Arctic Frontiers 2012 – Energies of the High North

Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012 — Friday, January 27, 2012

Location: University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

Web: http://www.arcticfrontiers.com/

Includes the following talks:

Sverre Planke (planke@vbpr.no),  M. Trulsvik, S. Polteau, R. Myklebust, J.I. Faleide, F. Corfu and H. Svensen

Abstract: Three Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) have had a major impact on the basin development in the Barents Sea: (1) the End-Permian Siberian Traps about 250 Ma ago, (2) the early Cretaceous Barents Sea LIP about 120 Ma ago, and (3) the northeast Atlantic Igneous Province about 55 Ma ago. We have studied the formation, age, and impact of these three provinces using a combination of field work (Siberia, Greenland, Svalbard), seismic and potential field data interpretation (Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, northeast Greenland) and borehole data (Svalbard, Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea). The Siberian Traps volcanism likely caused the mass extinction at the end of the Paleozoic by eruption of a combination of poisonous magmatic and aureole gases. The environment also changed dramatically at this time. In the Barents Sea, the Permian rocks are dominantly evaporites, whereas the overlying Triassic sequences are mainly clastics. A major earliest Triassic delta developed in the southeastern Barents Sea, possibly linked to Siberian Traps uplift and erosion. Early Cretaceous igneous rocks are abundant in the Barents Sea region. The extent of the igneous province is about 700,000 km², with extrusive and intrusive rocks in the north (e.g., Svalbard, Franz Josef Land) and an extensive sill complex in the Eastern Barents Sea Basin. The igneous event was associated with major uplift along the northern margin, and southward prograding clastic sequences are present both onshore and offshore in the Barents Sea. New geochronology (U/Pb on zircons) data show that the igneous event was short-lived, and occurred in the Barremian or Early Aptian. The Paleogene continental breakup in the northeast Atlantic and Arctic was associated with massive igneous activity. The volcanism triggered global warming, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, in a greenhouse world. The Arctic areas were warm, as documented by subtropical terrestrial and marine fossils. In the Barents Sea, Paleogene igneous rocks are present along the western margin, e.g., in the Vestbakken Volcanic Province. The continental breakup lead to localized uplift along the sheared margin, forming transform margin highs.

Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG) Fieldtrip

Date: Monday, March 26, 2012 — Monday, April 2, 2012

Location: Gran Canaria

Web: http://web2.ges.gla.ac.uk/VMSG/Gran_Canaria_2012.pdf

Through the Inside of a Volcano!

Leaders: Valentil Troll (valentin.troll@geo.uu.se), Abigail Barker (abigail.barker@geo.uu.se)

Contact for registration and payment: Kate Dobson (vmsg.secretary@gmail.com)

Other enquiries: grancanaria2012@gmail.com

Details:

Registration, deposit, payment:

Early booking is necessary to keep prices low, so express your interest as soon as possible! Final registra­tion and deposit of £ 100 by 31st October 2011, final payment by 31st December. Full refunds only possible if your place can be filled, minimum number of registrations needed to run the trip.

Important notes:

Fitness level required for up to full day hikes, up to 2000m changes in altitude per day and sudden change of weather; standard field equipment for hot desert and cold mountain climate, no hammer needed; flights to Gran Canaria must be individually arranged by participants. *Costs: Prices are calculated at the current exchange rate. If exchange rates have changed by the time of final payment, the final payment will be revised. Please contact Kate Dobson if you have any queries.

Itinerary:

Day 1. Arrival/meeting at Las Palmas airport of Gran Canaria (LPA), transfer to accomodation place in Mas­palomas, S-Gran Canaria.

Day 2. Miocene Shield basalts and ignimbrite succession. Topics; lava flows, feeder dykes, glowing ava­lanche deposits (ignimbrites), explosive eruptions from zoned magma chambers.

Day 3. Fataga ignimbrite succession in Grand Canyon-type landscape: Eruption & transport.

Day 4. Caldera volcanoes and their structures. History of the Miocene Tejeda caldera, its infill, and its hy­drothermal system.

Day 5. Hike to Caldera periphery fault system. Small trail hike for ca. 2h in spectacular scenery. Inspection of major fault system and evaluation of the faulting history.

Day 6. Pliocene to recent volcanic activity: Roque Nublo volcano and Roque Nublo monolith, debris ava­lanche breccias, recent cinder cones and explosive maar volcanoes (phreatomagmatic eruptions).

Day 7. Inspection of recent landslide along scenic coastal strip in NW Gran Canaria. Destruction of ocean islands: Volcano-instability and giant lateral collapses.

