Une marge passive est une zone de transition non-active entre lithosphère continentale et lithosphère océanique. De nombreuses marges passives présentent un fort développement magmatique (>50%). Ces marges passives volcaniques (MPVs) marquent la rupture lithosphérique au-dessus d’un manteau en fusion (partielle) et sont typiquement caractérisées par l’intrusion et l’extrusion d’un volume significatif de produits magmatiques dans la croûte lors des périodes ante-rift, syn-rift et post-rift. A partir d’une compilation bibliographique, de données sismiques (profils de sismique réflexion ION-GXT, sismique 3D) et d’observations réalisées sur le terrain à l’Est et à l’Ouest du Groenland, les objectifs de cette thèse étaient : (1) de mieux caractériser les modes tectoniques d’accommodation des flexures de la croûte supérieure sous les SDRs (seaward dipping reflectors) et l’interprétation des SDRs externes et, (2), de placer la rupture magmatique à l’échelle de la fragmentation d’un supercontinent. Les principaux résultats obtenus sont: 1) La rupture d’un supercontinent est toujours synmagmatique. Cette rupture se propage ensuite de manière non-magmatique (article en préparation); 2) Les SDRs externes sont découplés tectoniquement d’une croûte inférieure d’origine continentale exhumée. Du matériel d’origine continental pourrait exister en profondeur de manière continue au niveau de rides asismiques transverses (comme GIFR) (article soumis); 3) La flexure crustale est aussi accommodée par du magma qui circule dans les failles de détachement sous SDRs. Un découplage existe à l’extrados des flexures accommodé par des injections de magma syn-tectoniques sous forme de laccolithes à la base des SDRs internes. / A passive margin is a non-active transition zone between the continental lithosphere and the oceanic lithosphere. Most of passive margins (>50%) show a strong magmatic development. These volcanic passive margins (VPMs) mark the lithospheric breakup over a melted mantle and they are typically characterized by a huge volume of intrusive and extrusive magmatism into the crust during ante-rift, syn-rift, and post-rift periods.Based on bibliographies, seismic data (IONGXT seismic reflection profiles, 3D seismic) and observations and results gained from fieldtrips on East and West Greenland coast, the objectives of this thesis were: (1) to better characterize the tectonic accommodation of the flexure of the upper crust which beneath inner SDRs and the signification of outer SDRs, and (3) to place the magmatic breakup on the scale of the fragmentation of a supercontinent.The main results obtained are: 1) the breakup of a supercontinent is always syn-magmatic. This breakup then propagates in a non-magmatic way (paper in preparation); 2) the outer SDRs are tectonically decoupled from an exhumed continental lower crust.The material of continental origin could exist deeply continuously across a transverse aseismic ridge such as the GIFR (paper submitted); 3) The crustal flexure is also accommodated by the magma that circulate in detachment faults beneath the inner SDRs. There is a decoupling at the extrados zone of the flexure which is accommodated by syn-tectonic magma injections in the form of laccoliths between inner SDRs and upper crust.

