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Announcing the recipients of the 2010 Kleinman Grants for Volcano Research
From: Dan Dzurisin kleinmangrants@xxxxxxxxxxx
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The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington announces that the following students have been awarded 2010 Kleinman Grants for Volcano Research. Jack Kleinman was a USGS employee at the David. A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory who died in a kayaking accident in 1994. By supporting field-oriented research projects in volcanology, the Kleinman Grants memorialize Jack’s exuberance for fieldwork, volcanoes, and the natural world. During the past 16 years, the program has helped dozens of aspiring volcanologists who seek to learn more about volcanoes and how they work.
Steven Shaw is an M.S. candidate in the Geology Department at Western Washington University who is working under the direction of Prof. Susan M. DeBari at WWU and Dr. Thomas W. Sison at USGS Regional Headquarters in Menlo Park, California As part of his thesis project entitled “H2O contents in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from primitive magmas in the Northern Cascade arc,” Steve will be measuring volatile contents and compositions of olivine-hosted melt inclusions in primitive basaltic lavas from Mount Baker and Glacier Peak, Washington. The primary objectives of his project are to: 1) measure initial magmatic volatile contents in order to support or potentially rule out decompression melting as the sole process of basalt magma generation in the northern Cascade arc; 2) help constrain the amount of compositional diversity due to thermal regime; 3) add to the growing dataset of primitive magma compositions along the Cascades arc; and 4) identify how much (if any) mixing between distinct reservoirs is occurring. Steve results should lead to better understanding of how basalt magma forms deep beneath the Cascade volcanic arc, which is at the “hottest” end of the worldwide arc spectrum in terms of subducting plate temperature. In addition, better understanding of initial magma composition at this hot end-member can be useful in understanding magma generation worldwide.
Kevin Weldon is a senior undergraduate in the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University , working under the direction of Prof. Shan de Silva at OSU and Dr. Julie Donnelly-Nolan at USGS Regional Headquarters in Menlo Park, California. His thesis project “ Zircon chronology of silicic lavas at Newberry Volcano , Oregon ” will investigate the development of Newberry’s silicic magmatic system by age dating of zircon crystals contained in the erupted lavas and in granitic inclusions. The zircon ages will be compared with the eruptive ages of silicic domes and flows, thus providing information about the evolution of the magmatic system as well as duration of build up to the eruption event. Geological evidence supports that there is a magma body located beneath Newberry, but it is not known whether a large silicic magma body is or has been present, such that the silicic eruptions represent episodic tapping of a long-lived system, or whether small discrete short-lived bodies may have existed at different locations under the central part of the volcano. It seems unlikely that the rhyolitic eruptions are derived from small isolated magma chambers because of the homogeneous compositions of young rhyolite lavas. Kevin proposes to address this issue using uranium/lead and uranium/thorium age dating techniques on zircon as a measure of the age of the magmatic system.
Amanda Pera is an M.S. candidate in the Geology Department at San Jose State University . Her co-advisors are Prof. Jonathan Miller at SJSU and Drs. Darcy McPhee and Margaret T. Mangan, both at USGS Regional Headquarters in Menlo Park , California . Amanda’s thesis is entitled “A 2D structural model of the Mono-Inyo volcanic chain, Mono Basin , California.” Her project involves the analysis and modeling of regional gravity and magnetic data, including new gravity data that Amanda will collect as part of her field work. Studies show that, among several systems that form the Long Valley volcanic region in eastern California , the Mono-Inyo Craters volcanic chain holds the greatest potential for renewed magmatic activity. Previous geophysical studies of the region date from the 1960s to 1980s, and there have been considerable technological advances since that time that will allow Amanda to take a fresh look at this important volcanic system. The goal of her project is to constrain the density distribution, stratification, and structural geology of the Mono-Inyo Craters volcanic chain. She plans to produce an isostatic gravity map and a magnetic anomaly map, to interpret and model those data, and to develop a structural model of Mono-Inyo Craters. Results of her work will be used as a foundation for dynamic modeling of the area and for future studies.
Joel Unema is an M.S. candidate at the School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University . He is working under the supervision of Prof. Michael Ort on a thesis project entitled “Reconstructing the 2008 Okmok Eruption.” Okmok is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian Arc, which is one of the most active volcanic regions on Earth. Okmok has erupted fourteen times since 1817, most recently in summer 2008. The objective of Joel’s project is to reconstruct the eruption sequence of the 2008 Okmok eruption through stratigraphic and sedimentological work to determine the level of water-magma interaction throughout the eruption. He will collaborate with a team from the Alaska Volcano Observatory, including Drs. Jessica Larsen, Christina Neal, and Janet Schaefer. They hope to combine Joel’s stratigraphic work with geophysical and geological information gathered by the AVO team to better understand eruption controls, the mechanism for fine ash production, and why there was little precursory activity to warn of the eruption. Joel and his adviser will spend 3 weeks at Okmok with the AVO team during summer 2010 collecting samples and making field observations. The samples will be analyzed at NAU to determine grain size distribution, shape, and surface features indicative of magma-water interaction.
Isobel Sides is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge . Her thesis project is entitled “Magma degassing during explosive volcanic eruptions at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii : Evidence from melt inclusions.” Isobel’s co-advisers are Drs. Marie Edmonds and John Maclennan, and she is collaborating with Drs. Donald A. Swanson and Michael P. Poland at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. A primary goal of her research is to determine whether variations have occurred in the volatile concentrations of parental melts supplying Kilauea over time, and if so, what impact these variations may have had on dictating eruption style and shallow degassing processes. She will collect tephra samples from several Kilauea eruptions and analyze olivine-hosted melt inclusions to: (1) quantify the pre-eruptive volatile concentrations of the parental melts and mantle source region supplying Kilauea magmas; (2) examine whether large explosive eruptions might be driven by deep exsolution and rapid vesiculation of more CO2-rich melts; (3) formulate degassing models for these eruptions and calculate their associated CO2 and H2O flux; and (4) assess the role of shallow processes operating during summit eruptions such as melt mixing, gas flushing and convection.
Congratulations to this year’s Kleinman Grant recipients! We look forward to hearing about your results at scientific meetings and reading about them in the research literature.
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