Research Cruise to Study Formation of the Underwater Volcano Tamu Massif
In October, William Sager, professor of geophysics in the College of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics, will depart on a research cruise with the goal of understanding how
the world鈥檚 largest single volcano, Tamu Massif, was formed. On board with Sager will
be seven 葫芦影业 students from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences 鈥 six graduate students, one undergraduate 鈥 enrolled in a course called
鈥淪pecial Topics in Practical Marine Geophysics at Sea.鈥
Students Will Gain Hands-On Experience
During the 36-day cruise, Sager and his students will collect data that will help them understand how Tamu Massif was formed. Along the way, the students will gain valuable hands-on experience that will prepare them for careers as geophysicists.
鈥淭he students are going to learn a tremendous amount by being there and working on data,鈥 said Sager. 鈥淭hey will to learn by doing.鈥
Students will work in shifts, keeping a cruise log and monitoring equipment. In-between these shifts, they will process the collected data, to get an understanding of what the instruments are recording and see the immediate results of the survey.
鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to the opportunity of being able to collect raw data and then formulate conclusions from these data,鈥 said Jennifer Welch, a master鈥檚 student in geophysics who will be accompanying Sager on the cruise. Andrew Pineda, another master鈥檚 student in geophysics on the cruise, points out that 鈥渋n class you learn the theory but you don鈥檛 get the hands-on experience.鈥
鈥淲hen the students see data that they鈥檝e collected at sea, they鈥檒l have a very visceral memory of what that really means,鈥 Sager said, pointing out that fieldwork is often an integral part of a geophysicist鈥檚 career.
Tamu Massif: The World鈥檚 Largest Single Volcano
In 2013, Sager, who has been studying Tamu Massif for over 20 years, was able to definitively prove that Tamu Massif is one single volcano. Now Sager is returning, with the goal of understanding how this massive volcano was formed.
How Did The World鈥檚 Largest Volcano Form?
鈥淭here are two main hypotheses about how Tamu Massif formed: the plume head hypothesis and the fertile mantle hypothesis,鈥 Sager said.
The plume head hypothesis states that volcanoes erupt because a huge blob of hot magma (plume) slowly rises from the boundary between the Earth鈥檚 core and mantle, finally erupting at the surface. This hypothesis would suggest short, fast eruptions, with magma spreading out widely in all directions.
Sager describes the fertile mantle hypothesis as eruptions that happen because of lava oozing out of cracks and fissures in the tectonic plates 鈥 including oceanic spreading ridges. This hypothesis suggests more gradual eruptions with lava flows that do not go far from the ridges.
Tamu Massif is unusual because it formed during a time when the magnetic fields were reversing. As lava cooled on the ocean floor, it became magnetized along the direction of the existing magnetic field, leaving a permanent record of the field at the time of cooling. Recording magnetic information will help Sager and his students understand how Tamu Massif formed.
鈥淚f we look at the two different hypotheses, they give us different expectations. If Tamu Massif just formed at the ridges, what we expect to see is magnetic 鈥榮tripes鈥 with thick oceanic crust being formed at the ridge over time. But if we have a massive pulse of volcanism and the lava flows go long distances, then we wouldn鈥檛 see these coherent magnetic 鈥榮tripes,鈥欌 Sager said.
Existing Magnetic Data Tells A Conflicting (and Incomplete) Story
The current magnetic data from Tamu Massif tells a conflicting story: there are magnetic 鈥榮tripes鈥 observed on the north side of Tamu Massif but none on the south side. In order to answer questions about these two differing hypotheses of Tamu Massif鈥檚 formation, more data are needed.
鈥淭he current magnetic map of Tamu Massif looks like someone threw a pot of spaghetti on it. Most of the magnetic data was gathered in the 鈥60s and 鈥70s, before GPS navigation, and the cruise tracks are irregular in spacing and coverage,鈥 Sager said. Collecting a grid of magnetic data using GPS navigation will allow Sager and students to fit in the pre-existing data with the new data, filling in gaps of knowledge and formulating conclusions about Tamu Massif鈥檚 formation.
鈥淚鈥檒l be able to say I鈥檝e been on board a ship, that I know how to deploy this equipment, how it runs, how it functions, and that I understand the process from start to finish, from 鈥榟ere鈥檚 a question鈥 to 鈥榟ere鈥檚 the answer,鈥欌 Welch said.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping this will broaden my experiences in different fields of geophysics,鈥 Pineda said.
The research cruise will be aboard the R/V Falkor, which is owned and operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean research, discovery and knowledge. Support for the research on this expedition is provided by Schmidt Ocean Institute, National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society.
Outreach efforts will consist of ship-to-shore presentations, using the Falkor鈥檚 broadband capabilities, to inspire future scientists and promote science and ocean literacy. Working with outreach specialists from Texas State Aquarium and Schmidt Ocean Institute, Sager and his students will be in regular communication with students in their classrooms and several museums, including Texas State Aquarium, Houston Museum of Natural Science, and Aquarium of the Pacific.
- Rachel Fairbank, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics