Collaborative Research: Investigating MORB differentiation through non-traditional stable isotope analyses

这项研究旨在回答有关岩浆系统如何运作以及岩浆如何改变组成的基本问题。这项工作在促进我们对与爆炸性火山爆发有关的地质灾害的理解方面具有社会相关性。它包括对先前收集的海底火山岩进行一套全面的实验室实验和地球化学分析，以了解这些岩浆在岩浆室中从低硅含量到高硅含量的演化机制。新开发的同位素技术将用于验证高硅岩浆通过岩浆扩散传输过程形成的新假设，该过程与岩浆室顶部岩浆透镜的持续温度梯度有关。这一假设与更传统的同化分馏结晶机制相反，同化分馏结晶是导致岩浆成分分异的主要过程。这项工作的更广泛影响包括培训和研究的整合，涉及研究生，博士后研究员，本科生和中学生。这项工作的结果将被纳入大学的岩石学、地球化学和数值模拟课程。

This research is designed to answer basic questions about how magmatic systems operate and how magmas change composition. The work is societally relevant in terms of advancing our understanding of geologic hazards associated explosive volcanic eruptions. It involves making a comprehensive set of laboratory experiments and geochemical analyses on previously collected ocean bottom volcanic rocks to understand the mechanism by which these magmas evolve in the magma chamber from low to high silica in content. Newly developed isotopic techniques will be used to test the novel hypothesis that high silica magmas form through magma based diffusional transport processes related to sustained temperature gradients across the magma lens at the top of the magma chamber. This hypothesis runs counter to the more traditionally invoked mechanism of assimilation fractional crystallization as the primary process causing the compositional differentiation of magmas. Broader impacts of the work include integration of training and research which involves a graduate student, a postdoctoral researcher, undergraduates, and middle school students. Results of the work will be incorporated into university courses in petrology, geochemistry and numerical modeling.