The Dinner Creek Tuff is a mid-Miocene rhyolitic to dacitic ignimbrite, consisting of four cooling units with 40Ar/39Ar ages 16--15 Ma. Previous geologists have suspected that the source of the tuff is located in northwestern Malheur County, eastern Oregon. This broad area is called the Dinner Creek Tuff Eruptive Center. This thesis summarizes field work, XRF/ICP-MS geochemistry, thin section petrography, and SEM feldspar analysis from the summers of 2015 and 2016. The main purpose of this study is to identify sources for the Dinner Creek Tuff units within the Dinner Creek Tuff Eruptive Center. The secondary purpose is to map lava flows that pre-date and post-date the Dinner Creek Tuff, and correlate them with regionally extensive volcanic units. Two volcanic centers related to the Dinner Creek Tuff were identified. The southern volcanic center, centered at Castle Rock, is a caldera and source of the Dinner Creek Tuff unit 1 (DIT1). Rheomorphic, densely welded DIT1 is over 300 m thick along the east side of Castle Rock. The northwestern margin of the caldera has been uplifted along faults, showing vertically foliated tuff dikes and associated mega-breccia deposits. Up to 200 m of incipiently welded tuffs, and fluvial volcanoclastic sediments were deposited on the caldera floor, which has been uplifted due to resurgence and regional extension, creating the complex structural relationships between the volcanic units. The northern volcanic center is located at Ironside Mountain, where densely welded rheomorphic Dinner Creek Tuff unit 2 (DIT2) is exposed in outcrops over 600 m thick. The top of the DIT2 consists of glassy, moderately welded tuff. Sources for the DIT2 are tuff dikes along the south and western flanks of Ironside Mountain. The thick deposits of DIT2 at Ironside Mountain indicate that the mountain is an uplifted caldera, herein named the Ironside Mountain caldera. Uplift may have been due to resurgence, but it is most likely due to normal faulting along the Border Fault, a major regional normal fault that strikes across the northern margin of the caldera. Pre-Dinner Creek Tuff lava flows occur throughout the study area, and can be correlated with the Strawberry Volcanics and the Basalt of Malheur Gorge. A distinct lava flow, herein called the Ring Butte trachy-basalt occurs within the center of the study area, and is distinct from regional lava flows. Following the eruptions of the Dinner Creek Tuff units 1 & 2, aphyric basaltic-andesite and icelandite intrude into, and overlie the intra-caldera tuffs and caldera floor sediments at both calderas. These aphyric lavas are similar in appearance and stratigraphic position with the regionally extensive Hunter Creek basalt. Porphyritic olivine basalt overlies the aphyric Hunter Creek basalt at the Castle Rock caldera. This porphyritic lava is similar in appearance and major/trace element geochemistry to the regional Tim's Peak basalt.

Large-volume silicic ignimbrites erupt from reservoirs that vary in composition, temperature, volatile content and crystallinity. The 9.7 Ma Devine Canyon Tuff (DCT) of eastern Oregon is a large-volume (>250 km3), compositionally zoned and variably welded ignimbrite. The ignimbrite exhibits heterogeneous trace element compositions, variable volatile content and crystallinity. These observations were utilized in the investigation into the generation, accumulation and evolution of the magmas composing the DCT. Building off previous research, pumices were selected from the range of trace element compositions and analyzed with respect to crystallinity, mineral abundances and assemblages. The DCT displays a gradational trace element enrichment and decrease in crystallinity from least evolved, dacite, at ~22% crystals to most evolved high-silica rhyolite at 3% crystals. Two distinct mineral populations of feldspar and clinopyroxene were identified in previous work, one belonging to the rhyolitic magma and the other to the dacitic magma. Volatile content derived from melt inclusion Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer analysis revealed an increase in water content from 1.2 to 3.7 wt.% in the most evolved rhyolite. The DCT exhibits low and variable δ18O signatures, 4.52‰ to 5.76‰ , based on δ18O values measured on quartz and sanidine. Low δ18O signatures of all DCT rhyolites suggest the incorporation of hydrothermally altered crust into the melt. Furthermore, quartz phenocrysts from all high-silica rhyolite groups display dark oscillatory zoned cores and Ti-rich bright rims. These data provide insight into how these magmas were generated and subsequently stored in the crust. Commonalities of petrographic and compositional features among rhyolites, especially the zoning characteristics of quartz phenocrysts, exclude the possibility of storage and evolution in multiple reservoirs. Envisioning a scenario where all magmas are stored within a single reservoir prior to eruption and assuming rhyolites A and D are the product of partial melting. The mixing of A and D rhyolites produced rhyolite B, and subsequent mixing of intermediate rhyolite B and end-member rhyolite D generated rhyolite C. However, some trace element inconsistencies, between mixing model and observed intermediate rhyolites suggest a secondary process. Post mixing, rhyolites B and C require some modification by fractional crystallization to account for LREE and other inconsistencies between mixed models and observed rhyolites. Finally, the origin of the dacite is likely through mixing of group D rhyolite and an intrusive fractionated basalt, which could have led to the eruption of the Devine Canyon Tuff.

