Project 9

Most rocky bodies in the inner solar system (e.g., Venus, Earth, Mars, the Moon) feature prominent volcanic landforms, which have  significantly shaped their surfaces. A very common form of volcanism on Earth, distributed volcanic fields consist of clusters of monogenetic (i.e., created in a single eruption) edifices and record a wide variety of eruptive styles. Because of their record spatially separated individual eruptions, distributed fields are very useful when interrogating the eruptive history of a region, over periods ranging from several thousands to several millions of years. On Earth, the morphological characteristics of individual edifices can be tied to specific eruptive styles. Applying similar morphometric methods to distributed fields on other planetary bodies can then inform on the range of eruptive styles that formed them on Mars or the Moon. In this project, we will be using the USGS 3D Elevation Project (3DEP) digital elevation model, a high-resolution (1m/ pixel) topography dataset compiled from airborne LiDAR surveys. With this model, we will create a database of detailed morphometric indicators for several volcanic fields in the Southwestern United States, including but not limited to, the San Francisco, Springerville, Uinkaret, Sentinel and Geronimo-San Bernardino volcanic fields in Arizona and the Potrillo volcanic field in New Mexico. Highresolution data will allow us to compile metrics going beyond the basic measures of width of the cone, width of the crater, height, height/width ratio and ellipticity, and examine more advanced parameters such as slope distribution and edifice and crater asymmetry. We will then analyze this database with statistical methods to examine the clustering of vents by eruptive style. The second part of the project will consist in extrapolating the collected metrics to conditions on Mars, considering parameters such as the reduced gravity, to create a comparative set of expected parameters for distributed fields. We will compile morphometric data from Martian distributed fields, either from existing studies in the literature or by applying our methods to topographic datasets with similar resolution (e.g., HiRISE or CTX DEMs on Mars, the SLDEM2015 on the Moon), to investigate differences and similarities between eruptive styles on both planets.

 

The student will learn to manipulate the 3DEP high-resolution model and extract quantitative metrics from it. They will compile a table (in a spreadsheet) with the morphometric parameters as well as qualitative indicators of eruptive style (type, magma composition, etc.) for each volcanic field. They will then perform a cluster analysis for each volcanic field as a whole, and for representative eruptive styles (strombolian vs maars for example). The entire process will first be developed at the San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff to establish methods and best practices, then extended to other distributed fields covered by the 3DEP dataset. Depending on progress, the student will also explore the existing literature for distributed volcanic fields on Mars, and create a similar database that can be analyzed with the same statistical methods in order to compare eruptive processes on both planets.

We expect this work will lead to the creation of a database of morphometric parameters for distributed volcanic fields on Earth and mars. This database will constitute the basis for statistical analysis and investigation of eruptive processes on both planets, and will grow as individual volcanic fields are analyzed. Depending on student progress and the availability of samples, we expect this work will lead to: (1) a conference abstract presenting the initial results of the study (pending available funds, the student will be able to present those results at the conference); (2) the publication of a scientific paper in a peer-reviewed journal (on which the student will be an author), detailing the results of the morphometric study and clustering analyses on several volcanic fields on Earth; (3) participation in the preparation of a research proposal to fund broader efforts to expand the scope of the study (we expect the student will be involved in this effort, and named as a participant if they wish); and (4) subsequent publications may develop from the comparative study of morphometric data on Earth vs Mars and potentially other planetary bodies (the student will have the opportunity to remain involved in those efforts beyond the Space Grant timeline if/when they come to fruition).