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ZOOM: Hidden Gems? Using sunstone-bearing lavas of the CRBG to explore magmatism within flood basalt provinces
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Put on by our friends at the Ice Age Floods Institute Palouse Falls Chapter, Emily B. Cahoon, a Term Assistant Professor, Dept. Geological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage will teach us about sunstones in this free zoom lecture on May 20th at 6:00p.
The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) is a vast outpouring of basaltic lava which covers much of the Pacific Northwest. These lavas were sourced from the Yellowstone plume and erupted through fissures across eastern Washington and Oregon approximately 17 million years ago. One subunit of the CRBG is the Picture Gorge Basalt (PGB), which holds surprising clues about the eruptive history, spatial distribution, and magmatic conditions within this flood basalt province! The PGB erupted earlier and longer than any other CRBG main-phase unit, and the only CRBG unit that hosts ‘sunstones’. Sunstones are large calcic plagioclase crystals that contain macro-inclusions of copper. Found in coarsely porphyritic basaltic lavas, sunstones have only been discovered within the spatial extent of the world’s youngest flood basalts – the CRBG and the Ethiopian-Yemen province! This talk explores the timing, distribution, and gemstone localities of the CRBG to illuminate magmatic processes within flood basalt provinces!
Dr. Emily Cahoon is a Term Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Growing up, she attended rock and mineral expositions and frequently went mineral collecting with her family – sparking an early interest in geology. Her research pursues questions broadly focused in geochemical, petrologic, and volcanological problems – with an emphasis on magmatic processes related to flood basalt emplacement, crystal growth, and geochemical cycling. Emily also loves teaching (even online!) and has industry experience in the fields of environmental consulting and mineral exploration.
Learn about these sunstones live on Thursday, or enjoy the lecture at your own leisure afterwards (pending speaker’s permission) and browse the rest of the EWU Geology Department’s YouTube collection of lectures while you’re there!
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