David Cavell

Project:

Create a detailed map of the Sixmile Butte volcano and associates flows and understand its place in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) volcanic history. One portion of the project will do field mapping of the Sixmile area to identify flow fronts and boundaries and understand the eruptive history and construction of the volcano. The other portion will be to use geochemical data of Sixmile Butte and surrounding volcanoes for identifying potential trends in magma evolution within the ESRP and if we can see the regional evolution of an evolved center.

Goals:

Post-Masters:

1. Work as a volcanologist at an observatory, or with a state or federal agency monitoring and/or modeling volcanic hazards

2. Work as a geologic mapper, mapping, predominantly volcanic areas, to improve and complete the geologic map coverage of the western United States and other locals

3. Look further into volcanic geochemistry within the ESRP and/or other volcanic regions

Long Term:

• Graduate with a Masters degree

• Create a detailed map of the Sixmile volcano flows

• Understand the geochemistry of the ESRP

Short Term:

• Write and submit grants

• prepare for fieldwork

• Effectively educate undergraduates in the introductory Earth Systems labs

• Create and grow a social and professional network with faculty/staff and fellow graduate students

For 5/21?:

• Update maps: remove rhyolite, fix Sixmile location, adjust frame to include Wapi; convert stdev to stdev relative to mean (%)

• Lavatoo: search for Hodges et al. (2024) for lumping/splitting question

• Field scouting trip: make plan, including maps

  • get DEM, make hillshade; airphotos

• Debug MCS

For 5/8:

• Finish prospectus final draft

• Final grades due

• Add stdev to map

• Lavatoo

  • organizing by site, then elevation -- check coordinates of surface samples rel. to core

  • flag within site for odd jumps in MgO

  • check fence diagram (Hodges) for possible lumping vs splitting

• Box plots: check Zr data columns

• Play with MCS

For 4/25:

• Geostats and 6603 presentations {SKN attend 8 am Thursday}

• work on prospectus 2nd draft

• Add more dome(s) to box plots

• Check Lavatoo breaks in Mg trends to see if they relate to anything spatially (horizontal or vertical)

• Stddev map where stdev is relative to its own unit, not whole set

• Finish figures

• Field assistant for me and Dali rumor???

For 4/18:

• See if Kendra has experience with MCS, if not then try Scott

  • meeting with Mike, 19th Apr

• Map of geochem variance

  • look at the lavas in box and whiskers

• Plot Lavatoo with Sixmile chem to see if the trends line up

• Check to see if we have Zr data for other COTM lavas, especially in the north. If so, add to plot.

• Add figures to summaries

• What fraction of the Potter FeO measurements (by unit) are within 10% of mean of all values (by unit)?

  • 88%

• Add to short summaries (see file for notes)

• <SKN: finish draft feedback>

• Keep working on figures

  • to be completed this weekend/following week

For 4/11:

• Set up meeting with MMC about MCS

• Dive into Lavatoo samples to check spread

• Add BSB rhyolites, remove BSB basalt

• Are there other trace elements that could be used?

  • ZR (is plotted)

• Write short summaries of Potter analysis stuff and geochem interpretations

• IASE! 

• Finish prospectus draft

For 4/4: 

• see about reply from SSH about Wapi weirdo

• make plots for FeO and one or more trace elements

• Soooo much grading!

• MCS tutorial(s)

  • run a couple viable scenarios

-Need to email MMcC about good ways to run it for ESRP basalts as I ran into errors and questions

• Prep suggested fall schedule

For 3/28:

• Send unit numbers and associated depths for Kimama core to SKN

• {SKN email about Kimama core access}

• Check Wapi plot -- any chance Wapi Park was included? Difference in who collected/processed? Also check to confirm Antelope Butte.

