Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-238). Also available on the World Wide Web.

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Mapping of the north-eastern portion of the Bird1s River Complex revealed that two large xenoliths composed of pyroclastic rocks and sandstone of the Cave Sandstone Stage have reacted with the dolerite. All the reaction phenomena normally associated with Karroo Dolerite are encountered. These are: (a) Metasomatism during the stage of iron enrichment of the dolerite with the production of a pyroxene-plagioclase metasomatic granophyre (b) Metasomatism during the stage of alkali enrichment of the dolerite with the production of a potassium feldspar adinole C c) Assimilation 'vi th the production of contaminated doleri tes Cd) Fusion 'vi th the production of glassy rocks including buchi tes (e) The production of rheomorphic veins

Four papers are presented in this thesis each one reporting on studies relating to volcanic ash with special reference to soils. The first paper reviews a) some of the phenomena relating to the ejection and deposition of ash that are important in interpreting the significance of its occurrence, b) the significance of ash layers to workers in the Quaternary, c) the techniques available for the characterization and recognition of tephra, d) the literature on ash deposits in western Canada and compiles the noted occurrences. In addition this paper presents the data from a study to determine the amount of ash retained by soils within and beyond the major areas of deposition indicated in the literature. The presence of ash in soils was found to be widespread though the amounts present may be limited for identification purposes, in some cases. The second paper describes two soils derived from Bridge River volcanic ash and their underlying paleosols and presents selected physical and chemical analyses. The analyses indicate that in the youthful soils studied the physical properties of the ash soils are inherited from the parent material. The colloidal and chemical properties are initially imparted by organic matter with some influence from ash weathering products especially aluminum. Shallow surface additions of volcanic ash to soils influence soil properties to varying degrees depending on pedogenic environment and depth of material. The third paper evaluates a number of methods that have been used to identify podzolic B horizons and the influence of surface additions of volcanic ash on the podzolic characteristics of soils. Pyrophosphate, pyrophosphate dithionite, citrate dithionite bicarbonate extractions, phosphate sorption capacity and pH-dependent cation exchange capacity determinations all highlighted the podzol B horizons while acid ammonium oxalate extractions and pH determined in NaF did not. The presence of surface additions of Bridge River ash may influence acid ammonium Oxalate or NaF criteria but it was not found to reduce the value of the other diagnostic criteria examined in this study. The final paper studies the amorphous material and clay mineral characteristics of the two aforementioned soils and examines some of the methods of extraction and isolation of clay materials in soils. All of the chemical treatments applied to the soils were found to result in some dissolution of secondary and primary soil materials. The treatments used to extract amorphous materials indicated that the Si to Al ratios of extracted materials was greater than 2. As this value approaches 2 the formation of allophane and imogolite will take place. This situation is indicated as having taken place in isolated capillaries as evidenced by the limited occurrence of imogolite-like material. Chlorite is the dominant clay mineral in the ash soils and is believed to be the weathering product of primary biotite, horneblende and pyroxene. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

