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RESEARCH GROUP

| Terrestrial Magmatic System

JGU

subject

description

Magmatic processes are central to the geosciences, as they constitute the main connection between the deep solid Earth and the surface. They are responsible for the creation of continents on Earth, for the generation of large ore deposits, and for catastrophic volcanic eruptions that directly and indirectly affect the lives of millions of people. Over the last decade, significant advances have been made in our investigation of magmatic systems, and we now know that we can only understand such systems in an integrative and interdisciplinary manner. They need to be considered at the mantle-to-atmosphere scale and not just by analyzing shallow magma chambers that directly feed volcanoes. It has also been realized that magmatic systems are highly dynamic and are formed by many small pulses of magma, of which less than 10% erupts in volcanoes, with most melt crystallizing within the Earth’s crust during its upward flow. Why that is, and how the dynamics of these complex physical and chemical systems work from the deep mantle to the atmosphere, is largely unknown. Our goal is to understand how magmatic processes work on vastly different scales and how different environments (subsurface, surface, and atmosphere) are intertwined. This will be achieved by combining unique expertise and multidisciplinary approaches of members of the Departments of the Geological and Atmospheric Sciences at the Universities of Mainz, Frankfurt and Heidelberg. TeMaS is a collaborative effort of the Universities of Mainz, Frankfurt and Heidelberg that coordinates interdisciplinary research on magmatic processes in the broadest sense, from the generation of magma in the Earth’s mantle through its eruption in volcanoes and how that impacts the atmosphere and climate. It is funded by grants from Rheinland-Pfalz, the University of Frankfurt and Heidelberg University.