Contact: Steve Carr (505) 277-1821
April 9, 2004
UNM PROFESSOR, GRAD STUDENT TAKE PART IN NSF-FUNDED ‘MARGINS’ INITIATIVE TO STUDY VOLCANOES
A team of researchers, including Tobias Fischer, assistant professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences and graduate student Maarten de Moor from the University of New Mexico, are joining representatives of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD), Carnegie Institution of Washington and Boston University to take part in the National Science Foundation-funded project. The MARGINS initiative, an expedition to study plate tectonics near the Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States located at the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, will take place April 11-23.
Scientists have chosen the 1,500-mile-long chain as one of two places in the world to study some of the most challenging questions in plate tectonics.
Other members on the team include: David Hilton, associate professor of Geochemistry, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD; Erik Hauri, research scientist, Carnegie Institution; Alison Shaw, postdoctoral researcher, Carnegie Institution; Lillie Jaffe, graduate student, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD; and Jenn Wade, graduate student, Boston University.
The research team is looking for a better understanding of subduction zones where material is routed from Earth’s surface to its interior and to determine the composition of volatiles emitted from the magmas that lie below to the Earth’s surface. They will also quantify the emission rates of the volatiles to the atmosphere. Findings might also reveal how the atmosphere that sustains life on Earth was created and how it continues to evolve.
The group, which will be split into two to cover and sample as much of the Marianas as possible, will traverse nine islands in the Mariana chain that begins in the south and extends northward into the
heart of Japan.
The Mariana Islands have a history of occupation by a succession of different peoples and had a pivotal role as the site of history-making events during World War II. The Mariana Islands have seen ancient mariners, atomic bombs and the occupation of several civilizations on its shores in the past 4,000 years.
Students and others interested in learning more about volcanoes, the Mariana Islands or just the life of a scientist in the field, can follow the expedition on a daily basis on the website: http://sio.ucsd.edu/marianas
Students can also send related questions about the science and the researchers’ day-to-day experiences, along with your age and location to: volcano@ucsd.edu
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