The

Newsletter of the Commission on Large-Volume Basaltic Provinces
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior

IA VCEIThe next major IAVCEI meeting is the 1997 General Assembly scheduled to be held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Now is the time for Commission
members to propose and start organizing associated symposia, workshops,
field trips, and short courses. Please contact Mike Coffin and John
Mahoney, who are coordinating Commission input to the meeting's organizers, with ideas or plans. In this issue, recent research on lava flow dynamics, the Karoo basalts, and planetary missions is summarized, as are recent
meetings focusing on large-volume basaltic provinces. This issue is also
the first to be distributed solely via the internet; only those Commission
members without an internet address will receive hard copy via snail mail.
As always, we welcome your contributions to The UP Reader, and yourrecruiting of interested scientists to join the Commission.

Commission News
Commission Meeting-IUGG XXI General Assembly
LeaderMike Coffin
Institute {or Geophysics
The University of Texas at Austin
8701 North Mopac Expressway
Austin, TX 78759-8397, USA.
Tel: 1.512.471.0429
fax: 1.512.471.8844
internet: mikec@coffin.ig.utexas.edu
Secretary
John Mahoney
Department of
Geology and Geophysics
School of Ocean and Earth Scienceand Technology
University of Hawaii
2525 Correa Rd.
Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
Tel: 1.808.956.8705{ax: 1.808.956.2538
internet:
jmahoney@soest.hawaii.edu
Newsletter Production
Toni Lee Mitchell, Lisa Gahagan
and Janelle Berry

The Commission's meeting on 7 july was attended by about twenty
scientists. The possibility of implementing a major new research initiativeon LIPs, akin to RIDGE-InterRIDGE, was discussed; W. Johnson suggested
that the Commission seek assistance from the IUGG and lUGS executive
committees to help kick-start such a move. Preliminary Commission plans,
including field trips, for upcoming IAVCEI meetings in Mexico and South
Africa were discussed (ideas are welcome!). A probable field trip to the East
China basalts, in connection with the 1996 30th International Geological
Congress (IGC), was announced by X.X. Mo. A.N. Zemtsov proposed aworkshop on the Siberian Traps in 1997. Regarding Commission products
and services, suggestions were made that DOS versions of the LIPbibliography and data base be offered, and M. Pringle proposed compilingan up-to-date radiometric-age data base for LIPs. Last but not least,
support was strong for an internet version of The LIP Reader, which has
been initiated with this issue.

Volume on Large Igneous Provinces
The UP volume is progressing steadily. It will be published by theAmerican Geophysical Union Press as part of their Geophysical Monographseries, and should be coming out in September, 1996. Currently, manuscripts of seventeen chapters have been or are being submitted and sentout for peer-review.

Steering Conunittee
An updated list of Steering Committee members and their addresses follows :Hans Barsczus (Univ. of Montpellier, France ................................ barsczus@sajou.dstu.univ-montp2.fr
Ian Campbell (Australian National Univ., Australia) ................................... ihcl56l@huxley.anu.edu.au
Mike Coffin (Univ. of Texas, USA) ..................................................................... mikec@coffin.ig.utexas.edu
Keith Cox (University of Oxford, UK ......................................................................... trishm@earth.ox.ac.uk
Geoff Davies (Australian National Univ., Australia) .............................................. geoff@rses.anu.edu.au
Bob Duncan (Oregon State Univ., USA ...................................................................... rduncan@oce.orst.edu
Jean Goslin (Univ. of Brest, France) ............................................................................... goslin@univ-brest.fr
Chris Harris (Univ. of Cape Town, South Africa) ..................................................... kv@geology.uct.ac.za
Chris Hawkesworth (Open Univ., UK) ....................................................................... j.l.dryden@open.ac.uk
Jim Head (Brown Univ., USA) ........................................................................... head@pggipl.geo.brown.edu
Jan Hertogen (University of Leuven, Belgium) ..................................... jan.hertogen@geo.kuleuven.ac.beRosaly Lopes-Gautier Uet Propulsion Lab, NASA) .......................................... rlopes@jpluvs.jpl.nasa.gov
John Mahoney (Univ. of Hawaii, USA) ............................................................ jmahoney@soest.hawaii.edu
Sverre Planke (Univ. of Oslo, Norway) .......................................................... sverre.planke@geologi.uio.no
Jakob Skogseid (Univ. of Oslo, Norway) ............... .................................... jakob.skogseid@geologi.uio.no
Kensaku Tamaki (Univ. of Tokyo, Japan) ..................... ... .................................... ·t amaki@ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Dominique Weis (Free Univ. of Brussels, Belgium) ............................................... dweis@resulb.ulb.ac.be
Dave Williams (Univ. of Alabama, USA) ............................................................... dwillia3@wgs.geo.ua.edu
Full addresses and contact numbers for the above are available over the internet, on diskette, or as
hard copy (see below) from Mike Coffin.