Day 8. Morning: Inspection of Mineralogy of recent beach sands…. transfer to airport, departure.

European Geosciences Union General Assembly

Date: Sunday, April 22, 2012 — Friday, April 27, 2012

Location: Vienna, Austria

Web: http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2012/

Includes the following sessions:

GMPV2.1/GD2.7/SM4.2/TS1.4: Geochemical, petrological and physical discontinuities in the lithospheric mantle: supporting evidence and hypotheses for their origin

Convenors: Igor Ashchepkov (igor.ashchepkov@igm.nsc.ru), Csaba Szabo (cszabo@elte.hu), Jeroen van Hunen (jeroen.van-hunen@durham.ac.uk)

Mantle discontinuities are the result of melt/fluid migration, mantle diapirism or subduction slab incorporation into subcratonic mantle. Recent results combine with great success geochemical, petrological, petrophysical and geophysical data to produce models of the evolution of the lithospheric mantle.
Key questions for studies of xenoliths in alkali basalts are: 1.Spatial and vertical metasomatic columns in permeable zones in subduction zones and plumes. 2. Determination of melt compositions using melt/fluid inclusions. 3. Pyroxenites and their parental melts. 4. Correlation of chemical and geophysical discontinuities.
Key questions for studies of xenoliths from the cratonic lithosphere are: 1. Characterisation and explanation of internal layering using petrological, geochemical and geophysical techniques . 2. growth mechanisms of the continental lithosphere and their evolution in time 3. types of mantle metasomatism and their relationship to tectonic setting 4. Mechanisms of melt migration through the lithosphere.

GMPV1.5/VPG4/GD6.2: Deep mantle mineralogy, geochemistry and geodynamics

Convenors: Michael Walter (m.j.walter@bristol.ac.uk), Reidar Tronnes (reidar.tronnes@ntnu.no)

The theme of this session is the composition, structure, dynamics and evolution of the mantle. We invite participation from a spectrum of disciplines, from seismic tomography, mineral physics, experimental petrology, geochemistry and numerical modeling to understand how the mantle functions and how it evolved to its current state. Some specific processes to be considered include the origin and evolution of large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVP), the interaction between plate tectonics and other modes of convection, the fate of subducted slabs, melting and the segregation of magma, recycling from the surface into the sources of mantle plumes, and the deep mantle volatile cycle.

GMPV5.1: Magma generation and differentiation: field, analytical, experimental and numerical investigation of magmatic and volcanic systems

Convenors: Valentin Troll (valentin.troll@geo.uu.se), Ralf Gertisser (r.gertisser@esci.keele.ac.uk), Carmela Freda (freda@ingv.it)

This session invites contributions targeting the generation and differentiation of magmas in the mantle and crust from field studies, petrology, geochemistry (major and trace elements and isotopes), experimental petrology and thermodynamic and geochemical modeling. Magma chemistry sampled in plutonic and volcanic rocks reflect combinations of processes operating in their sources (e.g. metasomatism by fluids and melts, asthenospheric-, lithospheric- and 'exotic' mantle components such as pyroxenites as well as crustal melting and anatexis) and during differentiation from mantle depths to shallow level magma reservoirs and volcanic extrusions/explosions (e.g. fractional crystallization, assimilation, mixing/mingling, replenishment of magma reservoirs and chambers). The fundamental question to be addressed by this session is how igneous systems operate in different tectonic settings and what are the principal controls on primary, parental and derivative magma compositions.

GMPV5.2: How magma chambers work: recent advances in the study of granitic, alkaline and mafic-ultramafic plutonic complexes

Convenors: Rais Latypov (rais.latypov@oulu.fi), Jacqueline Auwera (jvdauwera@ulg.ac.be), Tom Anderson (tom.anderson@geo.uio.no)

A key idea of the session is of bring together a diverse group of igneous petrologists to evaluate the current state-of-the-art in our understanding of processes of magma differentiation, crystallization and solidification in plutonic magma chambers of variable form and size (dykes, sills or large intrusions) and variable composition (granitic, alkaline and mafic-ultramafic). The fundamental aspects of magma chamber processes to be addressed by this session are as follows: the relative effects of in situ crystallization versus crystal settling in evolving magma chambers and the origin of layering; the role of thermal and compositional convection in magma differentiation; the effects of compaction and post-cumulus melt migration within the cumulate pile on compositional profiles of magmatic bodies; the formation of chilled margins and compositional reversals along the intrusive contacts of plutonic bodies; the interactions between resident melt in the chamber and inflowing magma during chamber replenishment events; the origin of different compositional profiles in dykes and sills. This session welcomes field, textural, mineralogical, geochemical, isotopic, experimental and numerical examination of plutonic intrusions that provide us with new ideas on how magma chambers operate and develop.

