Jonathan Castro

Supervisor(s): Jonathan Castro (arrives at Monash in January 2010)
Field of Study: Physical/Experimental volcanology
Support Offered: Pending:  Field support, analytical costs
Preferred Program: Honours or MSc

Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, is capable of generating large explosive eruptions that produce widespread pyroclastic fall deposits. Very little is known, however, about what drives these events, due in part to the lack of detailed scientific studies on the eruptive products. In this study, a student will elucidate what drives explosive basaltic eruptions by performing detailed textural analyses (crystal and vesicle measurements) on scoria and vitric pyroclasts from the largest explosive event at Kilauea, the Kulanaokuaiki-3. Following careful textural analysis, the student may perform high temperature “decompression” experiments that simulate magma ascent and reproduce textural features in the natural scoria. A field component to this project could involve work on deposits in Hawaii, pending funding, or analogous deposits in the Newer Volcanics Province, should they exist.
For further information contact: Jonathan Castro.
 

Supervisor(s): Jonathan Castro (arrives at Monash in January 2010)
Field of Study: Geochemistry/Physical & experimental volcanology
Support Offered: Pending:  Field support, analytical costs
Preferred Program: MSc

In May 2008, Chaiten volcano, Chile erupted the first rhyolite magma from a terrestrial arc setting in nearly 100 years.  Up until this event, most theories about what governs the explosivity and lava effusion at silicic volcanoes had been based upon studies of extinct or inactive rhyolite volcanoes and their deposits.  Now, there is a unique opportunity to link what is recorded in eruptive products to an observed and well-documented eruption, currently ongoing at Chaiten.  In this project, a Master’s student will perform chemical and textural analyses on a wide range of samples collected from several different phases of the 2008 Chaiten eruption:  Plinian fall, column collapse, pyroclastic flows, and lava dome collapses.  Analyses will include microscopic (optical and SEM) characterization, electron probe microanalysis, and synchrotron µ-FTIR.  It is anticipated that the student will be able to identify patterns of degassing recorded in the pumice and glassy materials, and use these trends to better constrain why the style of activity (e.g., explosive vs. effusive) has changed with time at Chaiten volcano.  
For further information contact: Jonathon Castro.