NMHU Geology

João Lages

Intra-continental rift volcanism: petrological, paleomagnetic and rock magnetic data bearing lava vent plumbing and dynamics at Lemptegy volcano and Colorado peak.

The purpose of this research is to understand lava vent plumbing and dynamics from basaltic cinder cones derived from intracontinental rift volcanism. This study aims to compare identical basaltic cinder cones – Lemptegy (Chaîne des Puys, Auvergne, France), and Colorado Peak (Cerros del Rio Volcanic Field, New Mexico, USA) - by studying the shallow plumbing system of those volcanoes and their eruptive dynamics, including: (1) dominant mode of eruption and eruptive cycles; (2) lava flow compositional changes and their significance to the evolution of the plumbing system ; (4) formation of shallow reservoirs and their influence on the explosive behavior of the volcanoes; (5) time scale for cooling of the volcanic plumbing system and its temporal relation with other volcanic products; and in conclusion (6) modelling the overall behavior of this monogenetic basaltic cinder cones and the major factors governing this type of eruptions.