Conferences Archive


Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG) Annual Meeting

Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 — Friday, January 6, 2012

Location: Durham University, Durham, UK

Web: http://www.vmsg2012.org/

Organisers: Ed Llewellin (ed.llewellin@durham.ac.uk) , Claire Horwell (claire.horwell@durham.ac.uk) , Rich Brown (richard.brown3@durham.ac.uk), Rich Walker (walkerrj@cf.ac.uk), Kirstie Wright (k.a.wright@durham.ac.uk), Pete Tollan (p.m.e.tollan@durham.ac.uk)

Includes the following sessions:

Sources and reservoirs
Convenor: John Maclennan (jmac05@esc.cam.ac.uk)
Keynote: John Armitage (Imperial College London)

Eruptions and emissions
Convenor: Sue Loughlin (sclou@bgs.ac.uk)
Keynote: Claire Witham (Met Office)

Advances in research on the British/Irish Palaeogene Volcanic Province
Convenor: John Gamble (j.gamble@ucc.ie)
Keynote: Valentin Troll (Upsala University)

Volcanoes and society
Convenor: Jenni Barclay (j.barclay@uea.ac.uk)
Keynote: Matthew Watson (University of Bristol)

Magma in motion
Convenor: Mike James (m.james@lancaster.ac.uk)
Keynote: Jurgen Neuberg (University of Leeds)



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.



Geological Society of America (GSA) Northeastern Section 47-th Annual Meeting

Date: Sunday, March 18, 2012 — Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Location: Hartford Marriott Downtown, Hartford, USA

Web: http://www.geosociety.org/Sections/ne/2012mtg/

Includes the following symposia:

The CAMP Province: Compositional variation, sources, and environmental effects

Convenors: Johan Varekamp (jvarekamp@wesleyan.edu), Anthony Philpotts (anthony.philpotts@uconn.edu), Paul Olsen (polsen@ldeo.columbia.edu)

The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) stretches from eastern Canada through Florida, Brazil and Venezuela, to West Africa, Iberia, and France, with seaward-dipping reflectors offshore indicating even more voluminous buried basalt flows. Three major lava-flow formations have been mapped in New England: the Talcott, Holyoke, and Hampden basalts, each with their own feeder dike systems. The Holyoke Basalt is part of one of the largest basaltic lava flows in the world. What led to the large-scale melting and eruption of these massive lava flows over such an enormous area? What were the source regions in the mantle for these magmas? Has there been continental assimilation during transport and storage? What were the environmental effects of these massive lava volumes with their gas emissions, especially the effects of CO2 in regard to climate and Earth’s biota? Presentations are encouraged that address these global aspects as well as detailed studies on local flow emplacement and evolution.



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.



Geological Society of America (GSA) Cordilleran Section 108-th Annual Meeting

Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012 — Saturday, March 31, 2012

Location: Hotel Misión Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico

Web: http://www.geosociety.org/Sections/cord/2012mtg/

Includes the following sessions:

T.10. The Caribbean Plate and its geologic connections with North and South America

Convenors: Luigi Solari (solari@unam.mx), Uwe Martens (umartens@zoho.com)

Geological correlations and the geodynamic evolution of southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean region, and the northern Andes continue to be topics of widespread and active research, multidisciplinary interest, and ongoing controversy. Geologic investigations of these areas are critical for refining reconstructions of Pangea, understanding the origin of the Caribbean plate, and evaluating tectonic models that account for the opening of the Gulf of Mexico, the separation of the Americas, and the relative migration history of the Caribbean. We welcome contributions in all fields of Earth Sciences that yield constraints on the geologic evolution of these areas, especially those that allow regional and continental correlations and constrain the geodynamic evolution.



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)



Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada (GAC-MAC) Joint Annual Meeting

Date: Sunday, May 27, 2012 — Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Location: Delta Hotel and Conference Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

Web: http://stjohns2012.ca/

Includes the following sessions:

Rift-related magmatism in the Circum-Atlantic margins and related mineralization

Convenors: Jarda Dostal (jarda.dostal@stmarys.ca), Daniel Kontak (dkontak@laurentian.ca)

The session will focus on various types of rift-related magmatism, and associated mineralization, which formed during different stages of development of the current circum-Atlantic region. This magmatism records repeated rupture and fragmentation of the continental crust through time with contemporaneous effusion of both mafic and felsic volcanic rocks or their intrusive equivalents. The session will deal with a range of related topics, including magma generation, magma evolution, lithospheric interaction, intrusive mechanisms, volcanism and mineralization which are in different ways associated with magmatic processes closely tied to continental rifting. Both oral and poster presentations are welcome. This special session is sponsored by the Volcanology and Igneous Petrology Division.

