Collaborative Research: Investigating out-of sequence magmatism and mantle plume-lithosphere interactions adjacent to the Snake River plain (U.S.A.)

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Volcanic eruptions are significant hazards and drivers of societal and environmental change. Continental hotspot eruptions are the soures of the largest documented eruptions on Earth. Hotspot magmatism is recognized in part on identification of a linear chain of volcanoes that becomes younger opposite the direction of plate motion. These age-progressions may be unclear when volcanism along a hotspot “track” does not temporally fit in the age progression and is therefore, out of sequence and at times, off-axis. The Snake River Plain-Yellowstone (SRPY) volcanic province (Wyoming-Montana-Idaho, including Yellowstone National Park) is the classic example of continental hotspot magmatism, and major SRPY “supervolcano” eruptions are well documented. Small-volume volcanoes exist adjacent to the SRPY, however. This project will investigate these out of sequence volcanoes to provide an analog to better identify hotspots in the geological record, yield new constraints on how the Yellowstone hotspot interacts with North America, and be used to help refine models for the origin and eruptive history of volcanism associated with this hotspot. The findings have implications for continental hotspot volcanic hazard assessments. Student training and public outreach are also key aspects of this project. A multidisciplinary approach will be employed to unravel the spatial-temporal magmatic history adjacent to the youngest part of the SRPY hotspot track, including field mapping focused on the relations between structures and igneous activity, geochronology, and geochemistry. These data will allow the research team to: [1] determine the temporal-spatial history of out-of-sequence volcanism adjacent to the SRPY; [2] define the mantle and crustal contributions to this out of sequence and off-axis volcanism; [3] decipher the links between syn-magmatic extension, SRPY magmatism and the out of sequence and off-axis volcanism. The proposed study will provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to learn a diverse suite of field, presentation, and laboratory skills. Curriculum for GeoFORCE, a Native Alaskan STEM education program, will be created and taught. GeoFORCE participants shall visit Yellowstone National Park. Scientific advances made during this project will be communicated to the public via collaboration with the Dubois Museum through public talks and field trips, the development of a geological guide of the upper Wind River basin (WY), and via news articles published globally on the web and in local newspapers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.