Scientists investigate Socorro Magma Body to enhance volcanic understanding
December 6, 2023 - Dani Rae Wascher
Although volcanoes have been extensively studied, unraveling the mysteries of the underlying magma transport proves to be a challenging pursuit. Grant Block, a graduate student in The University of New Mexico's Department of Physics & Astronomy, recently conducted a thorough study of the Socorro Magma Body (SMB) in Socorro, N.M., which provides a window into magmatic processes important in volcanic activity (although there is no such activity above the SMB).
Block, along with his Ph.D. advisor Professor Mousumi Roy, collaborated with the University of Alaska at Fairbanks to further the understanding of the SMB. The research titled “Pressurizing Magma Within Heterogeneous Crust: A Case Study at the Socorro Magma Body, New Mexico, USA” was recently published in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters.
This paper models how magma in the crust is stored within magma bodies (regions that are mostly liquid magma) and "mush" (mostly solid crystals and some liquid magma). Mush zones are thought to be too viscous to be erupted but are likely to be weaker than the surrounding rock.
The purpose of this project was to try to better understand the mechanisms causing the pattern of central uplift and peripheral subsidence, termed “sombrero deformation,” observed at the surface above the SMB. The SMB is a mid-crustal magma body with no magma transport or volcanism above it, which makes it a perfect "laboratory" to study the dynamics of mid-crustal magma bodies in general.
“Furthering our knowledge of mid-crustal magma bodies will help us better understand the full crustal magma transport systems where they sit. It's these systems that feed every volcanic eruption on Earth, so studying them is crucial,” stated Block.
Read more in the UNM Newsroom