 

The Large Igneous Province record of North America through time

Convenors: Richard Ernst (richard.ernst@ernstgeosciences.com), Mike Hamilton (mahamilton@geology.utoronto.ca), Wouter Bleeker (wouter.bleeker@nrcan.gc.ca), Paul Sylvester (psylvester@mun.ca)

This session will focus on large igneous provinces (LIPs) in North
America, through all of geological time, also in adjacent ocean basins
 (e.g. Iceland, the Arctic basin), and in formerly attached continental
 blocks (e.g. Europe, NW Africa, Siberia, Australia? etc.). Contributions
 on all aspects of LIP magmatism are welcome: mantle dynamics and plumes,
 the intrusive and extrusive architecture of LIPs, their interaction with sedimentary basins and hydrocarbons, the broader Earth system,
geochemistry, geochronology and paleomagnetism, paleogeographic
 reconstructions, and ore deposits.



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.


22-nd Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference

Date: Sunday, June 24, 2012 — Friday, June 29, 2012

Location: Palais des congrès, Montreal, Canada

Web: http://www.vmgoldschmidt.org/2012/index.htm

Includes the following sessions:

4b: The occurrence, genesis and evolution of alkaline magmas

Convenors: Glenn Gaetani (ggaetani@whoi.edu), Philip Kyle (kyle@nmt.edu), Kenneth Sims (ksims7@uwyo.edu), Erin Writer (ephilli8@uwyo.edu)

Alkaline volcanism occurs in oceanic and continental intraplate and rift settings and more rarely along convergent margins. In this session we will examine the similarities and differences in the occurrence, genesis and magmatic evolution of alkaline magmas from geochemical, petrologic and geophysical perspectives. We encourage contributions that involve a range of different approaches to understanding alkaline magmas including field studies, experiments, geochemical and isotopic measurements, and numerical modeling.

 

4c: Large volcanic plumbing systems in intraplate settings

Convenors: Massimo D’Antonio (masdanto@unina.it), Roberto Moretti (roberto.moretti@unina2.it), Ivan Savov (earis@leeds.ac.uk)

Relevant areas of intraplate volcanism on Earth, such as the Main Ethiopian Rift in East Africa and Hawaii islands in Pacific Ocean, are fed by large plumbing systems. This session aims at bringing together experts working on large volcanic plumbing systems in a variety of intraplate settings, both marine and continental, using multi-disciplinary approaches. Contributions from petrologists, fluid geochemists and geophysicists that focus on active and fossil volcanoes located at sea as well as on land in intraplate settings, are welcomed. Approaches ranging from geochemical characterization of magmatic processes, including partial melting of mantle in several P-T-fluid conditions, fluid transfer and fluxing at variable depth in the lithosphere, and magma-fluid interaction, to variable imaging techniques aimed at reconstructing geometry and architecture of large plumbing systems are encouraged.

Keynote speaker: Leonid Danyushvkyi (University of Tasmania)

 

4e: Mid-ocean ridge processes: melting and melt extraction in a heterogeneous mantle

Convenors: Michael Bizimis (mbizimis@geol.sc.edu), Andreas Stracke (stracke.andreas@uni-muenster.de), Richard Katz (richard.katz@earth.ox.ac.uk)

The composition of mid ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and abyssal peridotites retain a time-integrated record of melting and melt extraction from a heterogeneous upper mantle. How are the different enriched and depleted components arranged in the mantle? What are their length scales and extent of heterogeneity? Under what conditions do they melt and how do the partial melts subsequently travel, react and modify the mantle lithosphere en route to the surface? These remain major, open questions of Mid-ocean Ridge processes. We invite contributions from field, petrological, geochemical geophysical and modeling studies that explore the above questions, especially from the perspective of the mantle sample.

Keynote speaker: Henry Dick (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)

 

4f: Roles of lithospheric, depleted, and enriched mantle sources in the genesis of large Ni-Cu-PGE deposits

Convenors: James Mungall (mungall@geology.utoronto.ca), Edward Ripley (ripley@indiana.edu)

Major Ni-Cu-PGE deposits owe their origins to large-scale melting events in the upper mantle, most commonly in continental intraplate or marginal settings. Possible contributing sources of the parental magmas include depleted upper mantle, enriched OIB-type mantle possibly incorporating recycled ancient crust, and reactivated ancient subcratonic lithosphere. This session invites contributions on controversial issues related to the fertility of intraplate magmas parental to Ni-Cu-PGE deposits, such as mantle source composition, and the origins, physical distribution and geometry of the various mantle reservoirs implicated in their genesis.

