Research Mentor(s)
Dr. Susan DeBari
Description
Koma-Kulshan (Mt. Baker) is a dominantly andesitic stratovolcano in the northern Cascade arc whose eruptive products provide a rich archive of crystal populations. This project focuses on the Swift Creek lava flow on Koma-Kulshan to better understand the magmatic architecture and evolutionary process beneath the volcano. This was done by determining populations of phenocrysts and crystal clots of minerals that were within the magma chamber. Utilizing five thin sections of Swift Creek, scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze mineral textures and the chemical composition of the four minerals, plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene, and orthopyroxene. Determining multiple populations and crystallizing assemblages identifies their parental compositions within the magma chamber. Thermobarometry was later used to explore the pressures and temperatures at which these minerals crystallized. The cores of each mineral were shown to have crystallized at higher temperatures and pressures than the rims of the minerals. This indicates the cores crystalized before the rims as the magma moved up the magma chamber.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
May 2022
End Date
May 2022
Location
Carver Gym (Bellingham, Wash.)
Department
CBE - Geology
Genre/Form
student projects; posters
Type
Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Analyzing Minerals in Lava Flows as an Indicator for Magmatic Architecture Beneath Koma-Kulshan (Mt. Baker)
Carver Gym (Bellingham, Wash.)
Koma-Kulshan (Mt. Baker) is a dominantly andesitic stratovolcano in the northern Cascade arc whose eruptive products provide a rich archive of crystal populations. This project focuses on the Swift Creek lava flow on Koma-Kulshan to better understand the magmatic architecture and evolutionary process beneath the volcano. This was done by determining populations of phenocrysts and crystal clots of minerals that were within the magma chamber. Utilizing five thin sections of Swift Creek, scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze mineral textures and the chemical composition of the four minerals, plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene, and orthopyroxene. Determining multiple populations and crystallizing assemblages identifies their parental compositions within the magma chamber. Thermobarometry was later used to explore the pressures and temperatures at which these minerals crystallized. The cores of each mineral were shown to have crystallized at higher temperatures and pressures than the rims of the minerals. This indicates the cores crystalized before the rims as the magma moved up the magma chamber.