Collaborative Research: Advancing Thermodynamic Modeling of Open Magmatic Systems - Translithosphere Magma Chamber Simulator

Magma (molten rock) typically forms between 75 and 150 km below Earth’s surface (in the Earth’s mantle) and either stalls and cools in the upper 35-50 km (the Earth’s crust) or erupts to form a volcano. Understanding how magmas change physically and chemically informs an array of societally important topics from how, when, and where a volcano might erupt to the formation of economically important resources.

These changes are documented by a computer tool called the Magma Chamber Simulator that was developed by the Principal Investigators. Funding provided by this grant for advancements to the Magma Chamber Simulator will enhance geologists’ ability to address a range of questions, such as where magmas form and cool in the Earth’s interior, how magmas evolve from Hawaiian-like to Yellowstone-like compositions, and what magma gas content might be, which potentially controls the explosivity that might occur, with obvious societal implications.

This information provides data for volcanologists to better predict volcanic eruptions and assess the volcanic hazards that impact the health, safety, and livelihood of millions of people. Changes to the Magma Chamber Simulator involve adding additional mathematical approaches to how magmas change, updating and verifying a complex computer code, and running computer models on particular groups of volcanic rocks to address typical questions.

The Magma Chamber Simulator is a free computer modeling tool that is available to anyone and thus provides capability for beginning students to experienced professionals to learn about how magmas change as they move from inside the Earth to the surface. Funding will provide opportunities for students and early career professionals to learn about computer modeling and the benefits it provides for advancing scientific understanding of a range of geologic topics.

Training activities, from beginning to advanced level, will be provided both online and in person. Funding will also support advanced educational training for diverse students who will enter the earth science work force, which in the coming decades is key to addressing solutions to many of the hazard and resource challenges humans face.

This funding will support substantial advances the petrologic community’s capability to model open system magma evolution for translithosphere magma systems by adding significant keystone functionality to the publicly available tool, the Magma Chamber Simulator (MCS). The new tool, called Translithosphere Magma Chamber Simulator (TL-MCS) utilizes the capabilities of MCS, a thermodynamic model that quantifies the evolution of an open system where magma, wallrock, and recharge/stoping/entrainment reservoirs exchange matter and energy.

MCS models simultaneous crustal contamination, magma recharge, cumulate/mush entrainment, and fractional crystallization. Five new capabilities to TL-MCS include: (i) transport of a fluid phase from wallrock to magma; (ii) radiogenic isotopic disequilibrium during wallrock melting; (iii) equilibrium crystallization of resident magma; (iv) reaction of earlier formed crystals and resident magma; and (v) translithosphere modeling functionality (i.e., polybaric, polybaric-isobaric modeling capability).

New post-processing capabilities will enhance and accelerate interpretation of results of TL-MCS models; Jupyter notebooks (using Python) will include (i) user-friendly statistical techniques that inform the choice of ‘best fit’ models, and (ii) new algorithms for efficient data archiving and user ‘on-demand’ plotting. Widespread distribution and use of TL-MCS are top priorities.

Funding will support strategies for sharing TL-MCS and training users that include continuous updates to the MCS website, online and in person workshops, and online tutorials offered in English and Spanish. Because TL-MCS has complex functionality, additional training for advanced users will focus on effective and efficient modeling strategies and include publication of a roadmap of effective modeling practices.

Application of TL-MCS to igneous localities worldwide will enable diverse researchers to explore the open system translithosphere evolution of these systems. Funding for diverse students and post-doctoral researchers will support their scientific and professional development and position them to join the earth science workforce as highly trained computer modelers.

Opportunities will include designing and executing research projects and tutorials, writing proposals, leadership roles in workshops and tutorial development, oral presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and development of professional networks. Finally, increased opportunity for engagement in open system processes research will be available via an online world-wide open system magma processes working group that the funded scientists will initiate and manage.

This project is co-funded by a collaboration between the Directorate for Geosciences and Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure to support AI/ML and open science activities in the geosciences.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.