Recent Research Summaries
Lava Flow Dynamics and Cooling
We have examined the dynamics and coolingof a typical, 30 m thick, continental flood basalt
lava flow. For reasonable values of viscosity andslope, a 30 m thick sheet of lava could flow
turbulently. Such a turbulent lava flow ispredicted to cool and crystallize significantly
along its length and to cause significant thermal
and mechanical erosion of the underlying lava
flows. The thin, quenched, flow tops preserved
between lava flows in the Columbia River Basalts
show that (1) there was little crystallization
during flow and (2) that neither thermal nor
mechanical erosion were important during
emplacement. We conclude that the ColumbiaRiver Basalts, at least, did not flow turbulently.
The most reasonable alternative is that floodbasalt lava flows were originally emplaced asthinner flows that were later inflated to their
final thickness.
contributed by Laszlo Keszthelyi, Thorvaldur
Thordarson, and Stephen Self (University of
Hawaii, USA)

Karoo Geochemistry, Paleomagnetism, andTimingUplift and erosion in southern Africa over thelast 30 my has dissected and eroded much of the
Karoo CFB. This has resulted in superb exposureof the subvolcanic sheet and dyke complex but
has left only erosional remnants of the once
extensive volcanic carapace (2.3 x 106 km2).
Despite a wealth of research, detailed
correlations between the remnants, particularly
between Lesotho, Botswana and the LebomboMwenezi-Save monocline, have remained elusive.
New geochemical studies in the central cratonic
remnants of Botswana (A. Duncan), Lesotho(Hooper, Marsh) and Springbok Flats (Marsh), andthe rift-related sequences of Tuli (Duncan, Marsh)
and Lebombo (Duncan, Hooper), together with
Ar-Ar dating (R. Duncan) and palaeomagnetic
work (R. Hargraves, Hooper), have allowed
correlations to be established and a preliminary
reconstruction of the evolution of the Karoo
Province. Volcanism commences with sporadic
nephelinite eruptions in north Lebombo andMwenezi, followed by high-Ti picrites in theseareas, Tuli and Save. Contemporaneous lowTiactivity commences in the Central area, andwaxes rapidly. The main stage of basaltic activity(both high- and low-Ti) in the Lebombo, Mwenezi,Tuli, and northern Botswana coincides with andsucceeds the waning of Central area activity. All
this occurs in a very short period at 180 Ma.

Eruptives in the Lebombo-Mwenezi-Tuli-Save rift
zones are confined to rift grabens and areas tothe north and east; virtually none of these
volcanic products flow west and south into theinterior of South Africa. The main Karoo activity
concludes with rhyolite activity in Lebombo andMwenezi at about 177 Ma.
contributed by Goonie Marsh (Rhodes University,
South Africa)

