Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics (IGT) PhD Projects
Study of collision-related volcanoes of Armenia
Supervisors: Dr. Ivan Savov and Prof. Marjorie Wilson
Little is known about the petrology and geochemistry of Tertiary-Holocene volcanoes of Armenia, which form part of an extensive continental collision-related volcanic province within the Caucasus Mountains extending from Turkey through Armenia and into Azerbaijan, Iran and Georgia. This is a region with very active crustal-scale faults responsible for triggering large earthquakes. The volcanoes of the Caucasus region have been erupting since the Eocene and many are still active. Their position is intimately related to major fault locations, which are associated with the ongoing collision between 3 tectonic plates- Eurasia, Arabia and Africa. This region represents one of the few places on Earth (in addition to the Himalayan orogenic belt in Tibet), where it is possible to study volcanism associated with active continent-continent collision.
The volcanoes of Armenia (>500 mapped) form an arc of activity that is associated with numerous small pull apart basins related to regional tectonic movements. Many have never been studied previously, making this a frontier area for research. Improved knowledge of the active volcanism in Armenia will provide a critical contribution to a large interdisciplinary international research project (in which Savov and Univ.Leeds are key partners) focussed on volcanic hazard assessment in the context of site selection for new nuclear power plants in the region.
This project will include the construction of a petrological and geochemical synthesis of the magmatism within Armenia, with a focus on the Holocene volcanism. It will involve field mapping and sampling, detailed petrographic and textural description of the volcanic rocks and microprobe analysis of the constituent minerals. It will also include measurement of the bulk-rock major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb-B-Li isotope signatures of these rocks either at Leeds or in collaboration with scientists from the Carnegie Institution of Washington (USA), CNR-Pisa (Italy), Univ.Kiel (Germany) and the University of Maryland (USA). The geochemical data will be used to develop petrogenetic models for the magmatism and to understand the relationship between magma chemistry and tectonic setting.
Selected References:
Keskin, M., Pearce, J. A., Mitchell, J. G., 1998. Volcano-stratigraphy and geochemistry of collision-related volcanism on the Erzurum-Kars Plateau, northeastern Turkey, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 85, 355-404.
Keskin, M., 2003. Magma generation by slab steepening and breakoffbeneath a subduction-accretion complex: An alternative model for collision-related volcanism, Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 24, 8046, doi: 10.1029/2003GL018019.
Karakhanian, A., Djrbashian, R., Trifonov, V., Philip, H., Arakelian, S., Avagian, A., 2002. Holocene-historical volcanism and active faults as natural factors for Armenia and adjacent countries, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 113, 3 19-344.
Karapetian, S. G., Jrbashian, R. T., Mnatsakanian, A. Kh., 2001. Late collision rhyolitic volcanism in the north-eastern part of the Armenian Highland. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 112, 189-220.
Wilson , M., Bianchini, G., 1999. Tertiary-Quaternary magmatism within the Mediterranean and surrounding areas. In: Durand, B., Jolivet, L., Horváth, F. & Séranne, M (eds) The Mediterranean Basins: Tertiary extension within the Alpine Orogen. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 156, 141-168.
Guo, Z., Wilson , M., Liu, J., Mao, Q., 2006. Post-collisional, potassic and ultrapotassic magmatism of the Northern Tibetan plateau: constraints on characteristics of the mantle source, geodynamic setting and uplift mechanisms, J.Petrology,
doi: 10.1093/petrology/egl007