The Central European Volcanic Province (CEVP) in Germany, E France, and N Switzerland comprises a diverse range of intraplate volcanic rocks such as basalts, basanites, foidites, phonolites, trachytes, and carbonatites. In particular, the southern part of the province comprises unique volcanic rocks of strongly SiO2-undersaturated and ultracalcic composition originating from the asthenospheric mantle. The peculiar paragenesis of clinopyroxene, apatite, olivine, melilite, nepheline, perovskite, and numerous rare accessory phases offers the unique opportunity to unravel deep Earth processes such as volatile cycling, mantle metasomatism, and eruption mechanisms.
This project will focus on determination of H2O, halogen and CO2 contents in phenocrysts of various minerals and melt inclusion compositions. Combined with the latest geochemical and geochronological data, this will allow a comprehensive understanding of mantle evolution through melt formation and extraction, as well as magma differentiation and ascent.
Fieldwork in the Hegau volcanic area (N Schaffhausen) will provide an opportunity to augment the existing sample collection and to obtain a detailed understanding of the geological framework. The focus of this Master’s project will be on various state-of-the-art methods such as Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), electron probe microanalysis, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and Raman spectroscopy combined with petrographic microscopy.
Advisors: Dr. Thomas Binder, Dr. Nils Benjamin Gies
University: BE
Proposal: