Wooster, OH – Team Geochemistry finished a highly productive summer research season with two conference abstracts that we submitted to the 2019 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. AGU will be an excellent opportunity for the team to hone their presentation skills, network with potential employers and graduate school advisors, and explore the wide range of disciplines in the geosciences. Read about our work in the abstracts:
Ok and Bræðravirki offer us opportunities to explore past climates and interactions between volcanoes and glaciers, helping us predict what might be in store for Iceland and other ice-covered volcanoes across the world. (Photo Credit: Hannah Grachen)
A Geochemical Study of Bræðravirki Ridge (Western Volcanic Zone, Iceland) Reveals Regional Glaciovolcanic Variations and Complex Tindar Construction
By Hannah Grachen, Simon Crawford-Muscat, Billy Irving, Meagen Pollock, Benjamin R. Edwards, Shelley A. Judge, Layali Banna, Kendra Devereux, Marisa Schaefer
Summary: As global ice recedes in response to climate change, volcanoes that erupted under the ice are becoming more exposed. We studied one such subglacial volcano in Iceland called Bræðravirki Ridge, and found that Bræðravirki is chemically different from other nearby subglacial volcanoes. We also found that there were several packages of volcanic ash and lava that were erupted at different times. These findings show that subglacial eruptions are complicated, and we might be able to use these types of observations to understand more about the history of volcanoes and glacial ice in an area.
Although tuyas in the Western Volcanic Zone (WVZ) of Iceland have been studied in detail, little work has been done on the numerous smaller tindars there. This study compares Bræðravirki Ridge, a 3-km long tindar on the southeastern flank of Ok shield volcano in the WVZ, to regional tuyas and creates a model for ridge formation based on combined mapping and geochemical analyses. Bræðravirki is dominated by palagonitized lapilli tuff with scattered intrusions, rare exposures of intact pillow lavas, and multiple tuff/lapilli tuff units. Whole rock samples were measured for major and trace elements by XRF and ICP-MS. Mineral compositions were measured by SEM-EDS. Major elements show that Bræðravirki is relatively enriched in SiO2 and depleted in CaO, FeO*, and MgO compared to regional data. Within the ridge, vitric tuff/lapilli tuff units are more evolved (MgO 6.29-6.66 wt.%) than other units (MgO 6.94-7.72 wt.%). Preliminary Rhyolite-MELTS (v. 1.0.1) models are consistent with the two compositional groups being genetically related by 3 kb fractional crystallization of a common parent magma. The MELTS models generate plagioclase (An61 to An70) and two pyroxene (low- and high-Ca) compositions that are observed in the SEM-EDS mineral data. Incompatible trace elements show limited variation between the two compositional groups (Nb/Y 0.37-0.41), suggesting stable melting conditions. We propose a two-stage eruptive model that begins with an explosive phase, followed by a second explosive-effusive phase that forms intrusions and pillows. The second phase is hypothesized to be initiated by a recharge event, emplacing the higher-MgO units. This study demonstrates that small tindars can be constructed through multiple eruptive events that shift in eruptive style and that glaciovolcanic edifices in the same region can have significant compositional differences, possibly providing insights into the understanding of their timing, magmatic history, and paleo-ice conditions.
Microscope photo of one of the granitic rock samples that was classified using the new and old naming systems.
New Igneous Classification System Produces Consistent Rock Names and Illuminates Modal Data
By Hannah Grachen, Anna Cooke, Charley Hankla, Ethan Killian, Cody Park, Layali Banna, Kendra Devereux, Meagen Pollock
Summary: Rock names are useful for understanding what a rock is made of, how it formed, and how it might be useful. For rocks that form from molten magma, the current naming system doesn’t communicate all of the relevant information. Earlier this year, scientists proposed a controversial new naming system to make rock names more meaningful. We tested the new naming system and found that it worked well at the microscopic scale but was more confusing when using the naked eye. We found that the new rock names contained more useful information than the old rock names, and we think that the new system could become the future of rock classification.
In the February 2019 issue of GSA Today, Glazner et al. proposed a new classification system for igneous rocks, citing shortcomings within the standard International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) classification system, in use since 1974; chiefly its inability to convey modal data and its arbitrary division of interrelated rocks into disparate types. Their proposed system recognizes rock classifications on ternary diagrams to be “fuzzy” rather than distinct, therefore better representing the continuous nature of rock sequences and lending their system the term “fuzzy classification scheme”. They suggest a system of limited root names combined with modal percentage numbers and significant accessory minerals to provide more informative and straightforward rock names. To test this claim, we have named a suite of six thin sections and hand samples of granitic rocks from Songo Pluton, North Jay Quarry, Mount Waldo, and Deer Isle, using both the IUGS and “fuzzy” classification schemes. We also obtained modes on thin sections through quantitative image analysis using Adobe Illustrator and ImageJ, this being an important step in our process due to the difficulty of differentiating alkali feldspar and plagioclase in our samples. We determined that while the comments on Glazner et al.’s paper are critical, in the tests we performed, some of those criticisms, such as the non-replicability of the proposed system due to interpretive bias, are insubstantial. In thin section, the fuzzy system naming led to more consistent naming results than in hand sample observations, while the opposite was true in hand sample. One of the things we would suggest after conducting our tests is to include boundaries to distinguish the names in a better way. Overall, the proposed system’s ease of data communication is an improvement on the IUGS system that warrants more attention and modification.