Collaborative Research: Using the Products of Volcano-Ice Interaction to Constrain Paleo-Ice Conditions

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This is an integrated volcanological, sedimentological, geochemical and geochronological study of mafic and intermediate-silicic glaciovolcanic and glacial deposits from the Edziza Volcanic Complex (EVC), in northern British Columbia, Canada to both constrain variations in Pleistocene ice conditions in this region and to develop the methodology of using such a multi-disciplinary study as a proxy for paleo-ice conditions/paleoclimate elsewhere in the world. This project will develop a methodology based on integrating datasets from glaciovolcanic and glaciogenic facies analysis, volatile and H-isotope analysis of volcanic glass, and precise 40Ar/39Ar geochronology that could be used to constrain Pleistocene ice conditions in British Columbia, and in many other glaciated volcanic areas, such as the Cascades, the Andes, Iceland, west Antarctica and Siberia. North-central British Columbia is a key area for understanding the dynamics of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), as models suggest that this area lay close to the central and thickest part of the CIS during the Last Glacial Maximum and was also located along a major ice divide. The processes and products of mafic glaciovolcanism are well documented, but those of intermediate-silicic glaciovolcanism are much less well known. This project will significantly increase our understanding of this style of volcano-ice interaction. Studies of volcano-ice interaction on Earth also help our understanding of deposits and edifices generated by magma-ice interaction on Mars, which are recognized as significant astrobiological targets.