Tracing Source Material For Bræðravirki Ridge Through Isotopic Analysis

• Main Author: Banna, Layali N
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Open Works 2022
• Subjects: Geology; Earth Sciences; Geochemistry; Volcanology; Crawford; Hannah; Iceland
• Online Access: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/9768; https://openworks.wooster.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12937&context=independentstudy

Iceland has been the subject of many studies as it is one of the most tectonically active areas in the world. While the tectonically active regions of Iceland are studied in depth, areas like the Western Volcanic Zone (WVZ), which is not as tectonically active, are not studied as much. This is truer for small formations like tindars. One of these understudied tindars is Bræðravirki ridge, a small 3 km long hyaloclastite tindar located off the flank of Okjökull shield volcano. Previous studies were done there by College of Wooster alums Simon Crawford-Muscat and Hannah Grachen, where they found that Bræðravirki had an odd geochemical signature. During the previous research extremely rare quartz phenocrysts were also found in samples from Bræðravirki. The main focus of this study is to find the source of the odd geochemical signature and quartz phenocrysts, and to do this an isotopic analysis of Bræðravirki was done. The isotopic analysis found that Bræðravirki was not the result of continental crustal contamination. Bræðravirki is more likely the result of assimilating rhyolitic material from the surrounding area or hydrothermally altered basalt, but more research is necessary.