Spacecraft Data on Extra-terrestrial
Volcanoes
Large volcanic provinces have been foundon the Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter's moon Io and,possibly, on Mercury. The study of volcanoes onthese bodies relies largely on data acquired by
spacecraft. Below is a summary of the mostrecent data sets and a glimpse of the missions
we can look forward to in the next few years.
More detailed information on available data sets
can be found in these two WWW pages:
Planetary Data Systems (PDS) imaging node:
http:/I cdwings.jpl.nasa.gov
National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC):
http:/ / nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ planetaryIplanetary_home.html
Moon: We have more information about
volcanism on the Moon than on any otherplanets, thanks largely to the Apollo missions
which brought back samples. The latest Moon
data available are from the Clementine spacecraft, which orbited the Moon in 1994. Data
from all of Clementine's imaging systems (UVI
Visible, Long-Wave Infrared, Near Infrared, High
Resolution, and Star Tracker) have been released
as raw images in CD form. For more information, see the Clementine page in the PDS
homepage.
Mercury: The existence of volcanic plains on
Mercury has not been confirmed and the only
data available are from the Mariner 10 mission
which imaged 45% of the surface in 1974-75.
Mariner 10 camera data are available in CD form
from the NSSDC, but the CDs are in an oldformat and are not easy to work with. Some
images are available on-line through the PDS
Browser (see URL above) and can be converted tovarious formats and downloaded using theBrowser.
Venus: Volcanism is widespread on thesurface of Venus, where some of the solar
system's most spectacular lava flows and lava
channels are seen. The Magellan spacecraft
arrived at Venus in 1990 and mapped 99% of theplanet using synthetic aperture radar to "see"through the thick cloud cover. Magellan provided
altimetry, radiometry, and gravity data in addition
to radar images. The copious Magellan data set isavailable from the NSSDC as CDs and subsets canbe viewed using the PDS· Browser.
Mars: The most recent data sets are thosefrom the two Viking orbiter and lander missions,which arrived at Mars in 1976. Images from
Viking Orbiters 1 and 2 are available as CDs
through NSSDC. Images from the two Landers
should be available in CD format by early 1996,
but can be obtained now through the PDS
Browser.
We can look forward to exciting new data in
1997 from the Mars Pathfinder and the Mars
Global Surveyor missions. Pathfinder is a lander
mission which will carry a rover equipped with animager (visible to near IR) and an alpha-proton Xray spectrometer for in-situ sample analysis. It isscheduled to land on July 4, 1997. Mars Global
Surveyor is an orbiter carrying a camera, laser
altimeter, and thermal emission spectrometer in
its complement of instruments, and is scheduled
to reach Mars in September 1997.
Io: The two Voyager spacecraft which flew
by Jupiter in 1979 showed the enormous extent of
volcanism on Io and sparked debates about thecomposition of the flows and volcanic units(sulfur or silicates?). Voyager imaging data are
available in CDs through the NSSDC. We can lookforward to new data on Io very soon: the Galileo
spacecraft will arrive at jupiter on December 7 ofthis year and begin a two-year tour of the Jupitersystem, during which Io will be monitored by four
remote sensing instruments: the Solid State
Camera (SSI), the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS), the Photopolarimeter Radiometer(PPR), and the Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS).
Galileo's closest encounter with Io occurs on
December 8 but, due to the functional loss of thespacecraft's main antenna, data will recorded andtransmitted to us during the first half of 1996.
Galileo data will be released in CD format once
calibrations and initial analysis are completed.
The spacecraft's 2-year tour will allow us tomonitor Io's activity at (relatively) close range andwill provide a steady supply of exciting data forthe next few years.
contributed by Rosaly Lopes-Gautier (Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
USA)

Summaries of recent research programs areinvited; please send your contribution to Mike
Coffin or John Mahoney. For the sake of brevity,references are omitted; please contact the contributors directly for more information.

Previous Meetings
WGG/IA VCEI "Origin of Large Igneous Provinces" Commission Symposium, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 6 july 1995

The Origin and Evolution of Large Igneous
Provinces full-day symposium, convened by Mike
Coffin, Nick Arndt, and john Ludden, was wellattended and the scene of lively debate. Papers
were presented on individual LIPs, including Karoobasalts (J.S. Marsh, A.R. Duncan), oceanic plateaus(M.F. Coffin, E.L. Winterer, C.G. Farnetani, M.
Cloete, A. Kerr, W.W. Sager), Deccan Traps (J.j .
Mahoney, K.V. Subburao, U. Raval), Parana basalts(P.R. Renne), Ethiopian Traps (V. Courtillot),
Siberian basalts (P.R. Renne, M.S. Pringle), andChinese flood basalts (X. X. Mo), as well as onenvironmental effects of flood basalts (V.
Courtillot, S. Self) and on flood basalt statistics (A.
Zemstov). Among the most exciting results were
new 40Ar-39Ar dates from many LIPs, demonstrating that they were emplaced in short periods;
correlation of the Siberian flood basalts and the
Permo-Triassic mass extinction event; and otherenvironmental havoc wrought by flood basalt
eruptions.
WGG/IA VCEI "Evolution of Large Volcanic
Systems and Restless Calderas" Symposium andRelated Field Workshop, Boulder, Colorado, USA,
25 june-4 july 1995

An excellent summary of this exciting LIPrelated symposium/workshop, convened by Ken
Hon and John Pallister, appeared in the 17 August
1995 issue of Nature (Hon, K., & Pallister, j., 1995.

Wrestling with restless calderas and fighting
floods of lava, Nature, 376, 554-555 .)Plume2 Alfred-Wegener-Conference, Tegernsee,
Bavaria, Germany, 16-21 july 1995