Keynote speakers: Grant Cawthorn (University of Witwatersrand), Liya Kogarko (Russian Academy of Sciences), Fernando Bea (University of Granada)

SSP4.8/GMPV6.4: Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs): effects on climate, oceanography and biotic evolution

Convenors: Darren Gröcke (d.r.grocke@durham.ac.uk), Jessica Whiteside (jessica_whiteside@brown.edu), P Olsen (polsen@ldeo.columbia.edu)

Increasing evidence links large igneous provinces, climate change, and extinction events throughout the Phanerozoic. This session addresses the possible links between these events, focusing on the geological mechanism and processes leading to environmental changes, like release of gases from magmas and from the sedimentary basins into which they intrude and through which they erupt. A main aim of the session is to merge proxy data and isotope studies with geological processes and extinction data and mechanisms. Papers are invited across the possible spectrum of investigations, which include petrology, isotope geochemistry, field measurements, biostratigraphy, geochronology, climate modeling, and geodynamics. The session encourages submissions particularly on the Siberian Traps and the end-Permian extinction, the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (CAMP) and Mesozoic oceanic anoxic events (Ontong Java and Caribbean), the KPg boundary (Deccan Traps) and the Cenozoic (North Atlantic).

GD4.1/GMPV6.16: Mid-ocean ridge processes: melting and melt extraction from a heterogeneous mantle           

Convenors: Richard Katz (richard.katz@earth.ox.ac.uk), Andreas Stracke (andreas.stracke@erdw.ethz.ch), Johan Lissenberg (lissenbergcj@cf.ac.uk)

Mid-ocean ridges are our best window into the upper mantle because of their relatively well-understood dynamics and their broad and continuous sampling through extraction of partial melts. They therefore provide the context to address a persistent challenge: understanding the mechanism of sampling, as well as the nature, origin and consequences of chemical heterogeneity in the mantle. Especially relevant are questions such as: what is the "initial condition" of the MOR mantle source? How do heterogeneities melt? How is magma extracted and mixed? How is the chemical signature of the mantle source transposed to the erupted basalts? This interdisciplinary session welcomes all contributions to answering these and related questions.

GD2.4/GMPV6.17/SM2.12: Oceanic hotspot origin and dynamics

Convenors: George Helffrich (george.hellfrich@bristol.ac.uk), Gabi Laske (glaske@ucsd.edu), Yanick Ricard (ricard@ens-lyon.fr)

The development history of hotspots in oceanic environments differ depending on their geodynamic environments. Pacific hotspots, exemplified by Hawaii, develop from seamounts, emerge to volcanic islands, and then subside to a guyot stage. Atlantic hotspots develop to an emergent volcanic island yet resist subsidence and continue uplifting. This session aims to document these differences geologically and geophysically with the aim of understanding how different evolutionary histories arise geodynamically.

Keynote speakers: Ricardo Ramalho (University of Muenster), Neil Ribe (Université Pierre et Marie Curie)

American Geophysical Union (AGU) Chapman Conference on Volcanism and the Atmosphere

Date: Monday, June 11, 2012 — Friday, June 15, 2012

Location: Selfoss, Iceland

Web: http://www.agu.org/meetings/chapman/2012/bcall/

Convenors: Michael Rampino (mrr1@nyu.edu), Alan Robock (robock@envsci.rutgers.edu), Thorvaldur Thordarson (thor.thordarson@ed.ac.uk)

Conference objectives and general description:

Volcanic eruptions can have a profound effect on the Earth’s atmosphere and environment on all time scales.  From being the source of most gases in the atmosphere over geologic time to producing climate change detectable over the past millennia, to threatening aviation, volcanic eruptions provide a strong link between Earth’s activity and its influence on the atmosphere and human history.  To better understand these phenomena, the International Association of Volcanism and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) and the International Association for Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS) formed the Commission on Volcanism and the Earth’s Atmosphere at the AGU Chapman Conference on “Climate, Volcanism and Global Change” in Hilo Hawaii in 1992 following the largest eruption of the 20th Century, Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.  On June 17-21, 2002, the same groups sponsored a second 10th anniversary Chapman Conference in Santorini, Greece, entitled “Chapman Conference on Volcanism and the Earth's Atmosphere”, which also resulted in publication of an AGU monograph.

