Scoria Cones As Climate and Erosion Markers: Morphometric Analysis of Erebus Volcanic Province, Antarctica, Using High-Resolution Digital Elevation Data
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Scoria cones as climate and erosion markers: morphometric analysis of Erebus Volcanic Province, Antarctica, using high-resolution digital elevation data THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Andrew L. Collins Graduate Program in Earth Sciences The Ohio State University 2015 Master's Examination Committee: Professor Terry Wilson, Advisor Professor Michael Durand Professor Ian Howat Copyright by Andrew L. Collins 2015 Abstract Cinder cones in the Erebus Volcanic Province provide important markers of climate, erosion, and stress in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica, but they have not previously been systematically studied. Cinder cones provide ideal subjects for morphological analysis because they consistently form as radially symmetric landforms with approximately constant slopes. DEMs are used in tandem with satellite images and parameterization algorithms in this study to characterize landforms and surface properties of glaciated and non-glaciated Erebus Volcanic Province cinder cones. Cone dimensions are similar to those in other intraplate environments and generally smaller than cones in subduction- and rift-related settings. Average height/width ratios are more characteristic of volcano cone fields than platform cone fields, but the volcanic terrain of the Erebus Volcanic Province is likely a complex combination of both field types. Elongation of cinder cones in the Erebus Volcanic Province is common and most elongated cones have long axes oriented parallel or subparallel to the slope direction of terrain underlying them, indicating topographic control of cone asymmetry. Some cones with orientations independent of terrain controls suggest that regional stresses exert control on cone elongation, as suggested by previous research. Shape modification by wind and overriding glaciers may also play a role in producing cone asymmetry. ii Erosion rates on cinder cones in the Erebus Volcanic Province are generally slower and more linear than in other, more temperate regions. This is most likely due to a decreased influence of the role of liquid water, as evidenced by lack of increasing surface irregularity with time. Previous research has shown that wind has significant abrading power when persistent, and that volcanic terrain has increased shear strength because of surface roughness and angularity. Both of these factors likely contribute to the relatively slow rate of erosion in the EVP compared with fields in the southwestern US, the Canary Islands, Mexico, and Russia. The role of cold-based glaciers in polar erosion regimes was evaluated for the Pleistocene and remains unclear. Rates of slope degradation for glaciated and non- glaciated cones are similar, and statistical analysis indicates that the trends are statistically indistinguishable from one another. Therefore it may be that overriding by cold-based glaciers does not markedly affect cone morphology. Surface irregularity does increase after repeated overriding by polar glaciers compared with glacier-free cones. This might be linked to meltwater channel activity at the base of polar glaciers during times of glacial cover. Morphologic study of cinder cones has established an age-calibrated rate of surface change in a polar desert environment. Establishment of an absolute age classification based on the degree of cone slope and height/width degradation can potentially be used to assign ages to the hundreds of undated cones in Antarctica, and may also prove applicable as a dating tool for volcanism in other cold-desert environments, such as those on Mars and other terrestrial planets. Because of error ranges iii in parameters and age values, absolute age can currently only be assigned to broad age groups with a reasonable degree of certainty. However, a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that affect initial cone formation and morphological change over time may allow better constraints for more precisely predicting cinder cone age. iv Dedication This document is dedicated to my family and friends. v Acknowledgments I would like to extend my thanks to my advisor, Dr. Terry Wilson, for her help and support, and for providing me with the opportunity to do research in this spectacular and unique environment. I am extremely grateful to Claire Porter and the team at PGC for curating and providing stereo satellite imagery, without which this project would have been impossible. Many thanks to Dr. MJ Noh for his patience in helping me resolve the various errors I committed while learning to use the SETSM DEM algorithm, and to Pablo Grosse and Leonardo Euillades at Instituto CEDIAC for their constant willingness to help and work with me to ensure that MORVOLC was compatible with polar projections. I would also like to express my gratitude to my thesis committee members, Drs. Ian Howat and Mike Durand for their valuable time, input, and assistance with statistical methods. Thanks to my friends and family for their constant support and encouragement, and to the Wilson group—the experience wouldn’t have been quite the same if I had been the only person in the office in the wee hours of the morning. This work was supported in part by an allocation of computing time from the Ohio Supercomputer Center under grant PAS1041 to Terry Wilson. Field observations were performed and imagery and software were acquired with the support of the ANET project and NSF Division of Polar Programs award PLR-1249631 to Terry Wilson. vi Vita 2008................................................................North Yarmouth Academy 2012................................................................B.A. Geology, the College of Wooster 2012 to 2013 ..................................................Graduate Fellow, The Ohio State University 2013 to 2014 ..................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University 2013 to present ...............................................Graduate Research Assistant, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and School of Earth Science, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Earth Sciences vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Background ....................................................................................................... 4 Geologic Setting of the Erebus Volcanic Province ......................................................... 4 Tectonic setting............................................................................................................ 4 Geology of Erebus Volcanic Province ........................................................................ 8 Glacial history of the southern McMurdo Sound region ........................................... 21 Using Scoria Cones as Geomorphic Markers ............................................................... 28 The Glacial Erosion Debate .......................................................................................... 33 Chapter 3: Methods ........................................................................................................... 38 Morphometric and Age Analysis of Scoria Cones ........................................................ 38 viii DEM Construction ..................................................................................................... 41 Morphometric Parameterization ................................................................................ 44 Evaluating Cinder Cone Degradation ........................................................................... 60 Determining Trends in Morphologic Change ............................................................ 60 Comparison with Previous Studies ............................................................................ 61 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 65 Syn-eruptive Cone Morphology .................................................................................... 65 Cone dimensions........................................................................................................ 65 Ellipticity and orientation .......................................................................................... 70 Scoria Cone Morphometric Evolution in the EVP ........................................................ 77 Morphometric Parameters of Glaciated and Non-Glaciated Cones .............................. 86 Accuracy of DEMs and algorithms ..............................................................................