The Nsuze Group forms the lower, predominantly volcanic succession of the Pongola Supergroup. The 2.9Ga Nsuze Group outcrops in southeastern Mpumalanga, northern KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland. The volcanic rocks of the Nsuze Group are basalts, basaltic andesites, andesites, dacites and rhyolites preserved as both lava and pyroclastic deposits. The oldest volcanic sequence of the Nsuze Group is the basaltic Wagondrift Formation. The younger Bivane Subgroup represents the main volcanic component of the Nsuze Group. The White River Section represents a complex volcanic history of magma storage, fractionation, and eruption, supplied by a multi-level system of magma chambers. The basaltic and basaltic andesite rocks of the White Mfolozi Inlier represent the steady and non-violent eruption of lavas from related volcanic centres. The Nsuze Group rocks have been metamorphosed by high heat flow burial metamorphism to lower greenschist facies. Geochemically, elements display well-defined fractionation trends, with evident sub-trends within each phase group of samples. These sub-trends are related to the fractionation of key minerals, in particular plagioclase. The REE patterns show that evolution of magma was largely controlled by the fractionation of plagioclase. All REE patterns show LREE enrichment relative to the HREE. The Wagondrift Formation was derived from a more depleted source than the younger Bivane Subgroup volcanic rocks and exhibits a within-plate tectonic signature. The volcanic rocks of the Bivane Subgroup in the White River Section and the White Mfolozi Inlier are geochemically similar. The volcanic rocks of the Bivane Subgroup of both the White River Section and the White Mfolozi Inlier have a subduction zone tectonic signature, in particular a Ta-Nb negative anomaly. Tectonic discrimination diagrams suggest an enriched source related to a continental-arc setting. The geochemistry suggests an eclogitic source for the Nsuze Group volcanic rocks. The formation of eclogite in the mantle requires subduction of basaltic material. Archaean models for subduction-like processes include decoupling of oceanic crust and subsequent underplating of the continental lithosphere, and low-angle subduction which minimises the effect of the mantle wedge. It is possible that a combination of these processes resulted in an enriched eclogitic source for the magmas of the Nsuze Group. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Silicic volcanism in the central Oregon Cascade range has decreased in both the size and frequency of eruptions from its initiation at ~40 Ma to present. The reasons for this reduction in silicic volcanism are poorly constrained. Studies of the petrogenesis of these magmas have the potential for addressing this question by providing insight into the processes responsible for producing and erupting silicic magmas. This study focuses on two extensive and well-preserved ash-flow tuffs from within the ~4-8 Ma Deschutes Formation of central Oregon, which formed after the transition from Western Cascade volcanism to the modern High Cascade. Documentation of outcrop extent, outcrop thickness, clast properties, and samples provide the means to estimate a source location, minimum erupted volumes, and to constrain eruptive processes. Major and trace element chemistry of glass and minerals constrain the petrogenesis and chemical evolution of the system. The tuffs selected for this study, the Lower Bridge and McKenzie Canyon, are the first known silicic units originating from the Cascade Arc following the reorganization from Western Cascade to High Cascade Volcanism at ~8 Ma. These eruptions were significant in producing a minimum of ~5 km�� DRE each within a relatively short timeframe. These tuffs are sourced from some vent or edifices related to the Three Sisters Volcanic Complex, and capture an early phase of the volcanic history of that region. The chemical composition of the tuffs indicates that the Lower Bridge erupted predominately rhyolitic magma with dacitic magma occurring only in small quantities in the latest stage of the eruption while McKenzie Canyon Tuff erupted first as a rhyolite and transitioned to a basaltic andesite with co-mingling and incomplete mixing of the two magma types. Major and trace element concentrations in minerals and glass indicate that the basaltic andesite and rhyolite of the McKenzie Canyon Tuff were well convected and stored in separate chambers. Geothermometry of the magmas indicate that the rhyolites are considerably warmer (~850��) than typical arc rhyolites. Trace element compositions indicate that both the Lower Bridge and McKenzie Canyon Tuff experienced mixing between a mantle derived basaltic melt and a rhyolitic partial melt derived from gabbroic crust. Rhyolites of the Lower Bridge Tuff incorporate 30-50% partial melt following 0->60% fractionation of mantle derived melts. The McKenzie Canyon Tuff incorporates 50-100% of a partial melt of a mafic crust with up to 15% post mixing fractionation. The results of this study suggest that production of voluminous silicic magmas within the Cascade Arc crust requires both fractionation of incoming melts from the mantle together with mixing with partial melts of the crust. This provides a potential explanation for the decrease in silicic melt production rates from the Western Cascades to the High Cascades related to declining subduction rate. As convergence along the Cascade margin became more oblique during the Neogene, the consequent slowing rate of mantle melt production will result in a net cooling of the crust, inhibiting the production of rhyolitic partial melts. Without these partial melts to provide the rhyolitic end member to the system, the system will evolve to the mafic melt and fractionation dominated regime that has existed along Cascadia throughout the Quaternary. / Graduation date: 2013

Paleomagnetic directions have been obtained from 190 Middle Miocene (12-20 Ma) mafic volcanic flows in 16 mountain ranges in the Mojave-Sonora desert region of western Arizona and southeastern California. These flows generally postdate Early Miocene tectonic deformation accommodated by low-angle normal faults but predate high-angle normal faulting in the region. After detailed magnetic cleaning experiments, 179 flows yielded characteristic thermal remanent magnetism (TRM) directions. Because of the episodic nature of basaltic volcanism in this region, the 179 flows yield only 65 time-distinct virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs). The angular dispersion of the VGPs is consistent with the angular dispersion expected for a data set that has adequately averaged geomagnetic secular variation. The paleomagnetic pole calculated from the 65 cooling unit VGPs is located at 85.5°N, 108.9°E within a 4.4° circle of 95% confidence. This pole is statistically indistinguishable (at 95% confidence) from reference poles calculated from similar-age rocks in stable North America and from a paleomagnetic pole calculated from similar-age rocks in Baja and southern California. From the coincidence of paleomagnetic poles from the Mojave-Sonora and adjacent areas, we can conclude that: (1) vertical-axis tectonic rotations have not accompanied high-angle normal faulting in this region; (2) there has been no latitudinal transport of the region since 12-20 Ma; and (3) long-term nondipole components of the Miocene geomagnetic field probably were no larger than those of the recent (0-5 Ma) geomagnetic field. In contrast, paleomagnetic data of other workers indicate vertical-axis rotations of similar-age rocks in the Transverse Ranges, the Eastern Transverse Ranges, and the Mojave Block. We speculate that a major discontinuity in the vicinity of the southeastward projection of the Death Valley Fault Zone separates western areas affected by vertical-axis rotations from eastern areas that have not experienced such rotations.

