Magnetotelluric Investigations of the Yellowstone Caldera: Understanding the Emplacement of Crustal Magma Bodies

POSTER

Abstract

Wideband magnetotellurics (MT) presents an ideal method for imaging conductive shallow magma bodies associated with contemporary Yellowstone-Snake River Plain (YSRP) magmatism. Particularly, how do these magma bodies accumulate in the mid to upper crust underlying the Yellowstone Caldera, and furthermore, what role do hydrothermal fluids play in their ascent? During the summer 2017 field season, two field teams from Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison installed forty-four wideband MT stations within and around the caldera, and using data slated for joint 3-D inversion with existing seismic data, two 2-D vertical conductivity sections of the crust and upper mantle were constructed. These models, in turn, provide preliminary insight into the emplacement of crustal magma bodies and hydrothermal processes in the YSRP region.

*Funding provided by NSF award EAR-1460294 and NSF award OCE-1263349.

Presenters

  • Rebeca Gurrola

    • Physics and Mathematics, St. Mary's University

Authors

  • Rebeca Gurrola

    • Physics and Mathematics, St. Mary's University

  • Bryce Neal

    • Geology, University of Maine Farmington

  • Adam Schultz

    • College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University

  • Ninfa Bennington

    • Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Brady Fry

    • College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University

  • Laney Hart

    • Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Esteban Bowles-Martinez

    • College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University

  • Naoto Imamura

    • College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University

  • David Miller

    • Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Reagan Cronin

    • Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Kathryn Scholz

    • Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University

  • Anna Kelbert

    • Geologic Hazards Science Center

  • Rolando Carbonari

    • University Frederico II