This study is an effort to characterize the magma sources, plumbing system, and eruptive behavior of Mount Hood, a low-explosivity recharge-dominated volcano in the Oregon Cascades. The three manuscripts in this dissertation make use of melt inclusion data, phenocryst compositions, and whole rock petrology and geochemistry to build a schematic model of plumbing, mixing, and eruption at Mount Hood. Volatile contents in melt inclusions were measured by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectometry (SIMS). These measurements indicate that the pre-eruptive volatile contents at Mount Hood are comparable to concentrations in more explosive volcanoes, and do not sufficiently explain the low explosivity of Mount Hood. Measured H₂O contents were also used to test the validity of multiple different hygrometers. Various geothermobarometers were applied to the melt inclusions and phenocrysts from Mount Hood, and demonstrate that pre-eruptive temperatures increase by 100-150 ̊C immediately after mafic recharge, which occurs days to weeks prior to eruption and is accompanied by a 5-10 fold decrease in magma viscosity. Numerical simulations of magma ascent indicate that magma fragmentation is significantly delayed with this magnitude of pre-eruptive heating, which reduces the likelihood of explosive eruption. Analyses of amphibole demonstrate two markedly different populations, which correspond to different magma compositions, temperatures, and pressures. Pressure and temperature calculations were compared to other geothermobarometers to crosscheck the validity of these results and generally agreed well. Trace element concentrations in lavas, enclaves, and inclusions from Mount Hood confirm previous models for simple binary mixing at Mount Hood. A linear regression technique for extrapolating the major element contents of the mixing endmembers works acceptably well to characterize the trace element budgets of these endmembers. Additionally, we observe that the "recharge filter" that is responsible for the compositionally monotonous lavas at Mount Hood is also the likely cause of long-term low explosivity, and is indicative of a two-part magma plumbing system that may be a general model for a number of other recharge-dominated arc volcanoes. The results presented in this dissertation, in concert with previous results by other authors, converge on a generally consistent model for the production, hybridization, and eruption of intermediate lavas at Mount Hood and elsewhere. / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Sept. 16, 2011 - March 16, 2012

The study of the subsurface flow and distribution of water is critical to the evaluation of the unsaturated zone for a potential geologic high-level radioactive waste repository. This site is located at Yucca Mountain, Nevada in the northern Mojave Desert. and was chosen on the basis of its low precipitation, deep unsaturated zone, and layered volcanic rocks providing the potential for natural hydraulic barriers to reduce the downward percolation of water through the waste storage area. The detailed characterization of hydrologic properties is necessary to evaluate the mechanisms responsible for the distribution and flow of water in the unsaturated zone. Analyses in this study have provided detailed hydrogeologic units with unique hydrologic properties and hydraulic parameters. Porosity was determined to be a useful physical property for predicting hydraulic parameters, as it relates to the largescale deterministic processes that created the volcanic rocks. The detailed property dataset, along with field measurements of moisture status, temperature, and chemistry, were used to evaluate the potential for lateral diversion in the rocks above the potential repository. It was determined that lateral diversion is a small-scale process in this natural system. On the basis of analyses performed in this study, it is suggested that large-scale diversion is not likely to occur at this site. This mechanism should not, therefore, be relied upon to perform as a natural hydraulic barrier to flow reducing percolation through the unsaturated zone. / Graduation date: 2002