The aims of this thesis are to refine the tephrochronology of the Öræfi district, SE Iceland and assess the Holocene glacier fluctuations of the Öræfajökull ice cap. The pattern and timing of glacier fluctuations are determined using glacial geomorphology and tephrochronology, and the implications for palaeoclimate are assessed. Iceland is important to the study of global and regional climatic change because it is located close to both the marine and atmospheric Polar Fronts widely regarded as the key factors in the climate of the North Atlantic region. Six outlet glaciers were studied: Svinafellsjökull, Virkisjökull, Kotárjökull and Kviárjökull originating from the Öræfajökull ice cap and Skaftafellsjökull and Morsárjökull originating from the Vatnajökull ice cap. A long history of glacier fluctuations were found with a similar temporal pattern of glacier oscillation between the outlets of Vatnajökull and Öræfajökull. A maximum of eight advances have been identified. The oldest advance is inferred to date from the maximum of the last Glaciation ca. 18000 yrs BP. The first advance in the Holocene occurred ca. 9700 BP during a still-stand of the last Termination. The onset of the Neoglaciation occurred between 6000 BP and 4600 BP with an expansion of all of the studied glaciers. Subsequent smaller advances have been dated to ca. 3200 BP, ca. 1800 BP, ca. 700 BP, ca. 200 BP and ca. 80 BP. The most significant movement of the Polar front during the Holocene is likely to have occurred around 5000 BP, and, as a consequence, an estimated temperature cooling of ca. 2.5°C took place in Iceland, perhaps the greatest cooling since the last Termination. Within the broad pattern of change, glaciers in the study area show variability which represents local precipitation patterns, contrasting topography and change in glacier process. In this thesis a total of 22 silicic tephra layers are identified from over 90 profiles in the study area. The majority of these layers are dated to the latter part of the Holocene. Three silicic tephras were deposited during historical time (post 900 AD) namely, Vö ca. 900AD,HI104 and Ö1362. The Vö ca. 900 AD and the H1104 tephras are located for the first time. Specific prehistoric (pre 900 AD) tephras identified include Hekla-Ö, Hekla-4 and Hekla-S. The tephrochronology of the Öræfi district is also used to assess the eruption history of the Öræfajökull stratovolcano during the Holocene. Prehistoric eruptions are dated to ca. 9200 BP, ca. 6500 BP(?), ca. 4700 BP, ca. 2800 BP and ca. 1500 BP. Jökulhlaups accompanied the eruptions of 1727 AD, 1362 AD and ca. 1500 BP and are likely to have followed older eruptions of the volcano. A strong relationship occurs between volcanic activity of the Öræfajökull stratovolcano and the pattern of glacier fluctuations. This is explained as a response to isostatic crustal adjustment during ice cap growth and decay, and indicates a general relationship between volcanic activity and climate change.

Yucca Mountain, Nevada is the proposed site for the underground storage of high-level civilian nuclear waste in the United States. The repository must be isolated from the general environment for at least 10,000 years. Ground water and gases are potential carriers of radioactive materials. Fractures and connected pores in the host rock are the major pathways for ground water and gases. Therefore, the mechanical and flow properties of the host rock should be understood and utilized in the design of the underground repository. Samples of Topopah Spring tuff from Yucca Mountain were used in this study. Cylindrical specimens were prepared to perform uniaxial and triaxial "damage" tests where specimens are loaded to a particular stress level to induce damage and fracturing and then unloaded. Mechanisms of microcracking at different fracturing levels have been studied by using both an optical microscope and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The original rock sample without loading was also observed under the microscopes. Many kinds of defects including pores, preexisting fractures, and soft inclusions were found in the undamaged Apache Leap tuff samples. Pores were determined to be the main microstructures in Topopah Spring tuff that could influence the mechanical and hydrologic properties. Under compressive stresses, microcracking initiates from some of the pores. These microcracks will interact and coalescence to form large microcracks or macroscopic cracks as the load is increased. Crack propagation phenomena, such as pore cracking, pore linking, pore collapse and the formation of en echelon arrays were all found in specimens unloaded prior to complete failure. The failure of tuff specimens is often through a process of shear localization. In summary, the deformation and failure of both tuffs occurred by progressive fracturing, starting from microcracking on the small scale, and ending as fractures coalesced to form macroscopic fractures and shear localization. On the basis of the experimental studies, micromechanical models such as the pore collapse model and the pore linking model have been developed based on fracture mechanics theory. These models are used to predict the constitutive behavior for tuff and the predicted stress-strain curves match well with the experimental curves.

Porous plates delivered calcium chloride at a negative potential to the top of blocks of partially welded (20.1 x 20.1 x 66.6 cm) and densely welded (30.1 x 20.1 x 48.1 cm) tuff with discrete fractures. During infiltration, flux increased through the partially welded block's fracture as the applied suction was lowered to 2.3 cm. The wetting front advanced 66.6 cm in 239 days. Chloride concentration and temporal moments from five tracer tests with 0 to 5 cm of applied suction indicated that preferential fracture flow occurred. Displacement transducer data reflect a decrease in fracture aperture at several months prior to but not during tracer tests. Fracture transmissivities decreased an order of magnitude (6.4 x 10⁻⁹ to 4.2 x 10⁻¹⁰ M²/s) as the applied suction increased from 0 to 5 cm while the tensiometer data indicated a suction of about 20 cm of water within the fracture and matrix. Highest during infiltration to an initially dry block, inflow losses of 3 to 44 percent due to evaporation are the greatest source of error for the constant potential method used.