Home -> Research Focus Areas -> Geodynamics and Tectonics
Petrology / Volcanology
Faculty
Tyrone O. Rooney — Igneous Petrology and Geochemistry
Duncan F. Sibley — Geochemistry, sedimentary petrology
Michael A. Velbel — Clastic sedimentary petrology
Thomas A. Vogel — Igneous Petrology
Emeritus Faculty
William F. Cambray — Petrology, Mineralogy, Structural Geology
Adjunct Faculty
Lina C. Patino — Analytical Geochemistry
Research Staff
David Szymanski — Igneous Petrology, Geochemistry, ICP-MS Lab manager
Selected Research Topics
Rift propagation in the East African Rift System: Complex bidirectional extension
Quaternary lavas erupted in zones of tectono-magmatic extension within the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) preserve details of lithospheric structure in the East African Rift System. This region records the unification of two rift systems, requiring care in interpreting the Main Ethiopian Rift as simply transitional between continental and oceanic environments.
Related Publications:
Rooney, T., Furman, T., Bastow, I.D., Ayalew, D., and Gezahegn, Y., 2007, Lithospheric modification during crustal extension in the Main Ethiopian Rift: Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets, v. doi:10.1029/2006JB004916.
Rooney, T., Furman, T., Yirgu, G., and Ayalew, D., 2005, Structure of the Ethiopian Lithosphere: Xenolith Evidence in the Main Ethiopian Rift: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 69, p. 3889-3910.
Magma in Arc Settings
Research into the evolution of arc-setting magmas as well as evolution of continental crust is conducted in Central America, the Cascades, the Philippines, and Alaska. This research area includes the effects of slab composition on the composition of arc magma.
Related Publications:
Almberg, L. D., Eichelberger, J. C, Larsen, J. F, Vogel, T. A, Patino L. C., in press, Comparison of eruptive and intrusive samples from Unzen volcano, Japan : Effects of contrasting pressure – tempura – time paths, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.
Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C., Guillermo, G. E. and Rose, W. I., In Press, Petrogenesis of Ignimbrites, in Bundschuh & Alvarado (eds), Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards.
Vogel, T. A., P. J. Hidalgo, L. Patino, K. S. Tefend, and R. Ehrlich, 2008, Evaluation of magma mixing and fractional crystallization using whole-rock chemical analyses: Polytopic vector analyses, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q04020, doi:10.1029/2007GC001790.
Deering, C. D., Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C., Alvarado, G. E., 2007, Origin of distinct silicic magma tyes from the Guachipelin Caldera, NW Costa Rica: Evidence for magma mixing and protracted subvolcanic residence, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2007.05.004
Tefend, K. S., Vogel, T. A., Flood, T. P., Erhlich, R., 2007, Identifying Relationships Among Silicic Magma Batches by Polytopic Vector Analysis: A Study of the Topopah Spring and Pah Canyon Ash-flow Sheets of the Southwest Nevada Volcanic Field, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 167, 198-211.
Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C., Guillermo, G. E. and Rose, W. I., 2007, Petrogenesis of Ignimbrites, in Bundschuh & Alvarado (eds), Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards. Chapter 23, 591-618.
Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C, Eaton J. K., Valley , J. W. William I. Rose, Guillermo E. Alvarado and Ela L. Viray, 2006, Origin of silicic magmas associated with the Central American volcanic front, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 156, 206-228.
Vogel, T. A., Flood, T. P., Patino, L. C., Wilmont, M. S., Maximo, R. P. R., Arpa, C. B., Arcilla, C. A., and Stimac, J. A., 2006, Geochemistry of silicic magmas in the Macolod Corridor, SW Luzon Philippines: evidence of distinct, mantle-derived, crustal sources for silicic magmas, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol, 151, 267-281.
Patino, L. C., Alvarado, G. E. and Vogel T. A., 2004, Early arc magmatism: geochemical characteristics of volcanic clasts from Punta Samara , Costa Rica , Revista Geológica de América Central, 30, 117-126.
Weathering effects on the composition of volcanic rocks
Early stages of weathering and/or hydrothermal alteration can affect the initial composition of volcanic rocks to the point that petrological interpretations become impossible. Elements that have been labeled "immobile" seem to mobilized in the early stages of alteration. We study element mobilization along weathering profiles at the outcrop scale using macro and micro analytical techniques.
Related Publications:
Patino, L. C., Velbel, M. A., Price, J. R., and Wade J. A., 2003, Trace element mobility during spheroidal weathering of
basalts and andesites in Hawaii and Guatemala, Chemical Geology, 202, 343– 364.