Keynote speaker: Nicholas Arndt (University of Grenoble)

 

4g: Geochronology and geochemistry of large igneous provinces

Convenors: Paul Sylvester (psylvester@mun.ca), Richard Ernst (richard.ernst@ernstgeosciences.com), Mike Hamilton (mahamilton@utoronto.ca), Wouter Bleeker (wouter.bleeker@nrcan.gc.ca)

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are the result of large volume magmatic events emplaced over short time scales, found through all of the geologic record. Recent advances in U-Pb geochronology of baddeleyite by TIMS, SIMS and LA-ICPMS have allowed many more mafic LIP events to be dated precisely. The new ages are used for correlations between LIP units on now dispersed terrane fragments, providing constraints on reconstructions of supercontinents. Precise age data also allow geochemical comparisons between different LIP events, leading to a better understanding of variations in their mantle sources and melting processes. This session aims to highlight the analytical developments of U-Pb geochronology of baddeleyite and the application of high-precision age data for LIPs to paleo-continental reconstructions, mantle geochemistry, mantle dynamics and plumes, the intrusive and extrusive architecture of LIPs, global environmental catastrophes and biological mass extinctions, and the genesis and distribution of ore deposits and hydrocarbons within LIP systems.

Keynote speaker: Kevin Chamberlain (University of Wyoming)

 

4h: Geochemical and isotopic insights into large volume silicic eruptions and supereruptions

Convenors: Ilya Bindeman (bindeman@uoregon.edu), Erwan Martin (erwan.martin@upmc.fr)

Recent decade has increased awareness of the origin of large volume magmatism, volcano-plutonic connections, and influence of large volume volcanic eruptions on climate. The session will bring together talks dealing with the origin of large volume silicic magmas, mechanisms of their eruption, and influence of volcanic ash on the environments. The emphasis will be placed on novel geochemical and isotopic approaches, but contributions who deal with numerical modeling of caldera forming eruptions, field studies of large calderas, the role of meteoric hydrothermal system in thermal and material balance in large calderas, or atmospheric of ash and SO2 gas are welcomed.

 

4j: New views of mantle heterogeneity from oceanic basalts

Convenors: Aaron Pietruszka (apietruszka@geology.sdsu.edu), Dominique Weis (dweis@eos.ubc.ca)

The chemical and isotopic diversity of young basalts from oceanic islands, seamounts and plateaus record evidence of the compositional heterogeneity of the Earth’s mantle. The goal of this session is to highlight recent studies on the nature and origin of mantle heterogeneity at all length scales and over a range of depths. We welcome contributions that use elemental and/or isotopic measurements of oceanic basalts (and their minerals and melt inclusions) and/or geochemical modeling to see through the filter of the melting process to the underlying compositional heterogeneity of the mantle. Integrated contributions, with geophysical and/or geodynamical perspectives, are also encouraged.

 

5a: What zircons tell us about crustal evolution

Convenors: Ian Campbell (ian.campbell@anu.edu.au), Tony Kemp (tony.kemp@jcu.edu.au), Ming Li (liming19820426@163.com)

Advances in laser ICP-MS, laser ICP-MS multicollectors and ion probes make it possible to date zircons by the U/Pb method, and analyze them for Hf and/or O isotopes as well as for trace elements. These techniques have been applied to zircons of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and to detrital zircons collected from sedimentary rocks and river sands. The data provide new insights into the timing of formation of primitive continental crust, when it differentiated to form the magmas from which zircon crystallizes and whether these events were continuous or episodic. We invite contributions that highlight any aspect of the use of zircon and related accessory phases in the study of evolution of the continental crust.

 

5b: Evolution and differentiation of the continental crust: a celebration of the contributions by Michael Brown

Convenors: Julia Baldwin (julie.baldwin@umontana.edu), Christine Siddoway (csiddoway@coloradocollege.edu), Richard White (rwhite@uni-mainz.de)

This session is a tribute to Mike Brown, University of Maryland, for his contributions to our understanding of crustal melting, melt extraction and transport through the crust, the effect of melt generation on crustal rheology and changes in style of metamorphism through Earth history. We invite contributions related to the broad topic of the evolution and differentiation of the continental crust. We particularly invite contributions from field and experimental petrology, structural geology, and isotope geochemistry that address the fundamental processes of crustal anatexis, melt segregation, intracrustal differentiation during orogenesis, P-T-t-d histories of HP/HT metamorphic belts and associated melting processes, and the causes of, sources of heat, and partial melting processes under extreme metamorphic conditions.

Keynote speaker: Roger Powell (University of Melbourne)

 

5d: Recycling of continental crust into the mantle: evidence and observations from ocean margins, the crust and the mantle, modern and ancient

Convenors: David Scholl (dscholl@usgs.gov), Kent Condie (kcondie@nmt.edu)

Partial melting of the mantle is the fundamental process that makes continental crust. But tectonic processes subsequently return or recycle crustal material into the mantle and in doing so helped shaped the rock architecture, zircon-age chronology, and bulk composition of existing continental crust. The purpose and intent of this session is to provide a whole-system, across-time forum for papers and posters to present geological, geophysical, and geochemical observations and evidence about tectonic processes that recycle crustal material to the mantle:

  1. At modern and ancient subduction zones,
  2. By delamination or foundering of underplated or orogenically depressed crust, and
  3. Over deep time implied by mantle geochemical signatures and signals.

