This Americas Program award will support Dr. Mark Bulmer and Dr. Bruce Campbell, both of the Smithsonian Institution, and Dr. Tracy Gregg of SUNY at Buffalo in a research collaboration with Eng. Guido Salas of the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin in Arequipa, Peru. The overall objective of this study is to improve current knowledge of the emplacement of thick lava flows by studying those at Sabancaya volcano in Southern Peru. These flows have unique topographic and geochemical signatures. Three tasks are proposed: (1) Determine quantitative inferences on the rheology and flow regime of the lava flows based on the dimensions, topography, morphology, petrography and geochemistry of the flows; (2) Compare the flow properties derived in Task 1 to a variety of natural lava flows and laboratory simulations; and (3) Use the results gained from Tasks 1 and 2 to determine the extent to which the surface structure and roughness of different lava flow surfaces can be used as a diagnostic tool in remote sensing for accurate geologic interpretation of emplacement styles and lava compositions.
The eruption of large evolved lava flows on Earth has never been witnessed, making careful data analyses combined with numerical (and possibly physical) modeling the only way to understand them. Furthermore, little is known about the magmatic processes that govern the generation, ascent and eruption of these viscous flows. For this collaboration, the U.S. researchers will contribute archived data sets of satellite and airborne visible and near-infrared data of Sabancaya volcano and the surrounding region, while the Peruvian side will contribute access to geologic samples from 1989 when the first of the most recent eruptions began, and their expertise concerning the surrounding region. The Sabancaya flows will provide an important reference point for the geological interpretation of remotely sensed data of volcanic terrains.
***