In the decade since the last meeting in 2002 there have been significant developments in this area in both the academic and broader arenas. We now understand the impacts of volcanic eruptions on climate and aviation better. For example, we have learned more about the winter warming effect on Northern Hemisphere continents, about effects on ozone depletion, the effects of volcanic ash clouds on aviation routes, about the potential for supervolcanoes to disrupt civilization, and about possible limitations on the lifetime and impact of volcanic aerosol clouds. We have also seen proposals for geoengineering schemes to place sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere to counter global warming, for which volcanic eruptions serve as the most important analog, as well as the paralysis of aviation in the North Atlantic region for over 10 days by the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull.

To review this progress and stimulate new work in this important area, we are holding a third Chapman Conference on volcanic eruptions and the atmosphere, this time broadening it to specifically include aviation. The meeting will be in Iceland, near the sites of one of the most important eruptions of the last few centuries, the Laki eruption of AD 1783, the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and the 2011 Grímsvötn eruption, which also disrupted aviation. This conference will also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1912 Katmai (Novarupta) eruption in Alaska, and devote one session to that eruption, including the effects of high-latitude eruptions on climate.  2012 is also the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Confirmed invited speakers:

Mark Baldwin (Northwest Research Associates)
Lindy Elkins-Stanton (Carnegie Institution for Science)
Áslaug Geirsdóttir (University of Iceland)
Hans-F. Graf (University of Cambridge)
Wes Hildreth (University of Hawaii)
Bruce Houghton (University of Hawaii)
Phil Jones (University of East Anglia)
Mike Mann (Penn State University)
Giff Miller (University of Colorado)
Brian Toon (University of Colorado)

Format and schedule:

The meeting will span five days, with Wednesday being reserved for the field trip to specific sites in the Fire Districts in South Iceland, including localities illustrating key features of the 1783-84 Laki and 934-40 Eldgjá flood lava eruptions as well as Holocene records of explosive eruptions in Iceland.  The schedule is designed to maximize discussion and debate opportunities, and to make the meeting accessible to a broad audience.  Each meeting day will consist of a morning session with invited talks, a late afternoon keynote lecture and poster introductions, and then continuing with a poster session with refreshments before dinner.  All participants, including all the speakers, will bring posters.  Each afternoon will have an extensive unstructured period after lunch for discussions and/or recreation.  Short field trips will be organized during this period for Tuesday and Friday.  The conference will cover the following topics:

• Records of past volcanic eruptions, including ice cores and tephra records
• Remote sensing of volcanic eruptions
• Volcanic eruptions and aviation
• Effects of volcanic emissions on the atmosphere and climate, including atmospheric chemistry, carbon cycle, and impacts of ash on the ocean, land, and ice
• Impacts of volcanic eruptions on climate, including the dynamics of the coupled atmosphere ocean systems
• The role of volcanism in climate change of the Holocene
• Supereruptions and climate, including observations and climate model simulations
• Volcanic eruptions as an analog for stratospheric geoengineering

Field trips:

Main field trip (Wednesday): The conference venue is in the region of Iceland known as the Fire Districts, named so because it has experience the effects of volcanic eruptions more than any other region in the country. Since settlement in the late 9th century, the Fire Districts have been subjected to numerous tephra falls from explosive eruptions at Katla, Hekla, Grímsvötn and Bárðarbunga volcanoes and is the site of two largest historical flood lava eruptions in Iceland, the 1783-84 Laki and 934-40 Eldgjá events. We intend to take full advantage of the conference location via one-day field trip by visiting key sites that (a) reveal the regions explosive eruption record in historical time, (b) illustrate the nature, magnitude and impact of the 1783-84 Laki and 934-40 Eldgjá events and (c) highlight the natural wonders of the region.

There will also be a field trip on Saturday that will require additional payment: Leave in the morning to visit Jökulsárlón. The objectives of the trip would be: (a) Illustrate the spectacles of the sandur plains and Öræfi district (which includes Jökulsárlón), which are captivating to say the least, (b) Demonstrate the effects of global warming through the clearly visible record of retreating outlet glaciers, and (c) Visit a site with good records of the 1362 Öræfajökull explosive eruption, which is one of the biggest historical Plinian eruptions in Iceland and wiped out a prosperous farming community that had been established on the plains surrounding the volcano. We may even be able to visit one of the farm ruins. After the tour, drive back to Reykjavik, arriving in the early evening.