Streamflow dynamics in mountainous environments are controlled by runoff generation processes in the basin upstream. Runoff generation processes are thus a major control of the terrestrial part of the water cycle, influencing both, water quality and water quantity as well as their dynamics. The understanding of these processes becomes especially important for the prediction of floods, erosion, and dangerous mass movements, in particular as hydrological systems often show threshold behavior. In case of extensive environmental changes, be it in climate or in landuse, the understanding of runoff generation processes will allow us to better anticipate the consequences and can thus lead to a more responsible management of resources as well as risks. In this study the runoff generation processes in a small undisturbed catchment in the Chilean Andes were investigated. The research area is characterized by steep hillslopes, volcanic ash soils, undisturbed old growth forest and high rainfall amounts. The investigation of runoff generation processes in this data scarce area is of special interest as a) little is known on the hydrological functioning of the young volcanic ash soils, which are characterized by extremely high porosities and hydraulic conductivities, b) no process studies have been carried out in this area at either slope or catchment scale, and c) understanding the hydrological processes in undisturbed catchments will provide a basis to improve our understanding of disturbed systems, the shift in processes that followed the disturbance and maybe also future process evolution necessary for the achievement of a new steady state. The here studied catchment has thus the potential to serve as a reference catchment for future investigations. As no long term data of rainfall and runoff exists, it was necessary to replace long time series of data with a multitude of experimental methods, using the so called "multi-method approach". These methods cover as many aspects of runoff generation as possible and include not only the measurement of time series such as discharge, rainfall, soil water dynamics and groundwater dynamics, but also various short term measurements and experiments such as determination of throughfall amounts and variability, water chemistry, soil physical parameters, soil mineralogy, geo-electrical soundings and tracer techniques. Assembling the results like pieces of a puzzle produces a maybe not complete but nevertheless useful picture of the dynamic ensemble of runoff generation processes in this catchment. The employed methods were then evaluated for their usefulness vs. expenditures (labour and financial costs). Finally, the hypotheses - the perceptual model of runoff generation generated from the experimental findings - were tested with the physically based model Catflow. Additionally the process-based model Wasim-ETH was used to investigate the influence of landuse on runoff generation at the catchment scale. An initial assessment of hydrologic response of the catchment was achieved with a linear statistical model for the prediction of event runoff coefficients. The parameters identified as best predictors give a first indication of important processes. Various results acquired with the "multi-method approach" show that response to rainfall is generally fast. Preferential vertical flow is of major importance and is reinforced by hydrophobicity during the summer months. Rapid lateral water transport is necessary to produce the fast response signal, however, while lateral subsurface flow was observed at several soil moisture profiles, the location and type of structures causing fast lateral flow on the hillslope scale is still not clear and needs to be investigated in more detail. Surface runoff has not been observed and is unlikely due to the high hydraulic conductivities of the volcanic ash soils. Additionally, a large subsurface storage retains most of the incident rainfall amount during events (>90%, often even >95%) and produces streamflow even after several weeks of drought. Several findings suggest a shift in processes from summer to winter causing changes in flow patterns, changes in response of stream chemistry to rainfall events and also in groundwater-surface water interactions. The results of the modelling study confirm the importance of rapid and preferential flow processes. However, due to the limited knowledge on subsurface structures the model still does not fully capture runoff response. Investigating the importance of landuse on runoff generation showed that while peak runoff generally increased with deforested area, the location of these areas also had an effect. Overall, the "multi-method approach" of replacing long time series with a multitude of experimental methods was successful in the identification of dominant hydrological processes and thus proved its applicability for data scarce catchments under the constraint of limited resources. / Die Abflussdynamik in Mittel- und Hochgebirgen wird durch die Abflussbildungsprozesse im Einzugsgebiet bestimmt. Diese Prozesse kontrollieren damit zu großen Teilen den terrestrischen Teil des Wasserkreislaufs und beeinflussen sowohl Wasserqualität als auch -quantität. Das