular topic of debate. Rhyolite volcanism of the HLP province has been ascribed to either buoyancy-driven westward plume spreading or to slab rollback and mantle convection spanning from southeast Oregon to Newberry …

Pre-Eruptive Magma Configurations And Petrogenetic Relationships Of The Rattlesnake Tuff, Oregon–Insights From Spectacularly Banded High-Silica Rhyolite Pumices, Vanessa M. Swenton, Martin J. Streck

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 7.1Ma Rattlesnake Tuff (RST) of eastern Oregon is a widespread and voluminous (>300 km3) ignimbrite composed of 99% crystal poor (≤1%) high-silica rhyolite (HSR) and

Understanding Hydrogen Variations In Silicate Glasses As A Result Of Degassing: Fire-Fountaining On The Moon And Earth, Erin M. Recchuiti

Masters Theses

Volatiles, particularly hydrogen, play a key role in volcanic eruptions, especially explosive eruptions like fire-fountaining [e.g., Saal et al. 2002; Dixon 1997; Arndt & von Engelhardt 1987; Yoder 1976]. Discerning volatile abundance and behavior during ascent and eruption can aid in understanding the source melt and primary volatile content of planetary interiors. Volcanic glasses are samples closest to the primary melt, as they quench quickly enough to limit fractionation or crystallization. This is paramount for volatile studies, especially pertaining to water as its constituents are oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is the most volatile element and one of the first to …

The Significance Of A New 11,000-Year Volcanic Record From The South Pole And Inferences From Comparisons With Other Volcanic Records, Derek Lee Brandis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Snow accumulation at the polar regions of the planet preserves chemical substances from the atmosphere creating natural archives. Records of the atmospheric environment including atmospheric chemical composition and the climate can be reconstructed from ice cores from the polar ice sheets. Sulfur emitted by explosive volcanic eruptions is preserved as sulfate in polar snow and can be used to reconstruct the record of volcanic eruptions. Since large volcanic eruptions impact the environment and climate, records of volcanic eruptions from ice cores can help us to study and understand climate change and model the future climate environment. A 1750-m ice core …

Structural And Petrologic Insights Into The Emplacement Of Effusive Silicic Lavas: Inyo Domes, California, Shelby L. Isom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Long Valley volcanic region, eastern California, USA is most famous for the caldera-forming eruption which produced the Bishop Tuff ~760,000 years ago. Over the last 3,000 years volcanism has been focused in the western margin of the region through punctuated eruptions of silicic lavas and domes. Three simultaneous effusive silicic eruptions, ~600 years ago, generated three lava domes: Obsidian Dome; Glass Creek Dome; and Deadman Dome which erupted onto vastly different topographies. These domes are exceptionally unique as they erupted variable amounts of two textural and chemical endmember lavas (crystal-rich and crystal-poor) that intimately mixed. The overarching goal of …

Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster Magma Evolution And Magma Plumbing System Architecture During The Gordo Stage (6-4 Ma), Kasey Lynn Buckley

MSU Graduate Theses

Aucanquilcha Volcanic Cluster (AVC) is an 11 m.y. volcanic system in the central Andes that is evolving over four distinct stages of activity. Stages include the Aloncha (11-8 Ma), Gordo (6-4 Ma), Polán (4-2 Ma), and Aucanquilcha (Ma) stages. The AVC evolved from a series of magmatic underpinnings during the Aloncha Stage to a larger zone of melting, assimilation, storage, and homogenization (MASH) by the Polán Stage. The transition from smaller underpinnings to MASH zones began during the Gordo Stage. At ~5-2 Ma the AVC reached thermal maturity before beginning its volcanic death during the Aucanquilcha Stage. This study focuses …

Thermomechanical Evolution Of A Magmatic System During A Caldera Cycle: Okataina Volcanic Center, New Zealand, Jacob Bonessi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Caldera forming eruptions represent some of the largest simultaneous releases of mass and energy on the planet and pose a looming risk on a global scale. The study of the underlying magmatic systems is integral in understanding what leads to these large eruptions. This approach pairs a suite of major and trace element profiles from plagioclase with a grain texture classification and statistical analysis using Polytopic Vector Analysis (PVA) as proxies to explore potential changes in the thermomechanical state of the magmatic system at Okataina Volcanic Complex (OVC), New Zealand through its most recent caldera cycle. Results indicate systematic changes …

A Global Survey Of Volcanic So2 Emissions And Heat Flux Measured From Space, Nelmary Rodríguez-Sepúlveda

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Over the past two decades, the availability of satellite measurements of volcanic gas emissions and heat flux has driven the development of new methodologies to improve global-scale volcano monitoring. In this work we explored the relationship between volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions and radiant heat flux (RHF) measurements from NASA’s Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), respectively, to gain insight into how it associates to volcanic processes and eruption styles. The OMI SO₂ emissions data are derived from existing databases developed by using the methodology in Fioletov et al. (2016), which contain global, …

Chemical And Thermal Influence On Intermediate Magma Storage Conditions: Volcán Ollagüe, Chile-Bolivia, Central Andes, Drew Allen Laviada-Garmon