Keynote speakers: Suzanne Kay (Cornell University), Robert Woodbury (Cornell Universi ty), Charles Stern (University of Colorado)

 

5e: Extraction of crust from the mantle through time: from the Archean to the present

Convenors: Othmar Müntener (othmar.muntener@unil.ch), Oliver Jagoutz (jagoutz@mit.edu), Jean Bedard (jeanh.bedard@nrcan.gc.ca), Steve Parman (stephen_parman@brown.edu)

While there is consensus on the basic mechanisms how continental crust grows during post Archean times, there is controversy how the early crust on Earth was formed. Is plate tectonics the dominant process or are alternative models such as catalytic delamination more compatible with the thermal evolution of the Early Earth? What is the role of water and other volatiles on the early Earth? Are the Archean 'building blocks' that are preserved representative of the Early crust? We invite contributions using a variety of approaches such as field observations, geochronologic and isotopic studies, petrology and modeling approaches and geophysical constraints to address these problems.

 

5g: Formation, evolution, and destruction of cratons

Convenors: Cin-Ty Lee (ctlee@rice.edu), Steven Shirey (shirey@dtm.ciw.edu), Albrecht Hofmann (albrecht.hofmann@mpic.de)

Cratons are strong (“kratos”), seismically inactive ancient regions of the continents that are passive participants in plate tectonics. The apparent strength of cratons is due, in part, to the presence of a thick, refractory mantle keel. While the composition and structure of cratons today is reasonably well understood, a number of outstanding questions related to their formation, evolution and survival are important: By what processes and in what settings do these highly refractory lithospheric keels form? Are certain time periods or geologic processes conducive to craton formation? What properties of the mantle keels or the overlying crust control the strength of cratons? What is the relationship, if any between the keels and the overlying continental crust? What is the cause of late granite blooms that are common in many Archean cratons? By what processes might cratons be destroyed or reworked and how often does this happen? What is the history of metasomatism, and/or access of fluid to the ltihospere? We invite contributions bearing on all aspects of these questions.

Keynote speaker: Roberta Rudnick (University of Maryland)

 

7d: Records of climate change from terrestrial archives: palaeosols and loess

Convenors: Mohammed Rafi G. Sayyed (mrgsayyed@yahoo.com), Martine Gerard (martine.gerard@impmc.upmc.fr)

The driving forces of evolution of Earth’s climate, from cold snowball Earth to warm greenhouse state, can be revealed and quantified by palaeoclimate studies. Nowadays fragile global environmental conditions demand urgent improving of the understanding of paleoclimates to better predict climate change. The physical, chemical and biological composition of ancient soils or more polygenetic buried soils hold great potential as proxies for regional palaeoclimate and palaeoatmospheric circulation patterns as well as palaeoatmospheric pCO2 variations for intervals of Earth’s history characterized by extreme and abrupt environmental perturbations. More understanding of the mechanisms that influence biogeochemical data preservation in the proxies is needed to avoid biases of interpretation. Once these issues are addressed, the geochemistry of palaeosols can provide both qualitative and semi-quantitative information about the changing redox state of the atmosphere since the Precambrian times. Palaeosol-loess sequences also have a great potential for the evolution of climate throughout Earth’s history as they have preserved detailed climatic records of stepwise terrestrial climate change. We invite contributions that investigate various biogeochemical proxies of the evolution of the climate system from Precambrian to Holocene as well as on extreme events (e.g. LIPs related to catastrophic global climate impacts and mass extinctions events).

Keynote speaker: Alexander Makeev (Moscow State University)



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)



American Geophysical Union (AGU) Chapman Conference on Hawaiian Volcanoes: From Source to Surface

Date: Monday, August 20, 2012 — Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Location: Waikoloa, Hawaii, USA

Web: http://www.agu.org/meetings/chapman/2012/dcall/index.php

Convenors: Michael Poland (mpoland@usgs.gov), Paul Okubo (pokubo@usgs.gov), Ken Hon (kenhon@hawaii.edu)

In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will mark the Centennial of its founding. This occasion provides an opportunity to review the state-of-the-art in understanding of how Hawaiian volcanoes work and to assess the most important problems requiring future research. The "Hawaiian Volcanoes: From Source to Surface" Chapman Conference will include both invited and contributed talks, as well as contributed posters. Topical sessions will be organized to follow a packet of magma from its point of origin to the surface, with day-long discussions devoted to (1) magma origin and ascent; (2) processes and consequences associated with magma accumulation and transport; (3) volcanic eruptions and degassing; and (4) new research directions and emerging technologies related to how Hawaiian volcanoes work, and how research in Hawai'i can be used to elucidate processes occurring elsewhere on Earth and other planets (and vice versa).

