Hydrothermal history of the Long Valley Caldera, California: Life after collapse

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1995Drilling of the Long Valley Exploratory Well (LVEW) on the resurgent dome in the 760 ka Long Valley Caldera opened a window to view the geologic history of the central caldera. Stratigraphic relationships indicate piston/cylinder (Valles-type) collapse for this caldera, and a resurgent structure intimately linked to post-caldera-collapse rhyolitic intrusions. Samples recovered from this and other wells proximal to the resurgent dome were characterized through isotope microanalytical techniques, petrographic and microprobe study, and analysis of fluid inclusions within alteration minerals. This work revealed the complexity of primary magmatic and secondary hydrothermal activity involved in the formation of a resurgent dome. Measurements of the \rm\delta\sp{18}O composition of silicate components forming the intracaldera lithologies display disequilibrium within samples as a result of variable exchange with hydrothermal fluids. A maximum calculated temperature of 350\sp\circ\rm C at 1800 m depth in LVEW indicates paleohydrothermal temperatures exceeded the known present-day hydrothermal conditions by more than 100\sp\circ\rm C. Contouring of \rm\delta\sp{18}O values from wells on a line crossing the caldera define a pattern of convective flow with upwelling beneath the resurgent dome. Although surface volcanism at the LVEW site ended about 650 ka, laser probe \rm\sp{40}Ar/\sp{39}Ar microanalysis of samples from sill-like intrusions into the intracaldera ignimbrite reveals intrusive events at ${\sim}650$ ka, ${\sim}450$ ka, and ${\sim}350$ ka. Sanidine phenocrysts from the Bishop Tuff at 1772 and 1792 m depths and whole rock samples of the Mesozoic metavolcanic basement rocks at 1957 m depth record times of disturbance by hydrothermal pulses at ${\sim}530$ ka and ${\sim}350$ ka. Repeated emplacement of intrusions into the centrally located caldera ignimbrite was a primary process of resurgence. In turn, the feeders for the intrusions and the intrusions themselves supplied heat for resurgent-dome-centered hydrothermal flow. After approximately 300 ka, all activity shut off in the central caldera only to resume at ${\sim}40$ ka in response to renewed Holocene volcanic activity in the West Moat. Geophysical evidence of recent intrusive activity beneath the resurgent dome indicates this shallow magma emplacement mechanism is not totally extinct in the central caldera. Most likely a new cycle of volcanism and hydrothermal circulation is underway as the caldera matures

The AGeS2 (Awards for Geochronology Student research 2) Program: Supporting Community Geochronology Needs and Interdisciplinary Science

Geochronology is essential in the geosciences. It is used to resolve the durations and rates of earth processes, as well as test causative relationships among events. Such data are increasingly required to conduct cutting-edge, transformative, earth-science research. The growing need for geochronology is accompanied by strong demand to enhance the ability of labs to meet this pressure and to increase community awareness of how these data are produced and interpreted. For example, a 2015 National Science Foundation (NSF) report on opportunities and challenges for U.S. geochronology research noted: While there has never been a time when users have had greater access to geo-chronologic data, they remain, by and large, dissatisfied with the available style/ quantity/cost/efficiency (Harrison et al., 2015, p. 1). And the 2012 National Research Council NROES (New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences) report (Lay et al., 2012, p. 82) recommended: [NSF] EAR should explore new mechanisms for geochronology laboratories that will service the geochronology requirements of the broad suite of research opportunities while sustaining technical advances in methodologies. The AGeS (Awards for Geochronology Student research) program is one way that these calls are being answered

Geologic Results from the Long Valley Exploratory Well

As a deep well in the center of a major Quaternary caldera, the Long Valley Exploratory Well (LVEW) provides a new perspective on the relationship between hydrothermal circulation and a large crustal magma chamber. It also provides an important test of models for the subsurface structure of active continental calderas. Results will impact geothermal exploration, assessment, and management of the Long Valley resource and should be applicable to other igneous-related geothermal systems. Our task is to use the cuttings and core from LVEW to interpret the evolution of the central caldera region, with emphasis on evidence of current hydrothermal conditions and circulation. LVEW has reached a depth of 2313 m, passing through post-caldera extrusives and the intracaldera Bishop Tuff to bottom in the Mt. Morrison roof pendant of the Sierran basement. The base of the section of Quaternary volcanic rocks related to Long Valley Caldera was encountered at 1800 m of which 1178 m is Bishop Tuff. The lithologies sampled generally support the classic view of large intercontinental calderas as piston-cylinder-like structures. In this model, the roof of the huge magma chamber, like an ill-fitting piston, broke and sank 2 km along a ring fracture system that simultaneously and explosively leaked magma as Bishop Tuff. Results from LVEW which support this model are the presence of intact basement at depth at the center of the caldera, the presence of a thick Bishop Tuff section, and textural evidence that the tuff encountered is not near-vent despite its central caldera location. An unexpected observation was the presence of rhyolite intrusions within the tuff with a cumulative apparent thickness in excess of 300 m. Chemical analyses indicate that these are high-silica, high-barium rhyolites. Preliminary {sup 40}Ar/{sup 39}Ar analyses determined an age of 626 {+-} 38 ka (this paper). These observations would indicate that the intrusions belong to the early post-collapse episode of volcanism and are contemporaneous with resurgence of the caldera floor. If they are extensive sills rather than dikes, a possibility being investigated through relogging of core from neighboring wells, they were responsible for resurgence. A {sup 40}Ar/{sup 39}Ar age of 769 {+-} 14 ka from Bishop Tuff at 820 m depth conforms with tuff ages from outside the caldera and indicates an absence of shallow hydrothermal activity (>300 C) persisting after emplacement. Work is proceeding on investigating hydrothermal alteration deeper in the well. This alteration includes sulfide+quartz fracture fillings, calcite+quartz replacement of feldspars, and disseminated pyrite in both the tuff and basement. Electron microprobe analysis of phases are being conducted to determine initial magmatic and subsequent hydrothermal conditions

NASA's Virtual Product Laboratory: An Overview

The Virtual Product Laboratory (VPL) developed by NASA's Commercial Remote Sensing Program at the John C. Stennis Space Center is a tool that enables simulation, design, and verification of remote sensing systems within a software (virtual) environment. The VPL can serve industry, government, and university communities by providing a means to conduct system trade studies, optimization, visual modeling, and data product simulations entirely in a virtual environment. The VPL can serve as a complete end-to-end simulation tool capable of producing system and subsystem performance characterizations, system optimization, and simulated data products or as a means of evaluating any one component of a remote sensing system. In this paper, we present an overview of the VPL capabilities. The VPL functional areas include Requirements, Design & Analysis, Simulation, Project Management, Knowledge Base, and Help. A description of each function along with the tools and techniques used to accomplish these functions will be provided. When possible, sample VPL displays and products will be used in the presentation

Linking the Ukinrek 1977 maar-eruption observations to the tephra deposits: New insights into maar depositional processes

ISSN:0377-027