AGU Chapman Conference on Distributed Volcanism; Flagstaff, AZ; March 2020

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

This is an award to support the participation of 20 U.S. graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early-career investigators in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Chapman conference that will take place in Flagstaff, AZ on March 16-20, 2020 to discuss, develop and test conceptual models of distributed volcanism. Focus by the scientific community is especially important now because of continuing growth of cities, communities, and critical infrastructure within sparsely monitored volcanic fields. Most sub-aerial volcanoes are found in widely distributed volcanic fields made up of tens to hundreds of vents, which comprise a huge range of eruption-styles and landforms – from scoria cones to calderas – and which are situated in a variety of tectonic settings. The conference will provide needed background and focus on the problem of distributed, monogenetic volcanism, summarizing current research directions. In the western U.S., widely distributed volcanic fields are virtually unmonitored. Internationally, many cities (e.g., Auckland, Mexico City) are built on geologically active distributed volcanic fields. Great strides have been made in understanding the origins of magmas in these volcanic fields, their large- scale transport across the lithosphere, and statistical models of their eruption have been developed. Yet very fundamental questions remain about this most common style of volcanism. The conference is structured to provide networking activities and related discussions as well as to introduce early career participants to some of the most fascinating volcanic fields in the western U.S. This AGU Chapman conference on distributed volcanism is structured to encourage interdisciplinary contacts and thinking, in diverse fields such as geochemistry, geophysics, and volcano science. Themes to be address are whether the geophysical monitoring techniques and models (e.g., robust seismic and deformation monitoring) developed to monitor unrest elsewhere will work in volcanic fields. Also, of interest, the conference will touch on how scientists can couple geochemical and geophysical models for magma ascent in small-volume systems. Currently, there is no community consensus on the appropriate response to unrest in volcanic fields and associated hazards, and how these differ from arc composite volcanoes. It is expected that this conference will be of great benefit to early career scientists. It is expected that they will contribute substantially to all phases of the meeting, including giving invited talks, posters, participating in workshop break-out sessions and discussions during the post-meeting field trip to the nearby Springerville volcanic field. Specifically early career scientists will benefit in three ways: (1) at the conference they will participate in discussions and presentations about the cutting-edge science happening to understand volcanic fields, (2) they will learn about collaboration opportunities with USGS colleagues, who are deeply involved in the organization of the meeting, and with international colleagues, (3) they will learn how their disciplinary research fits with other science agendas related to volcanic fields, broadening the scope and impact of their own investigations. The discussions and outcomes of the conference will have direct impact on communities living with distributed volcanism throughout the western U.S. and the world. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.