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成分的基本问题。这项工作在促进我们对与火山爆发有关的地质灾害的理解方面具有社会意义。它涉及对以前收集的海底火山岩进行一系列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演化到高硅含量的机制。新开发的同位素技术将被用来检验这一新的假设，即高硅质岩浆是通过与岩浆室顶部岩浆透镜的持续温度梯度相关的基于岩浆的扩散输送过程形成的。这一假说与更传统的同化分离结晶作为导致岩浆成分分异的主要过程的机制背道而驰。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。这项工作的成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.