MSU Graduate Theses

Continental arc volcanoes are the single best portrayal of the evolution of recycled earth material stemming from subduction, one of the most important and foundational phenomena in global tectonics. Understanding the genesis of intermediate-composition magmas produced at arc volcanoes is a difficult process making them a focal point for investigation. Geochemical investigation of zircon and plagioclase mineral phases erupted from continental arcs can provide insight into magma process, generation, storage conditions, timescales and differentiation of sub-volcanic plumbing systems prior to eruption events. The Central Volcanic Zone is a prime example of continental arc volcanism through subduction, and is host to …

Disequilibrium Melting Of The Continental Crust During Emplacement Of The Mt. Princeton Batholith, Central Colorado Volcanic Field, Loren A. Bohannon

MSU Graduate Theses

Assimilation and crystallization are difficult to constrain at magmatic boundaries, including the interactions of magma with the surrounding country rock. The assumption of the relationship between a magma and what it is intruding upon is relegated to homogenous bodies or epizonal plutons. Realistically, wall rock influences chemical heterogeneity and isotopic variance at the outcrop scale and changes depending on distance from the magma-wall rock interface. Here, we present a case study of the 35 Ma Mt. Princeton Batholith and the host Precambrian rocks of the Central Colorado Volcanic Field. We assess chemical heterogeneity by whole rock and mineral trace element …

Environmental And Societal Impacts In New England Following A Potential Yellowstone Eruption, Serena L. Butler

Honors Theses and Capstones

Yellowstone National Park is famously known for its history of “super-volcano” eruptions. From the evidence of volcanic deposits, scientists know that the ash cloud that erupted from Yellowstone covered most of the western U.S. states, but until recently, models have not shown the ash could also have reached eastern states. The scope of this investigation is to determine what would happen to New England if Yellowstone were to erupt today in terms of health, agriculture, transportation, relocation, economy, and climate. In order to do so, three significant eruptions during human history are considered as case studies in order to compare …

Geochemical Investigation Of Monogenetic Volcanoes From The Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea, Alaska, Clayton L. Reinier

MSU Graduate Theses

Small-volume basaltic magmas found at continental intraplate environments have not been as extensively studied compared to their polygenetic counterparts. Specifically, regions such as the Bering Sea basalt province, described as a diffuse igneous province, have commonly been overlooked. Assumptions that these systems are invoked by simple, single batches of magma has subsequently left a gap in understanding the processes responsible for primary magma generation away from plate boundaries with little tectonic influence. The following studies that constitute this thesis focus on an in-depth geochemical investigation at the crystal and sub-crystal scale to evaluate lithospheric mantle heterogeneities, processes that govern primary …

Using Sedimentary Mercury Geochemistry To Evaluate The Niagara-Salina Transition, Silurian Michigan Basin, Usa, Sara Hayes

Masters Theses

The Niagara-Salina boundary in the Michigan Basin is marked by an abrupt transition from carbonates to evaporites. Though the cause is uncertain, previous work suggests the onset of Salina evaporites was driven by basin restriction, but the presence of several global carbon isotope excursions (CIE) suggest a global driver. This study builds on this discussion using two relatively new geochemical proxies - elemental mercury concentrations [Hg] and Hg isotopes.

Mercury concentrations [Hg] were measured in 88 samples from the State Kalkaska #2-15 core from 6604.03 ft to 6797.42 ft. [Hg] ranges from 0.11 to 0.62 mg/kg and [Hg]/TOC from 0.038 …

Tracking Secondary Lahar Flow Paths And Characterizing Pulses And Surges Using Infrasound Array Networks At Volcán De Fuego, Guatemala, Ashley R. Bosa, Jeffrey B. Johnson, Silvio De Angelis, John J. Lyons, Amilcar Roca, Jacob F. Anderson, Amando Pineda

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lahars are one of the greatest hazards at many volcanoes, including Volcán de Fuego (Guatemala). On 1 December 2018 at 8:00 pm local Guatemala time (~2:06:00 UTC), an hour-long lahar event was detected at Volcán de Fuego by two permanent seismo-acoustic stations along the Las Lajas drainage on the southeast side. To establish the timing, duration, and speed of the lahar, infrasound array records were examined to identify both the source direction(s) and the correlated energy fluctuations at the two stations. Co-located seismic and acoustic signals were also examined, which indicated at least five distinct energy pulses within the lahar …

Timescales Of Magma Transport In The Columbia River Flood Basalts, Determined By Paleomagnetic Data, Joseph Biasi, Leif Karlstrom

Other Staff Materials

Flood basalts represent major events in Earth History, in part because they are linked to large climate perturbations and mass extinctions. However, the durations of individual flood basalt eruptions, which directly impact potential environmental crises, are poorly constrained. Here we use a combination of paleomagnetic data and thermal modeling to create a magnetic geothermometer (MGT) that can constrain the active transport lifetime of magmatic conduits and intrusions. We apply the MGT technique to eight feeder dike segments of the Columbia River basalts (CRB), demonstrating that some dike segments were actively heating host rocks for less than one month, while other …