Petrological Puzzles at SOEST – Julia Hammer and Emily First
Julia Hammer built and maintains the UH Experimental Petrology Laboratory. This is a fancy way of saying that Julia’s group studies real and laboratory-generated fake magmas (lava and other molten materials) to see how they form and how they behave in different temperature and pressure scenarios. This research provides a window on a very fundamental earth process that we normally can’t see because it happens under the ground. Interestingly, it’s not just Earth either — there are or there were magmas on other planets and moons, so Hammer’s work is helping us to interpret and understand these space flows too.
About Julia Hammer’s research:
The Hammer lab uses field, analytical, and experimental methods to study magmas as they accumulate in crustal storage regions, mix and equilibrate with other magmas, ascend during volcanic eruptions, and are emplaced on the surfaces of Earth and other planets. Research areas include:
Magma decompression and crystallization
Combined petrologic and rock-magnetism study of synthetic Martian basalts
Crystal growth in magmas
Textural analysis of experimental and natural volcanic materials
Factors that relevant to Lunar mare basalts
More info: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/FACULTY/JHAMMER/about_hammer.htm
About Emily First:
Graduate Student — Department of Geology and Geophysics, SOEST, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
BS in geology, BA in French, University of Georgia
Winner of the ARCS Honolulu 2013 Award in Volcanology
(from her ARCS award…)
Emily studies samples from the basaltic meteorite Yamato 980459, found in Antarctica in 1998. She analyzes the two main minerals in the asteroid, olivine and pyroxene, examining the branching dendrite crystals. She also makes her own synthetic analog, mixing chemical powders in the same proportion as basalts and baking it at six times the temperature of a pizza oven. By controlling the temperature and cooling rate and comparing the resulting composition and morphology with natural rocks, she expands knowledge about the cooling of basaltic lava flows. Ultimately, improved understanding will aid in the development of hazard assessments for active volcanoes. Basalts on Mars are more like those on Kilauea than either are with basalts from Mount St. Helens. Emily also received a Fred M. Graduate Fellowship.
The host for this episode was Jay Fidell.
The host for this episode was Jay Fidell.
The host for this episode was Jay Fidell.
The host for this episode was Jay Fidell.