Specific conference objectives are to:

  • establish the state of current knowledge of Hawaiian volcanism across multiple disciplines and processes
  • explore how a better understanding of Hawaiian volcanoes can be applied to volcanoes elsewhere on Earth and other planets, and vice versa
  • identify the most important questions that should be the focus for future research into how Hawaiian volcanoes work
  • provide a multidisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas and new technologies/methodologies
  • stimulate the formation of multidisciplinary collaborations that will address key research questions
  • facilitate transfer of knowledge between scientists in different disciplines and career levels

In addition, conference attendees will be invited to contribute to a planned AGU monograph on Hawaiian volcanism that should serve as a resource for researchers for years to come.

Format and Schedule

The meeting will span five days, with Wednesday being reserved for field trips to various locations on the Island of Hawai'i (see below). Each meeting day will include morning invited plenary talks, early afternoon contributed plenary talks, afternoon panel discussion followed by a keynote address, and evening poster viewing (following a late afternoon break). The meeting format is designed to maximize scientific discussion by providing numerous methods for attendees to engage one another. The four meeting days will each be devoted to a different session topic:

  1. Magma origin and ascent
  2. Magma accumulation and transport, and related processes
  3. Volcanic eruption and degassing
  4. Current and future research in Hawaiian volcanism

Field Trip

Wednesday will include a field trip to locations of geologic interest on the Island of Hawaii. Because over 100 attendees are expected at the conference, three different field trips will be offered, with attendees choosing their preferred trip(s) upon registration and being assigned to trips on a first-come first-served basis. The three trips will include:

  1. Overview of Kilauea Volcano and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
  2. Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea from the Saddle Road
  3. Volcanic and earthquake features of the Kona Coast

Fields of Interest

The meeting is intended to be of interest to scientists who study any aspect of Hawaiian or similar volcanoes (for example, Etna, Piton de la Fournaise, Iceland, Galapagos, etc.). In particular, the conference should be of special interest to geoscientists who study mantle geochemistry/physics/dynamics; mantle plumes and hotspots; magma ascent, storage and transport; ocean island evolution; and volcanic eruptions and degassing.



Geological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting

Date: Sunday, November 4, 2012 — Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Web: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2012/

Includes the following sessions:

T131. The relationship between silicic plutons and ignimbrites: exploring the contradictions

Convenors: Craig Lundstrom (lundstro@illinois.edu), Drew Coleman (dcoleman@unc.edu)

We solicit contributions aimed at discussion of the problem of upper crustal magmatic processes leading to formation of silicic plutons or silicic caldera systems and their relationship to each other.

T140. The Big Kill: paleobiological, geochemical, and modeling studies of the Permian-Triassic boundary mass extinction

Convenors: Arne Winguth (winguth@uta.edu), Thomas Algeo (thomas.algeo@uc.edu), David Bottjer (dbottjer@usc.edu)

This session features recent research of sedimentary, geochemical, paleobiological, and paleogeographical records and modeling studies to improve the understanding of the mass extinction near the Permian–Triassic boundary.

T177. Supercontinent cycles through Earth history (poster session)

Convenors: A. Krishna Sinha (pitlab@vt.edu), Kent Condie (kcondie@nmt.edu), Robert Hatcher (bobmap@utk.edu)

Geologic framework of supercontinent cycles through Earth's history: implications of tectonic, petrologic, geochronologic and biologic processes.



American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting

Date: Monday, December 3, 2012 — Friday, December 7, 2012

Web: http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/

Includes the following sessions:

DI007: Mantle plumes: what do we really know?

Convenors: Dominique Weis (dweis@eos.ubc.ca), Edward Garnero (garnero@asu.edu), Cinzia Farnetani (cinzia@ipgp.fr), Shichun Huang (huang17@fas.harvard.edu)

Mantle plumes provide a likely explanation for the origin of ocean island volcanoes and large igneous provinces, some of which may have caused the largest mass extinctions. Mantle plumes that rise from the core-mantle boundary probe the Earth's deep interior, and thus depend directly on mantle structure, dynamics and evolution. Mantle plumes may also be important for shaping the surface of other planets, such as Mars. In this session, we invite research on terrestrial as well as extraterrestrial mantle plumes, taking a multidisciplinary and integrative perspective from all related fields including, but not restricted to, geochemistry, geodynamics, seismology, geochronology, mineral physics, planetary science, petrology, volcanology and geobiology.

T002: Active Caribbean plate margins: integrating studies for earthquake and tsunami hazard

Convenors: Bernard Mercier de Lepinay (bmercier@geoazur.unice.fr), Eric Calais (ecalais@purdue.edu), Paul Mann (pmann@uh.edu), Pilar Llanes Estrada (pllanes@geo.ucm.es)

Hazards associated with active deformation are often very high along the boundaries of the Caribbean plate. This session targets recent results and upcoming ideas on all active Caribbean tectonic settings from marine and on-land geology, geophysics, seismology, and geodesy, together with modeling studies. Research questions include, but are not limited to, identification of areas with potential for destructive earthquakes, studies of historical and instrumental seismicity, observational and modeling studies of tsunamis, current slip rates on major active faults, studies of strain distribution, accumulation and release, interplate coupling and stress transfer at plate interfaces.

T014: Evolution of the continental lithosphere

Convenors: Anne Meltzer (ameltzer@lehigh.edu), Linda Elkins-Tanton (ltelkins@carnegiescience.edu), Robert Evans (revans@whoi.edu), Matthew Fouch (fouch@dtm.ciw.edu)

Over the past thirty years tremendous progress has been made in understanding the complex processes that shape the continental lithosphere, and much of this progress has been the result of targeted interdisciplinary studies that combine geological, geochemical and geophysical observations with geodynamic modeling. This session highlights these advances, with emphasis on cross-disciplinary studies of continental lithospheric evolution. We welcome contributions discussing continental deformation and lithospheric evolution, the formation and stabilisation of ancient cratons, the formation of continental crust and lithosphere and connections to subduction zone processes, as well as studies of complex areas of continental lithosphere.

T024: Initiation and evolution of rifted continental margins

Convenors: Margaret Benoit (benoit@tcnj.edu), Peter Flemings (pflemings@jsg.utexas.edu), Robert Evans (revans@whoi.edu)

Continental rifts and passive margins record the interplay of surface, crustal, and mantle processes. We seek contributions that emphasize multidisciplinary approaches to illuminate how these systems evolve. We will focus on the following processes: rift evolution; the architecture of rifted margins during and after breakup; and mechanisms and consequences of fluid and volatile exchange between the Earth, oceans, and atmosphere at rifts. We will explore these questions both onshore and offshore. We encourage submissions that emphasize studies of two end-member sites, the Eastern North American Margin and the East African Rift, but submissions on other rifted regions are welcome.

T026: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the origin of intraplate volcanism and large igneous provinces

Convenors: Lapo Boschi (larryboschi@gmail.com), Sebastien Pilet (sebastien.pilet@unil.ch), Maxim Ballmer (ballmer@hawaii.edu)

The expression of intraplate volcanism, as ranging from small seamounts to large igneous provinces, provides clues about mantle dynamics and heterogeneity. However, the controlling mechanisms are controversial and may include lithospheric cracking, small-scale convection, shear-driven flow, fertile mantle heterogeneity, and mantle plumes. Integration of datasets from various disciplines is essential to improve our knowledge of the diversity of intraplate volcanoes observed worldwide. This session will bring together geological, geophysical, petrological and geodynamic studies for a multi-disciplinary discussion on the origin of ocean islands, continental volcanoes, seamounts, and flood basalts.

T029: Magmatism and extension during continental rifting

Convenors: Donald Forsyth (donald_forsyth@brown.edu), Ian Bastow (ian.bastow@bristol.ac.uk), David Ferguson (davef@ldeo.columbia.edu)

Rifting is commonly associated with magmatism, which varies with space, time and geodynamic setting. In East Africa, where the geological record preserves a long history of rift development, the locus of strain has shifted over time from a broad zone of mechanical extension to a narrower zone of magmatism, reminiscent of a mid ocean ridge. In contrast, in the Basin and Range, extension and volcanism have been maintained over a relatively broad area for 15My and the links between magmatism and extension are less clear. We invite contributions from geoscientific studies that constrain the structure and dynamics of all regions of extension with a view to understanding better the manner in which strain and magmatism develop during rifting.

T034: Multidisciplinary studies of failed rift systems

Convenors: Pete Hollings (peter.hollings@lakeheadu.ca), Suzan van der Lee (suzan@earth.northwestern.edu), Irina Artemieva (irina@geo.ku.dk), Carol Stein (cstein@uic.edu)

This session explores current understanding of failed continental and oceanic rifting events in the geologic record. Although continents have successfully rifted apart, with extension eventually resulting in seafloor spreading, in many cases continental lithosphere was intruded, thinned, and extended but did not break apart. There is considerable interest in comparing and contrasting rifts to assess how they started, progressed, and either succeeded or failed.Various seismic experiments around the world, including Earthscope studies in central North America, as well as a mineral boom near North America's failed Midcontinent Rift make this session topical.We welcome presentations on this topic from any discipline.

