| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 17, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 17, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1940266 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jennifer Wade
jwade@nsf.gov (703)292-4739 EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | April 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $100,969.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $100,969.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
21 N PARK ST STE 6301 MADISON WI US 53715-1218 (608)262-3822 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1215 W Dayton Street Madison WI US 53706-1692 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Petrology and Geochemistry |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Utah has experienced dozens of volcanic eruptions over the last 3 million years. The chemical compositions of these lavas has varied, and eruptions have been both explosive and effusive. These differences in composition and eruptive style often have occurred within the small geographic area over narrow timespans. This work seeks to resolve the timing of eruptions and understand the processes associated with the magma bodies that ultimately produced such a wide variety of compositions. The project will provide opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research, including sample collection, traveling to multiple laboratories, and presenting their work at international meetings. It will also provide training to K-12 educators in Utah; these will focus on volcanic processes and will be held in conjunction with the Utah Society for Environmental Education.
Over the last decade, improved accuracy and precision of Ar/Ar dating coupled with zircon petrochronology (the combination of morphological, textural, geochemical, and geochronologic data) has allowed for improved understanding of the evolution of magma chambers prior to eruption, and connecting these processes to bimodal volcanic fields. Most of the recent petrochronology studies have focused on understanding melt extraction and differentiation trends in large-volume magmas or magmas within large silicic volcanic fields, both of which often result in super-eruptions or solidified batholiths. This project will expand the scope of petrochronologic applications by examining magmatic processes in small, monogenetic volcanic fields in central Utah, and by comparing those to the proposed magma dynamics that drive super-eruptions like those at Yellowstone.
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.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Fifty-eight new ages, spanning the last 3.5 million years, have been obtained for the Black Rock Desert (BRD) volcanic field of central Utah. Dating of these units has significantly improved upon our knowledge of the eruptive history of the BRD volcanoes as well as the timing of faulting in the region. Several of the new ages constrain some of the youngest volcanism in the state of Utah. Our results indicate that the volcanic activity has generally migrated towards the NNE over the last 2-3 million years at rates consistent with the movement of the North American plate. Using novel techniques on tiny accessory minerals, we have determined that the explosive BRD magmas that are high in silica endured a complex history of growth, storage, and recycling in the crust. Although the timescales over which these magmas were assembled is similar to much larger magma bodies like those at Yellowstone. We created a series of learning modules in Google Classroom for K-12 instructors to use. In addition, we developed a website (brdvolcanoes.org) and a virtual field trip, which contains images of rock sampling sites to Google Street View so that anyone can become familiar with the various volcanic features of the region or learn about Utah’s recent and ancient volcanism.
Last Modified: 04/19/2024
Modified by: Brian Jicha
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