Collaborative Research: Spatial and Temporal Growth of Upper Crustal Intrusions, Henry Mountains, Utah

该项目的目的是利用犹他州南部亨利山脉浅层地壳火成岩侵入体的特殊暴露，详细研究由多个岩浆脉冲构成的岩体的时空生长。由于这些侵入体是在构造平静期形成的，因此它们在很大程度上没有复杂的构造构造，而且可以对与岩浆侵位有关的特定变量进行评估，这在许多其他地质环境中是很难做到的。亨利山脉的五个独立侵入体中心都保留了浅构造火成岩系统的不同演化阶段，从一个主要由岩脉组成的小体积体到一个由几十个相对较大的侵入体组成的完全成熟体。该项目的重点是对其中三个侵入性中心进行详细研究：分别处于早期、中度和晚期发育阶段。利用这些侵入中心的数据场、地球化学、地质年代学和古地磁资料，构建了浅层火成岩杂岩的一般构造模型。将数据纳入地理信息系统，促进了数据的综合和数据安置模型的建立。最后，利用收集到的数据约束条件，将为每个侵入中心创建一系列全三维模型，以研究复合侵入在空间和时间上的生长。这项研究将促进我们对火成岩侵入体如何在浅层地壳中生长的理解。这些侵入体之所以重要，有许多原因，包括它们为火山爆发提供了燃料，它们是地热田的储热器，与侵入体相关的流体是经济矿床的重要来源。该项目旨在进一步了解：(1)浅层火成岩系统管道系统的几何形状；(2)这些系统如何随着岩浆脉冲的顺序侵入而演化；(3)岩浆侵入率及其时空变异性；(4)岩浆脉冲在不同时空尺度上的表现，结构，地球化学等。该项目是东卡罗莱纳大学、纽约州立大学Geneseo分校和中密歇根大学研究人员的合作成果。除了该项目的科学目标外，该研究还为所有三所大学的STEM学科研究生和本科生提供培训，研究结果将用于开发教学、研究和推广资源。

The goal of this project is to take advantage of the exceptional exposures of shallow crustal igneous intrusions in the Henry Mountains of southern Utah to study in detail the spatial and temporal growth of plutons constructed from multiple magma pulses. Because the intrusions were emplaced during a tectonic lull, they are largely free of complicating tectonic structures and specific variables related to magma emplacement can be evaluated, some that is difficult to in many other geologic settings. Each of the five separate intrusive centers in the Henry Mountains preserves a different stage of the evolution of a shallowly constructed igneous system, ranging from a small-total-volume body comprised mostly of dikes to a fully mature body comprised of dozens of relatively large intrusions. This project is focusing on detailed studies of three of these intrusive centers: one each at an early, moderate, and advanced stage of development. Using data field, geochemical, geochronogical, and paleomagnetic data from these intrusive centers, a general construction model for a shallow igneous complex is being constructed. Synthesis of the data and construction of models for data emplacement are being facilitated by the integration of data into geographic information system. Ultimately, a series of fully 3-D models for each intrusive center will be created using constraints from the collected data to study growth of the composite intrusions in space and time. This research will advance our understanding of how igneous intrusions grow in the shallow crust. These intrusions are important for many reasons, including that they feed volcanic eruptions, they serve as heat reservoirs for geothermal fields, and that fluids associated with the intrusions are an important souce of economic mineral deposits. This project is specifically designed to further our knowledge of: (1) the geometries of the plumbing system in shallow igneous systems, (2) how these systems evolve as magma pulses intrude sequentially, (3) magma intrusion rates and their variability in space and time, and (4) the manifestation of magma pulses at different spatial and temporal scales structurally, geochemically, etc. The project is a collaborative effort between researchers at Eastern Carolina University, SUNY College at Geneseo, and Central Michigan University. In addition to the scientific goals of the project, the research is providing for the training of graduate and undergraduate students in STEM disciplines at all three institutions and results of the study will be used for the development of resources for teaching, research, and outreach.