The San Rafael Volcanic Field, Utah, is a 4.6 Ma extinct monogenetic field that is found in the Northern Transition Zone of the Colorado Plateau. The field has been eroded, leaving the dikes, conduits, and sills visible. Within the sills we see evidences of immiscibility in the form of an intermediate syenite (~50 wt% SiO2) enclosed in a mafic shonkinite (~48 wt % SiO2). Field relations indicate that sills were formed due to single events (Richardson et al., 2015), which makes in-situ differentiation the process at the origin of both rock types. Geochemical data supports differentiation of syenite and shonkinite from a single melt. The syenites are more enriched in LREE than shonkinites. The rocks are enriched in LREE compared to an OIB source, indicating melting of a hydrated lithosphere interacting with an asthernospheric garnet peridotite. Olivine with a composition of Fo80-90 further support asthernospheric origin, and pyroxenes indicate that depth of crystallization would have begun around 33 Km, indicating that the melt would have pooled at the base of the crust as it traveled, supporting base of the lithosphere origins. Rhyolite-MELTS modeling further supports differentiation within the sills as the formations of feldspars, biotite and hornblende did not occur until ~800m which would have allowed for fractional crystallization to occur, leading to the immiscibility process and resulting formation of syenite and shonkinite.

This thesis examines different methods of communicating volcanic hazards to the population of Flagstaff, Arizona using the results of a recent lava flow hazard assessment of the nearby San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF). Harburger (2014) determined that given a lava flow originating in the SFVF, there is a statistical probability that it will inundate the city of Flagstaff or even originate from a vent within the city limits. Based on the recurrence rates for the most recent eruptions (3 x 10-4/year), the probability of lava flow inundation in Flagstaff is 1.1 x 10-5 per year. This study considers the effects of three different communication methods on participants’ perceived risk. The methods were administered through a questionnaire and included a statement of probability of lava flow inundation per year, a statement of probability over a 100 year period, and an interactive lava flow map derived from the results of the lava flow hazard assessment. Each method was followed by questions gauging level of concern. Questionnaires were administered to 213 Flagstaff residents over a two week period in February 2015. Results showed that levels of concern, rated from 1 (not concerned) to 5 (very concerned), varied based on each method of communication. The method with the greatest effect on perceived risk was the simulated lava flow map, while the first method with a one year odds resulted in a statistically lower mean rating of concern. It is suggested that the best way to change levels of perceived risk when communicating lava flow hazards includes a combination of comprehensible odds and visual aids. Further studies could also include visualization of the entire eruption scenario, including time scales and other volcanic hazards, which may have more effect on concern than a simplified visualization of lava flows.

Instances of fault-controlled monogenetic volcanism across the subduction arc of the Central Andes at ~ 23°S illuminate the nature of different parental melts being delivered to the crust. Evidence of magmatic history is preserved in bulk rock geochemistry, the content of melt inclusions, and mineral compositions. Volcanism in this region is dominated by felsic and intermediates lavas as the thickened crust (55 – 65 km) and vast volumes (> 500,000 km3) of mid-crustal magma beneath the Altiplano-Puna high plateau region prevent mafic magmas from reaching the surface (Davidson & De Silva, 1991; Beck et al., 1996; Perkins et al., 2016). However, small volumes of relatively undifferentiated lava have been delivered from the lower crust to the surface along zones of crustal weakness without extensive processing by crustal assimilation and/or extended storage in sub-volcanic magma chambers. Monogenetic eruptions of less-differentiated lava provide important constraints on compositions normally obscured by crustal processing in the Central Andes. Basaltic andesite sampled within the frontal arc (Cerro Overo maar) is a regional mafic end-member and approximates the composition of parental arc magmas derived from partially-molten lower crustal regions where mantle-derived magmas interact with the surrounding lithosphere and undergo density differentiation (MASH zones). Basaltic olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Cerro Overo provide a glimpse of less-evolved melt composition from this region and suggest mobilization of MASH magma by injection of basaltic melt. Basaltic andesite sampled from the eastern (back) margin of the frontal arc (Puntas Negras – El Laco) is another regional mafic endmember, representing a mantle-derived magma composition that is transitional between subduction arc magmatism and intraplate magmatism of the back-arc. The internal crystal architecture revealed by major and trace element zoning of olivine phenocrysts indicates Cerro Overo magma experienced continuous ascent, while Puntas Negras magma experienced a brief period of stalling or storage near the brittle-ductile transition zone (~ 25 km). Aphyric intermediate monogenetic lavas sampled west of (before) the frontal arc display Adakite-like signatures (e.g. high Sr/Y and Sm/Yb) represent small amounts of melt generated with a significant contribution from direct melting of the metabasaltic slab or delaminated lithospheric root at high pressure. These three magmatic regimes sampled at monogenetic centers approximate different end-member compositions being delivered to the lower crust of the Central Andes from which the range of intermediate main arc volcanism in the Altiplano-Puna region is ultimately derived.

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