Verständnis von Abflussbildungsprozessen ist besonders wichtig für die Vorhersage von Hochwasser, Erosion und Massenbewegungen (z.B. Erdrutsche) da hydrologische Systeme oft Schwellenwertverhalten aufweisen. Im Falle weit reichender Umweltveränderungen, wie z.B. Klima- oder Landnutzungsänderungen kann das Verständnis der Abflussbildungsprozesse ein verantwortungsvolleres Management sowohl der Ressourcen als auch der Risiken ermöglichen. In dieser Studie wurden die Abflussbildungsprozesse in einem kleinen, anthropogen unbeeinflussten Einzugsgebiet in den Chilenischen Anden untersucht. Das Untersuchungsgebiet ist durch steile Hänge, vulkanische Ascheböden, ungestörten Naturwald und hohe Niederschlagsmengen charakterisiert. Die Erforschung von Abflussbildungsprozessen ist hier von besonderem Interesse, da a) wenig über das hydrologische Verhalten der hochporösen und hochleitfähigen jungen Ascheböden bekannt ist, b) in dieser Region bisher keine Studien auf Hang- oder Einzugsgebietsskala durchgeführt wurden, und c) das Prozessverständnis in ungestörten Einzugsgebieten als Basis zum besseren Verständnis bereits anthropogen beeinflusster Gebiete dienen kann. Das hier untersuchte Gebiet hat daher das Potential zum Referenzgebiet für zukünftige Studien und Forschungsprojekte. Bedingt durch die Kürze der vorliegenden Abfluss- und Niederschlagszeitreihen war es nötig, den bestehenden Datenmangel durch eine Vielzahl von experimentellen Methoden und Ansätzen auszugleichen. Dieser Ansatz wird im Folgenden der "Multi-Methoden-Ansatz" genannt. Die ausgewählten Methoden sollten dabei so viele Aspekte der Abflussbildung abdecken wie möglich. Es wurden daher nicht nur Zeitreihen von Abfluss, Niederschlag, Bodenfeuchte- und Grundwasserdynamik gemessen, sondern auch eine große Zahl an Kurzzeitmessungen und Experimenten durchgeführt. Diese beinhalteten u.a. Messung des Bestandesniederschlags, Bestimmung der Wasserchemie, Bestimmung bodenphysikalischer Parameter und der Bodenmineralogie, sowie geophysikalische Messungen und Tracermethoden. Die Synthese der Resultate gleicht dem Zusammensetzen eines Puzzles. Das so entstandene Bild des dynamischen Prozess-Ensembles ist trotz möglicher fehlender Puzzlestücke hochinformativ. In einem nächsten Schritt wurden die ausgewählten Methoden im Hinblick auf Erkenntnisgewinn und Kosten (d.h. finanzielle Kosten und Arbeitszeit) evaluiert. Das durch die experimentellen Ergebnisse gewonnene Bild der Abflussbildung wurde anschließend mit Hilfe des physikalisch basierten Modells Catflow überprüft. Weiterhin wurde mit dem prozessbasierten Modell Wasim-ETH der Einfluss der Landnutzung auf die Abflussbildung auf Einzugsgebietsskala untersucht. Die Ergebnisse des "Multi-Methoden-Ansatzes" zeigen, dass die Abflussreaktion in diesem Gebiet sehr schnell erfolgt. Vertikales präferenzielles Fliessen ist hier von großer Bedeutung und wird in den Sommermonaten noch durch Hydrophobizitätseffekte verstärkt. Schneller lateraler Fluss im Untergrund ist eine weitere Vorraussetzung für die schnelle Reaktion des Abflusses (Oberflächenabfluss ist hier aufgrund der hohen hydraulischen Leitfähigkeiten unwahrscheinlich). Obwohl bei der Untersuchung der Bodenfeuchtedynamik in einigen Profilen laterale Fließmuster beobachtet wurden, ist die Art und Lage der Untergrundstrukturen, die auf der Hangskala schnellen lateralen Fluss verursachen, noch unklar und sollte genauer untersucht werden. Die Tatsache, dass bei Niederschlagsereignissen der Großteil der Niederschlagsmenge nicht zum Abfluss kommt (>90%, oft auch >95%), sowie der kontinuierliche Abfluss selbst nach Wochen der Trockenheit, lassen auf einen großen unterirdischen Speicher schließen. Der Wechsel von Winter (nass) zu Sommer (trocken) scheint Veränderungen im Prozess-Ensemble hervorzurufen, die sich in der Änderung von Fließmustern, von Grundwasser-Oberflächenwasser-Interaktionen, sowie veränderter Reaktion der Wasserchemie auf Niederschlagsereignisse beobachten ließ. Die Modellstudie bestätigte die Bedeutung der schnellen Fließwege. Als Folge von Informationsdefiziten über die Strukturen des Untergrunds ließ sich jedoch die Abflussbildung noch nicht vollständig reproduzieren. Die Untersuchung zur Bedeutung der Landnutzung für die Abflussbildung mit Hilfe eines Einzugsgebietsmodells zeigte die Zunahme der maximalen Abflüsse mit zunehmender Entwaldung. Weiterhin erwies sich auch die Lage der abgeholzten Flächen als ein wichtiger Faktor für die Abflussreaktion. Der "Multi-Methoden-Ansatz" lieferte wichtige Erkenntnisse zum Verständnis der Abflussbildungspozesse in den Anden Südchiles und zeigte sich als adäquates Mittel für hydrologische Prozess-Studien in datenarmen Gebieten.

