Mariam Zenhom / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Nathan Brown
The Yellowstone National Park presents hydrothermal activity producing immensely hazardous hydrothermal explosions. Shallow reservoirs of water underground are heated by magma that can release boiling water, steam, and rock fragments. Hydrothermal explosions are triggered by seismic activity, the release of high amounts of pressure caused by deglaciation or changes in lake level. With the use of geochronology, luminescence dating is used to date explosion craters with rock core samples located in Yellowstone National Park. The duration of solar exposure samples is investigated by luminescence techniques to date rock samples measuring the photons that passes through the rocks. Rock cores are prepared and measured so luminescence signals can be interpreted to infer the history of hydrothermal explosions. Samples are prepared by slicing slabs and 16 wafers for each rock core sample from Yellowstone. The top half of the rock cores are prepared by slicing wafers, measuring each wafer’s thickness, and are crushed so it is ready to analyze how much light penetrated those fragments. The lower half of the rock core samples are preserved for investigating cooling history. Rock core samples are, so proficient techniques in preparing slabs and wafers aids for luminescence analysis to be propitious.
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