V005: Calderas I: genesis, evolution, and eruption of large silicic magma chambers – petrology and thermal evolution

Convenors: Heather Wright (hwright@usgs.gov), Kathryn Watts (kwatts@usgs.gov), Catherine Annen (catherine.annen@bristol.ac.uk)

A caldera-forming eruption forms the climax of an eruptive sequence. However, not all volcanoes produce caldera-forming eruptions. What factors contribute to the growth and accumulation of large volumes of silicic magma at caldera volcanoes? What are the time scales by which large silicic magmas are assembled and how do they evolve? We invite contributions that focus on petrologic characterization of eruptive sequences at caldera volcanoes, geochemical signatures of growth and evolutionary processes, and models of magma chamber growth and evolution.

V006: Calderas II: collapse dynamics, unrest and resources – understanding caldera structure and development

Convenors: Valerio Acocella (acocella@uniroma3.it), Joan Marti (joan.marti@ictja.csic.es), Peter Lipman (plipman@usgs.gov), Aldelina Geyer (ageyer@ictja.csic.es)

Collapse calderas are associated with the most catastrophic volcanic events that have occurred on Earth. Nevertheless, many aspects of their development remain unclear. Understanding the structure and development of calderas is crucial for predicting their behaviour during periods of unrest and to plan geothermal and ore exploration. This session will address the principal processes accompanying the development of caldera collapse, including: regional tectonic and magmatic context; conditions for caldera formation, evolution and unrest; potential evolution into an eruption; field evidence for syn-eruptive changes in eruption dynamics and vent geometry; and the role of calderas and their associated structures as sources of geothermal energy and metallic ore deposits.

V014: Erupt, rest, repeat: the nature of cyclic behaviour in volcanic volcanic systems

Convenors: Loyc Vanderkluysen (loyc@asu.edu), Barry Voight (voight@ems.psu.edu), Jean-Francois Smekens (jsmekens@asu.edu), Kirsten Chojnicki (kirsten.chojnicki@asu.edu)

Cyclic eruptive activity is common at many active volcanic centers, spanning a wide range of magma compositions and eruptive styles. In particular, cyclic explosive activity provides optimal conditions to understand the subsurface mechanisms that lead to fragmentation and the transition between effusive and explosive regimes, and observe their surface manifestations. Continuing developments in monitoring techniques provide the scientific community with increasing amounts of data documenting these phenomena. We invite contributions that present results from field observations, laboratory experiments, and numerical or theoretical models of cyclic volcanic phenomena, with a special emphasis on multidisciplinary studies.

V016: Geodynamics and geochemistry of orogenic plateau magmatism

Convenors: An Yin (yin@ess.ucla.edu), Jon Davidson (j.p.davidson@durham.ac.uk), Claudio Faccenna (faccenna@uniroma3.it), Iain Neill (iain.neill@durham.ac.uk)

High orogenic plateaux, including those in Tibet, Iran, and the Andes, are major features of convergent plate boundaries. Causes of plateau formation are widely debated involving both lithospheric and asthenospheric processes. Examination of the voluminous, often mantle-derived, igneous rocks commonly associated with plateaux, may provide clues to the relevance of these and other proposed models in governing plateau growth, support, and demise. In this multi-disciplinary session, we invite contributions from the fields of geochemistry, tectonics, geodynamics and geophysics, which shed insights into the links between magmatic activity and the tectonic origin and evolution of orogenic plateaux, both past and present.

V017: Geodynamics of the Yellowstone hotspot and its track, the Snake River Plain Volcanic Field

Convenors: Robert Smith (robert.b.smith@utah.edu), John Shervais (john.shervais@usu.edu)

This half day interdisciplinary session will evaluate the dynamics and evolution of the Snake River Plain volcanic field and Yellowstone hotspot by addressing: (1) Yellowstone crustal magma reservoir and mantle plume structure from seismic data of the EarthScope TA and electrical structure from MT arrays; (2) data from 3 new deep drill holes of the ""Project Hotspot"" and the International Continental Drilling Program in the Snake River Plain that provide information on the composition, geochemistry, and magmatic processes of the YSRP; (3) earthquake complexities related to tectonic-volcanic interaction; and (4) PBO GPS and strainmeter data on volcano related ground motion and intraplate kinematics.

V019: High resolution geochronology

Convenors: Jan Wijbrans (jan.wijbrans@falw.vu.nl), Leah Morgan (l.e.morgan@vu.nl), Roland Mundil (rmundil@bgc.org), Paul Renne (prenne@bgc.org)

Recent advances in geochronology aim to enhance and widely implement the ability to resolve geologic time with accuracy and precision =< 0.1% level. This goal is proving achievable in some cases and further improvement can be envisioned realistically. We invite contributions that will highlight the state of the art in high-precision, high-accuracy radioisotope geochronology including advances in analytical and computational methods. Both methodological studies and applications to any field in the Earth, life, and planetary sciences are welcomed. Though many efforts thus far have emphasized the U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic dating techniques, contributions dealing with other systems with potential for improved accuracy and precision are encouraged.

