SGER: Basement Sill, Antarctica: Constraints from its PGE Abundance Patterns and Isotopic Compositions on Magma Source Characteristics and Crystallization Processes

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research supports measurement of PGE abundances and Hf, Nd, Sr and Pb isotopic ratios of the Basement Sill and Dais Intrusion lobe of the Ferrar Magmatic Province, Antarctica. This province played a key role in the breakup of Gondwanaland. Models to be tested are magma production by plume activity versus decompression melting in a fossil subduction zone. The PGE data will also be used to evaluate the behavior of volatiles during magma crystallization, which other evidence indicates may have reached saturation. The samples to be studied were collected during the NSF-sponsored, Magmatic Field Laboratory Workshop held in Antarctica in 2005. This study's results will be compliled with complementary data from other attendees to develop a new multidisciplinary model of Ferrar magmatism. The broader impacts fo this work include international collaboration and informal science education through public outreach to K12 students.