On Tuesday and Friday afternoons, participants will have the choice of one of the following short trips. Two will be offered on each day. This will be included in the conference cost:

• A short hiking trip of the area around Kirkjubæjarklaustur, which would explore the history and nature of the site: The ruins of the monestry; Systrafoss (the Nun-waterfall) and the pond they made above it and utilized as a bathing facility; Eldmessutangi where Jón Steingrímsson conducted his Fire Mass as well as other aspects of the Laki story.
• Trip to Fjaðrárgljúfur (a spectacular 100 m deep gorge close to Klaustur) as well as the Viking ruins that are close by.
• Trip to Foss á Síðu and Dverghamrar – spectacular farm site plus nice example of columnar jointed lava, which can be complemented by examination of the Key features of the Síða Formation, which includes rather unusual lava flows.
• A trip that is focused on examining the explosive eruption (i.e., tephra fall) record in the region over the last 8500 years.

34-th International Geological Congress

Date: Sunday, August 5, 2012 — Friday, August 10, 2012

Location: Brisbane, Australia

Web: http://www.34igc.org/

Includes the following sessions:

21.4. Magmatism in extensional environments (continental rifts and MORB)

Convenors: Trevor Falloon (trevor.falloon@utas.edu.au), Yaoling Niu (yaoling.niu@durham.ac.uk)

This Symposium will explore new advances in our understanding of magmatic compositions and processes involved in the initiation of continental rifting, leading to continental breakup and the eventual development of major ocean basins. We therefore especially invite contributions related to continental rifts, and mid-ocean ridge spreading environments. A special focus of this theme will be new understandings related to the timing of melt generation, migration, crystallization and cooling of magmatic rocks in these environments. However all aspects of magma petrogenesis are welcome.

Keynote speaker: Kenneth Rubin (University of Hawaii)

21.5. Intraplate magmatism, including ocean island basalts, continental basalt provinces, kimberlites and lamproites

Convenors: Ben Cohen (b.cohen@uq.edu.au), Ian McDougall (ianmcdougall@anu.edu.au), Godfrey Fitton (godfrey.fitton@ed.ac.uk)

This Symposium will examine the advances in our understanding of the processes involved in the generation of oceanic and continental intraplate magmas, including kimberlites and lamproites. Of particular interest is the role, or not, of mantle plumes in the generation of intraplate magmas. Some (e.g., Hawaii) appear to require anomalously hot mantle, but evidence for high-temperature mantle is apparently lacking in most. To what extent can intraplate magmatism be explained through fertile domains in the asthenosphere or lithospheric mantle? Do mantle plumes carry a diagnostic geochemical signature? What can geochronology and paleomagnetism tell about the time-space distribution of intraplate magmatism? Submissions addressing these, and other issues relating to the petrogenesis and geochemistry of intraplate magmatism, are welcomed for this Symposium.

Keynote speaker: Anthony Koppers (Oregon State University)

21.6. Large Igneous Provinces and their impact on the lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere

Convenors: Scott Bryan (scott.bryan@qut.edu.au), Steve Self (stephen.self@nrc.gov), Ingrid Ukstins-Peate (ingrid-peate@uiowa.edu)

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) represent episodic, catastrophic igneous events throughout Earth history. They are distinguished by high intensity bursts of principally mantle-derived magma to the crust and surface over geologically short timescales. LIP volcanism had a major impact on the lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, and consequently has been implicated as a driving factor in environmental change based on the temporal relationship with several mass extinction events through the Phanerozoic. Not only can individual eruptions pose a significant hazard through atmospheric loading of volcanic aerosols, but elevated eruption frequency and the potential for synchronous mafic ± silicic large-magnitude (>M8) eruptions mean that environmental change may be exacerbated by the cumulative effects of multiple eruptions, both direct and indirect. Over the last 10 years, proposed mechanisms for environmental change include volcanic CO2 or S emissions, gas emissions from clathrate or hydrocarbon disturbance, and Fe fertilisation of oceans from ash loading. This Symposium seeks cross-disciplinary contributions from the Earth, atmospheric, climate, and biological sciences that are investigating the lithospheric to atmospheric impact of LIPs. Contributions focusing on assessing the integrated impact and the rates and mechanisms of Earth system response to LIP magmatism are encouraged.

Keynote speakers: Benjamin Black (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Richard Ernst (Ernst Geosciences), Charlotte Vye (British Geological Survey), Sverre Planke (Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research AS), Paul Wignall (University of Leeds)