V022: Integrated multidisciplinary constraints on composition and structure of the lithospheric mantle

Convenors: Graham Pearson (gdpearson@ualberta.ca), Derek Schutt (derek.schutt@colostate.edu), Charles Lesher (celesher@ucdavis.edu), Constanza Bonadiman (bdc@unife.it)

The work of Earth scientists from a spectrum of disciplines--geophysicists, geochemists, petrologists, and beyond--gives us complementary information that has great potential for telling us about the nature and evolution of lithospheric mantle. However, it is challenging to formally integrate disciplines due to important differences in how various observables sample the mantle, and to what conditions they are sensitive. In this session, we welcome reports of multidisciplinary approaches to constraining the nature of lithospheric mantle, as well as studies that explore the feasibility and limitations of quantitatively combining various data and methods.

V025: Magmatism and global environmental change – contributions

Convenors: Kirsten Fristad (kirsten.fristad@fys.uio.no), Seth Burgess (sburgess@mit.edu), Linda Elkins-Tanton (ltelkins@carnegiescience.edu), Benjamin Black (bablack@mit.edu)

Increasing evidence suggests that magmatism could serve as a plausible trigger for environmental perturbations ranging from climate change to mass extinction events. New data to further test the plausibility, existence, and mechanics of any such causal connection are therefore crucial. This session addresses the possible links between magmatism and changes in atmospheric and ocean chemistry, climate, and ecology on a range of scales from regional to global. Papers are invited across disciplines including but not limited to volcanology, geochemistry, petrology, geochronology, atmospheric sciences, biogeosciences, ocean sciences, and paleomagnetism.

V026: Mantle plumes: origin, dynamics and evolution

Convenors: Matthew Jackson (jacksonm@bu.edu), Paul Hall (phall@bu.edu), Esteban Gazel (egazel@vt.edu)

From the formation of ocean islands to the eruption of large igneous provinces with their attendant environmental effects, thermochemical anomalies in the mantle known as ""plumes"" have played a fundamental role in the evolution of planet Earth. However, decades after their existence was first posited, a comprehensive understanding of these important dynamical features remains elusive. The goal of this session is to bring together a wide range of disciplines to evaluate the current evidence related to the existence and morphology of mantle plumes, their dynamics and evolution, and the consequences of their interaction with Earth's lithosphere. We encourage contributions from geochemistry, petrology, geodynamics, geophysics and seismology.

V029: Metasomatism: geochemistry, petrology, ore deposits, geophysics

Convenors: Igor Villa (igor@geo.unibe.ch), Daniel Harlov (dharlov@gfz-potsdam.de)

Metasomatism played a major role in the formation and evolution of continental and oceanic crust and lithospheric mantle. Metasomatic processes include ore mineralization and mass transport in, and alteration of, subducted oceanic crust and overlying mantle wedge. Fluid-aided mass transfer and subsequent mineral re-equilibration are the two defining features of metasomatism and metamorphism. Fluid flow is coupled with HP rocks such as granulites and eclogites. Present day movement of fluids in mantle and deep-mid crust can be observed by geophysical data such as seismicity and electrical resistivity.This session aims to bring together a diverse group of geologists, specializing and experienced in all aspects of metasomatism.

V032: Monogenetic volcanism

Convenors: Michael Ort (michael.ort@nau.edu), Ian Smith (ie.smith@aucklund.ac.nz), Paul Wallace (pwallace@uoregon.edu), Shane Cronin (s.j.cronin@massey.ac.nz)

In monogenetic systems the interplay of magma supply rate, source processes and tectonic setting dictates whether primitive or evolved magmas rise to eruption. Source and crustal parameters also control the occurence of dispersed plumbing producing long-lived volcano fields. Petrology, geophysics and volcanology help constrain source and rise models. We seek a broad discussion on the interpretation of geochemical, geophysical and geodynamic and volcanological observations of dispersed volcanism from field to individual volcano scale, and timescales from days to Ma. We particularly want to foster discussion on the role of tectonic setting in producing monogenetic volcanoes and derive an integrated understanding of the drivers and hazards of distributed volcanism.

V035: New developments in petrology addressing Precambrian tectonics and environments for life

Convenors: Eugene Grosch (geogene@gmail.com), Olivier Vidal (olivier.vidal@ujf-grenoble.fr)

The nature of crust formation and tectonics in the Precambrian, have major bearing on the habitats available for life. This session will apply a petrological perspective to answer questions such as: the onset of plate tectonics in the Archean; shear-zone and subduction-related fluid processes; the hydrothermal and surface environments that supported early life. These topics will be addressed by recent advances in petrological techniques, modelling and imaging tools (e.g. SIMS, synchrotron, Raman). The session will focus on novel developments in metamorphic petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, and thermodynamic modelling to better understand conditions in the Precambrian including greenstone belts.