During a volcanic eruption, the extrusion of lava onto surfaces destroys biological activity creating virgin land surfaces. Through time this new land will be subject to soil formation and colonisation under relatively similar climatic conditions and parent materials. Soils formed from volcanic deposits present a unique opportunity to study microbial community development. Soils at different developmental stages and differing in vegetation cover were selected from four locations on the slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily. Three main research objectives were determined in order to test the hypothesis that the microbial communities from soils at later stages of development would have a greater biomass, be more diverse, be more efficient at utilising carbon sources and recover from an environmental disturbance at a greater rate. A field experiment was conducted to ascertain the long term in situ catabolic abilities of the microbial communities in each soil and to establish the effects of litter mixing on decomposition rate. Litter bags containing either Genista aetnensis (Etnean Broom), Pinus nigra (Corsican Pine) or a mixture of the two were buried at each of the sites and their decomposition monitored over a 2.5 year period. PLFA diversity, community composition and function was assessed for each of the soils. The soils were also subject to a disturbance and the recovery of key community parameters was monitored over a six month period in order to establish each soil community’s resistance and resilience to disturbance. A laboratory experiment was conducted in order to investigate functional diversity and decomposition functions of each soil community using a range of simple and complex substrates. The relationship between PLFA diversity and functional diversity was also investigated. No correlation was found between soil C and N contents, microbial biomass or soil respiration and soil developmental stage and there was no detectable difference in litter bag mass loss between the soil types. No non- additive effects were noted in mixed litters. The more developed soil had a greater PLFA diversity and PLFA biomass however the more developed soil was not more resistant or resilient to disturbance. Developed soils showed greater catabolic diversity compared with less developed soils broadly correlating with PLFA diversity. Despite increased PLFA diversity and functional diversity in the more developed soils, residue decomposition in situ was unaffected. Reduced PLFA diversity and community complexity did not result in reduced function. Soils at different developmental stages had similar catabolic responses and were able to degrade simple and complex substrates to a similar degree. Microbial diversity in soil has the potential to be very high thus resulting in a high rate of functional redundancy i.e. many species within the same community which have the same functional role. It is possible that only a few key functional groups present within the soil community contribute to the main decomposition function within the soil and were able to maintain function during perturbation. Both Etna soils had similar PLFA’s present in similar concentrations and these groups in general were maintained during disturbance. This suggests that total microbial community diversity may not be as important to community function as the presence of key functional groups.

No description available.

The ‘giant’ Tambogrande volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits within the Cretaceous Lancones basin of northwestern Perú are some of the largest Cu-Zn-Au-Ag-bearing massive sulphide deposits known. Limited research has been done on these deposits, hence the ore forming setting in which they developed and the key criteria that permitted such anomalous accumulation of base-metal sulphides are not understood. Based on field relationships in the host volcanic rocks and U-Pb geochronology, the deposits formed during the early stages of arc development in the latest Early Cretaceous and were related to an extensional and arc-rift phase (~105-100 Ma, phase 1). During this time, bimodal, primitive basalt-dominant volcanic rocks were erupted in a relatively deep marginal basin. Phase 1 rhyolite is tholeiitic, M-type, and considered to have formed from relatively high temperature, small batch magmas. The high heat flow and extensional setting extant during the initial stages of arc development were essential components for forming a VMS hydrothermal system. The subsequent phase 2 (~99-91 Ma) volcanic sequence comprises more evolved mafic rocks and similar, but more depleted, felsic rocks erupted in a relatively shallow marine setting. Phase 2 is interpreted to represent late-stage arc volcanism during a waning extensional regime and marked the transition to contractional tectonism. The Tambogrande deposits are particularly unusual amongst the ‘giant’ class of VMS deposits in that deposition largely occurred as seafloor mound-type and not by replacement of existing strata. Paleomorphology of the local depositional setting was defined by seafloor depressions controlled by syn-volcanic faults and rhyolitic volcanism. The depressions were the main controls on distribution and geometry of the deposits and, due to inherently confined hydrothermal venting, enhanced the efficiency of sulphide deposition. Geochemical and radiogenic isotope data indicate that the rhyolites in the VMS deposits were high temperature partial melts of the juvenile arc crust that had inherited the isotopic signatures of continental crust. Moreover, Pb isotope data suggest the metal budget was sourced almost wholly from mafic volcanic strata. Therefore, unlike the implications of many conventional models, the felsic volcanic rocks at Tambogrande are interpreted to have only played a passive role in VMS formation.

No description available.