This conference at SchloB Ringberg, a sequelto the 1991 Plume Symposium at Caltech, wasattended by approximately 60 geoscientists. D.L.
Anderson, S.R. Hart, and A.W. Hofmann, with theinvaluable assistance of K. Lehnert, convened theconference, and organized one plenary lecture in
the morning and one in the afternoon, eachfollowed by a forum session. Plenary lectures
included "Fluid Dynamics of Plume Formation,
Ascent, and Interaction with Lithosphere" (U.
Christensen); "Geochemistry of Plumes" (S.R.
Hart); "To Plume or Not To Plume-Alternatives toPlume Convection" (D.L. Anderson); "Tomographic
and Other Seismological Evidence for Plumes" (G.
Masters), "Mixing and Recycling: Time Scales andLength Scales" (C. Allegre); "Mineral Physics andPlumes: Phase Changes and Thermal Constraints"(R. Boehler); "LIPs, Plate Tectonics, and Plumes:Pas de Deux or Menage a Trois?" (M.F. Coffin).
Participants were treated to the latest results in"plumology" from geodynamics, seismology,
geochemistry, mineral physics, and radiometricdating, and lively discussion and superb hospitality were hallmarks of the conference. Extended
abstracts are scheduled to appear in Terra Nostra,
the journal of the Alfred-Wegener-Foundation.
Synopses of recent meetings are welcomedplease send your -200 word review to Mike Coffin
or John Mahoney.

UPs and the Ocean Drilling Program
Each northern hemisphere spring, the fourthematic panels of the Joint Oceanographic
Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES)Lithosphere, Tectonics, Ocean History, andSedimentary & Geochemical Processes-rank all
active ODP proposals. These global rankings,
plus logistical considerations, form the basis for
the JOIDES Planning Committee's choice of -12
highly-ranked proposals for inclusion in theannual prospectus. Each northern hemispherefall, the four thematic panels rank the proposals
in the prospectus. Finally, in December of eachyear, the Planning Committee examines the
rankings of the proposals in the prospectus anddetermines a rational scientific program for the
drillship JOIDES Resolution one year in advance;i.e., in December 1995, the program for 1997 will
be scheduled.
One large igneous province, the Southeast
Greenland volcanic margin, is now being drilledduring ODP Leg 163. The Planning Committee
has chosen two LIP proposals-the Caribbean
flood basalt province and the Kerguelen Plateau/
Broken Ridge-for inclusion in the 1997
prospectus. As described in The LIP Reader #4,
formal links between ODP and our Commission
have been established. Mike Coffin represents
our Commission within the ODP advisory
structure, as a member of the Lithosphere Panel,
and welcomes input from Commission members.
The Ocean Drilling Program is proposaldriven, and anyone may submit a drilling
proposal. Guidelines for writing and submitting
proposals may be obtained from Rob Kidd orJulie Harris, JOIDES Office, Dept. of Earth
Sciences, University of Wales, Cardiff, PO Box
914, Cardiff CFl 3YE, UK. Telephone
44.222.874.541. Facsimile 44.222.874.943.
Internet joides@cf.ac.uk. Information on ODP's
long-range thematic plans can be obtained fromthe same address.

The Ocean Drilling Program is now undergoing a mid-term review. The goal of the international review is to provide a comprehensive andbalanced evaluation of the science, operations,and organizational structure of the international
program of scientific ocean drilling. IAVCEI,
through the Commission on Large-Volume
Basaltic Provinces, has been asked to "review andevaluate the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Ocean Drilling Program andthe future goals." Commission members were
solicited for input, and the Steering Committee
has forwarded its submission to the ODP International Review Committee. The letter isavailable over the internet (see below).

Commission Products and Services
UPs on Internet

Anonymous FTP

LIPs have an internet presence, accessible via
standard internet tools. The Commission's LIPbibliography of -2000 references, directory of -450
members, and digital database of LIP areas (Figure 1of Coffin & Eldholm, Reviews of Geophysics, 1994)
are available, as well as the calendar of events andtext versions of The LIP Reader. The internet site iscurrently set up as a Gopher server, which allows
users to log in with anonymous ftp or World Wide
Web (WWW) tools, such as Netscape or NCSA
Mosaic. As time allows, the site will be enhanced for
WWW users. Ideas on how the site could be improved are most welcome. For copies of materials on
Macintosh diskette, please send a blank 3.5 inch
diskette to Mike.

With ftp, open ftp.cc.utexas.edu, use the loginname "anonymous" and your internet address as a
password. Then change directory to /pub/lips.

GopherUsing your Gopher client software, open
gopher.utexas.edu. Navigate toUT-Austin, to Collegesand Departments, to Institute for Geophysics, toResearch Projects, and then to Commission on Large
Igneous Provinces.

World Wide Web
The Universal Resource Locator (URL) is gopher:/I gopher.ig. utexas.ed u:70 I 11 I research/lips.