• See if you can get more GESRP stdevs from geochem set

• Add sentence about dashed line, complete partial sentence, and add figure caption to VdPT guide

• Look up info on MCS

• **Talk about Fall classes**

For 3/14:

• Update equations for stddevs, associated plots

  • make a mini slide deck

• Write quick-guide to Van der Plas and Tobi (1965) chart

• Talk about field assistant(s)

For 3/7: 

• Update equations for stddevs, associated plots

  • make a mini slide deck

• Write quick-guide to Van der Plas and Tobi (1965) chart

• Poster draft

For 2/29:

• {SKN: methods review}

• Add unit number labels to spreadsheet

• Calculate average and stdev for each of the units; use those values for another forecast

• Review USGS proposal option

• Read/summarize Van der Plas and Tobi (1965)

For 2/22:

• Add strat lines from Potter to % error predictions; assess how flow boundaries influence error calculations

• Submit TRGS proposal

• Submit CERE proposal

• Write abstract for ISU Research Symposium and send to SKN (due 2/21)

For 2/15:

• depth series: calculate % of errors <10% for the other n groups (repeat what we did for n=4)

• Write TR draft; send to SKN

• Send SKN geochem rates as a budget for TR draft

For 2/8:

• plot % error as depth series for linear predictions using n=2,3,4,5

  • can be separate graphs per species

  • Consider using line instead of point in xy scatter

• Gather info on Tobacco Root requirements/timing

• Look up geochem analysis rates (check BYU, MSU, Hamilton)

• <In meeting: discuss plag paper summary>

For 2/1:

• Play more with predictive value of preceding point(s) (within Potter series)

• Read/summarize Chadwick et al. (2023)

• {SKN review problem statement in Moodle before Monday}

• Keep working on plag paper summary

For 1/25:

• Look for info on high P units

• Explore possible predictive use of previous points along time-space trend

• Look for geochem evolution calculations for Cedar Butte

• Revise problem statement draft

• Look for info on plag crystal growth rates (summarize paper(s))

For 1/18:

• Plot MgO vs FeO, look for relationship and likelihood trends (also FeO vs TiO2)

• Revisit Group X vs Group Y rules

• Look into High Fe-Ti and High K-Fe units

• Compare Melts output for 2% H2O

• {SKN: review problem statement draft}

For  12/13:

• Track down MgO plotting issue for Cedar

• Add plots for Pond Butte and Crater Butte

• Look at changes from using different Melts version

For 12/6:

• Plot Sixmile, Cedar Butte, Pond, and Crater values on the more cyclic graphs from Potter (check Hughes geochem database)

• Play with Melts

For 11/29:

• Look for longer form associated paper to Hawaii melts paper

• Read/summarize Potter paper

• Wrap up partially complete second Melts review

• {SKN: share notes from Sixmile fieldwork}

For 11/8 (SKN away, email check-in):

• Adjust chem distributions to reduce number of divisions

• Talk to Haley about how to access additional core data; ask her if she can present to us

• Keep playing with MELTS

• Find/read/summarize paper using MELTS on basalts (x2)

For 11/1:

• Plot chemical distributions as color ramped symbols specifically for Sixmile

• Talk to Haley about consistency between her surface/core data vs older values

  • consistency between samples (sampled same cores that were sampled previously)

• Read up on MELTS

For 10/25:

• Compare geochem from Butte 5206 (Miller) with Sixmile; make/justify interpretations

• Use stats to compare surface and subsurface data from Sixmile (same population?)

• With Geochem file: pick 3-4 elements and make a heat map of their distribution (ignore actual contacts, etc., and just look for major trends)

• {SKN: email Susie J about ISGC options}

For 10/18:

• {SKN: read EdMap, email Zac}

• Find/read/summarize Miles Miller (2009)??

• Make list of key needs for grants

For 10/11:

• Read/Summarize DeNosaquo et al. (2009)

• Look up ISGC, GSA funding opportunities

For 10/4:

• Read/summarize Hayden (1992) thesis

• Draft budget: adjust to a per-day cost, assume 2 people, free camping, $50/day vehicle

For 9/27:

• Read/summarize Hughes et al. (2020), McCurry and Rodgers (2009)

• Start draft budget for fieldwork

For 9/13 (email meeting):

• Look up EdMap details

  • appear to be announced in early Nov., past deadlines have been early Jan.

• (Next semester: plan for Geslin proposal)

• Summarize McCurry et al (2008) 

• Seminar! 

• {SKN: ask Scott about geochem data access}

For 9/6:

• {SKN see if I can figure out website access issue}

• Populate upper part of website

• Read/summarize and add project relevance for: Hughes et al. (2002), Hughes et al. (2002b)

• More social stuff

For 8/30:

• Populate upper part of website

• Read Lev paper and write abstract

• Review Helmuth map and pamphlet, write notes

• Read Kuntz paper and write abstract

• Do something social