The University of British Columbia

M.Sc. Research: Exploring the link between magma mixing and super-eruptions

My principal area of interest is magmatic interactions, particularly the rejuvenation and overturn of the largest silicic systems in response to recharge by more mafic magmas. My M.Sc. research concerns large- and small-scale dynamics associated with the settling, buckling and breakup of “depositional” mafic sheets injected onto the crystal-rich floors of magma chambers. Rejuvenation and compaction of the silicic mush may be responsible for the formation of small veins and pipes breaking through the mafic layer. Larger silicic breakouts also observed in the field may constitute the expression of large-scale overturn, which has been invoked as a possible mechanism for driving catastrophic caldera-forming eruptions. Characterising these observations through analysis of field data and exploratory analogue experiments is one way to learn about the physical processes underlying the formation of plutonic and volcanic rocks.

UBC supervisor: A. M. Jellinek

Undergraduate Thesis: The investigation of new polymeric materials for analogue modelling

University of Toronto supervisors: A.R. Cruden, D. Boutelier

University of Glasgow supervisor: Z.K. Shipton