Upcoming Meetings
11-15 December: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, USA. Information: AGU Meetings Dept., 2000 Florida Ave., Washington, D.C., USA. Telephone 1.202.462.6900.
Facsimile: 1.202.238.0566. Internet: meetinginfo@kosmos.agu.org
1996
25-30 January: Deccan Trap Volcanism and Its Effect on Climate, Mahabaleshwar, India. Abstract
and registration deadline: 1 November 1995. Information: G. Sen, Geology Dept., Florida International
University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA. Telephone 1.305.348.2299. Facsimile: 1.305.348.3877.
Internet: seng@servax.fiu.edu or K.V. Subbarao, Earth Sciences Dept., Indian Institute of Technology,
Powai, Bombay 400 076, India. Telephone: 91.22.578.2545 ext 3217. Facsimile: 91.22.578.3480 or
3 702. Internet: subbu@zircon.geos.iitb.ernet.in
February: Symposium on Deccan Flood Basalts of India, Nagpur, India. Information: K.K.K. Nair,
Geological Survey of India, Central Region, Seminary Hills, Nagpur - 440 006, India. Telephone:
91.712.534.448. Facsimile: 91.712.532.636.
13-26 February: 13th Australian Geological Convention and Celebration of Jubilee of BMR/AGSO,
Canberra, Australia. Information: M.J. Rickard, Secretary, 13th AGC, ACTS, GPO Box 2200, Canberra,
ACT 2601, Australia. Telephone 61.6.249.2056. Facsimile: 61.6.249.5544
20-22 February: Tectonic, Magmatic, and Depositional Processes at Passive Continental Margins,
Burlington House, London, United Kingdom. Information: Nick Kusznir, Dept. of Earth Sciences,
University of liverpool, liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom.
28-30 March: Geochemical Earth Reference Model Workshop, Lyon, France. Information: GERM
Workshop, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46, Allee d'Italie, 693647 Lyon Cedex 7, France. Telephone: 33.72.72 .8414. Facsimile: 33.72.72.8677. Internet: gei:m@geologie.ens-lyon.fr. WWW: http:// #'\www.ens-lyon.fr/- albarede/ germ.html\l.)5

26-28 May: The Ocean lithosphere & Scientific Drilling iftto the 21st Century, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. Information: H.j.B. Dicl<, Dept. of Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Telephone: 1.508.563.3523. Internet: hdick@whoi.edu; Catherine Mevel,
Laboratoire de Petrologie, Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, T26 E3, 4 Place jussieu, Paris Cedex, 75230 France.
Telephone: 33.1.44.27.51.93. Internet: cam@ccr.ju ssieu.fr
1-9 july: Earth- Ocean- Atmosphere Forces for Change, Melbourne, Australia. Information: IAMAS/ IAPSO
Secretariat, Convention Network, 224 Rouse Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria 3207, Australia. Telephone:
61.3.9646.4122 . Facsimile: 61.3.9646. 773 7. Internet: mscarlett@peg.apc.org
11-21 july: Long Basalt Flow Workshop, Townsville, Australia. Information: P.j. Stephenson, Dept. ofEarth Sciences, james Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia. Telephone: 61.77.81.5061. Facsimile:
61.77.2 5.1501. Internet: jon.stephenson@jcu.edu.au
29 july-2 August: Pan Pacific Hazards '96, Vancouver, Canada. Information: Disaster Preparedness
Resources Centre, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, 4th Floor, Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z3,
Canada. Telephone: 1.604.822.5518. Facsimile: 1.604.822.6164. Internet: dprc@unixg.ubc.ca
4-14 August: 30th International Geological Congress, Beijing, China. Information: Prof. Zhao Xun, Deputy
Secretary General, 30th International Geological Congress, PO Box 823, Beijing 100037, PR China. Telephone: 86.10.83 23188. Facsimile: 86.10.8328928. Internet: zhaox@bepc2.ihep.ac.cn
9-14 September: XXV General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Information: LOC XXV General Assembly ESC, Attn: Mr. Bardi Thorkelsson, The Icelandic Meteorological
Office, Bustadavegur 9, 150 Reykjavik, Iceland. Telephone: 354.5 60.0600. Facsimile: 354.552.81 2 1.
Internet: esc96@verdur.is
21 -25 October: International Symposium on Geology and Geophysics of the Indian Ocean- GIO, 1996,
Goa, India. Information: Ch. Madhusudana Rao, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403
004, India. Facsimile: 91.832.223.340. Internet: msrao@bcgoa.ernet.in1997
19-24 january: lAVCEI General Assembly, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Information: Instituto de Geofisica,
UNAM, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Mexico, D.F. Facsimile: 5.5 50.2 4.86. Internet:
lourdes@igiris.igeograf.unam.mx

The

LIP Reader
Institute for Geophysics
The University of Texas at Austin
8701 North Mopac Expressway
Austin, Texas 78759-8397 USA