The

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

NumberS

November 1996

LeaderMike Coffin
Institute for 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
Secretaryjohn Mahoney
Department of
Geology and Geophysics
School of Ocean and Earth Scienceand Technology
University of Hawaii
2525 Correa Rd.
Honolulu, HI96822, USA.
Tel: 1.808.956.8705

fax: 1.808.956.2538
internet:
jmahoney@soest.hawaii.edu
Newsletter Production
Janelle L. Berry, Lisa Gahagan
and Toni Lee MitchellThree upcoming meetings promise strong and exciting LIP components. The 1997
IAVCEI General Assembly in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 19-24 January 1997, will haveat least one symposium and one special session of direct relevance to students of
LIPs: 1) Large-Volume Basaltic Provinces, and 2) Remote Sensing of Volcanoes on
Earth and the Planets. More imminently, the program of the American GeophysicalUnion (AGU) 1996 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, USA, 15-19 December 1996,
contains four special sessions focusing on LIPs research: 1) Volcanic Rifted Margins
and Other Large Igneous Provinces, 2) The Ontong Java Plateau, 3) Alternatives toMantle Plume Theory, and 4) Mantle Dynamics. Early next year, the European
Union of Geosciences EUG9 in Strasbourg, France, 23-27 March 1997, will include atleast five special sessions and symposia addressing LIP issues: 1) Large Igneous
Provinces and Earth's Evolution, 2) Core and Lower Mantle: Structure, Composition and Dynamics, 3) Global Seismic Tomography, Mineral Physics andGeodynamics, 4) Hot Spots and Mantle Plumes, 5) Volcanic Eruptions: Causes andConsequences.
In this issue, summaries of recent meetings in Australia, USA, France, and the Faeroe
Islands are highlighted. Contributions to The LIP Reader, including recent research
results, are welcomed. Please inform your colleagues about the CLVBP and ouractivities.

IAVCEI NewsThe Second Circular for the IAVCEI General Assembly is available (see below), andthe scientific program includes eleven symposia: Explosive Volcanism, Mitigation ofVolcanic Disasters, A WOVO Symposium, Volcanic Gases, Volcanogenic Sediments,
Large-Volume Basaltic Provinces, Volcanism and the Atmosphere, Remote Sensing,
Granites, Volcanic Eruptions and Archaeology, and Volcano Seismology. In addition, three courses-Volcanic Gases, Physics of Explosive Volcanism, and Gravity
Driven Flows of Volcanic Origin: Avalanches, Debris Flows, Lahars and Pyroclastic
Flows from Dome Collapse--are being offered, as well as 18 field excursions. This
promises to be an exciting meeting, and we hope to see you in Puerto Vallarta.

CLVBPNews
Volume on Large Igneous Provinces
All accepted papers are in or close to the final stages of preparation (i.e., cameraready). The American Geophysical Union is publishing the LIP volume as part oftheir Geophysical Monograph series; publication is now expected in the first third of1997.

Steering Committee
An updated list of Steering Committee members and their addresses follows:

Nick Arndt (Univ. of Rennes, France) ........................................................................ arndt@univ-rennesl.fr
Hans Barsczus (Univ. of Montpellier, France .......................................... barsczus@dstu.univ-montp2.fr
Ian Campbell (Australian National Univ., Australia) .................................... ihc1561@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.beJohn Hopper (Danish Lithosphere Centre, Denmark) ........................................................... jrh@dlc.ku.dk
Rosaly Lopes-Gautier Oet 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) ............................................................ tamaki@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 Summary
Seismic images of the Iceland plume have recently
been posted on the World Wide Web (WWW); see

http:/ /www.ciw.edu / cecily/

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Geochemical Earth Reference Model Workshop, Lyon,
France, 28-30 March 1996
The objectives of geochemical dynamics are: 1) to
identify terrestrial geochemical reservoirs (mantle,
crust, ocean, etc.), 2) to evaluate their chemicalcomposition and the fluxes of material between them
conforming to the geological processes that are known
to rule their interaction, 3) to relate geochemical
observations to time constraints provided by radioactive decay systems. The Geochemical Earth Reference
Model (GERM) initiative focuses on geochemical
dynamics at geological time scales characteristic ofgeological processes (>1 My), and as such is expected
to provide the background secular evolution of
Quaternary global models. We propose to concentrateinternational efforts on building an integrated modelof the Earth consisting of the following components:
1) establish a broad consensus on the definition of one
or several sets of reservoirs, 2) constrain the composition of these reservoirs, and 3) determine the elemental fluxes among reservoirs. Points 2 and 3 should

2require the collection of many high-quality field,
geochemical, and geophysical data, and their criticalevaluation by panels of experts. The fluxes should be
those associated with "slow" geological processes, andassessing their variability in time should have a highpriority in the layout of GERM. Finally, codes ofstandard models including box, circulation, andconvection models should be made available andtherefore be testable by a large community. A
working model of GERM has been initiated on theInternet (http: / / www.ep.es.llnl.gov / germ/ germhome.html), and the earth science community is
encouraged to participate in its establishment.
Coordination with existing international programs
such as InterRidge, ODP, and JGOFS should avoid
duplication of efforts.

contributed by Francis Albarede (Ecole Normale Superieure
Lyon, France), Hubert Staudigel (Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, California, USA ), &William M. White (Cornell University, New
York, USA)

The Ocean Lithosphere & Scientific Drilling into the
21st Century, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, 26-28
May 1996
The -110 scientists in attendance at this workshop
considered current and past progress in understanding the evolution of ocean lithosphere, and present
and future needs for scientific drilling in the oceans.
The meeting represented the culmination of a series ofmeetings and workshops on the study of the evolutionof the ocean lithosphere held over several years byInterRidge and IAVCEI's Commission on LargeVolume Basaltic Provinces (CLVBP). Thus, recommendations of the workshop represent the considerations of a far larger group of scientists than thoseattending this single meeting.
Workshop participants emphasized that drilling isessential, in fact the only means, to provide continuous sampling and directly determine the stratigraphyof the oceanic lithosphere. Only drilling provides
ground truth for geophysical interpretations, andboreholes for in situ measurements and long-term
experiments in the ocean crust. It was recognized,
however, that for the foreseeable future, drilling has tobe focused, and must address the most importantquestions. Moreover, drilling legs must be part oflarger integrated studies, involving other types ofexperiments organized in the framework of major
global initiatives and groups such as InterRidge,
IAVCEI CLVBP, MARGINS, and the ION program.
To discuss scientific problems and set up specificexperiments, workshop participants split into fivethematic working groups for detailed discussions andplanning: 1) Fast Spreading Ridges, 2) Slow Spreading Ridges, 3) Active Ridge Processes, 4) Large
Igneous Provinces, and 5) The Arc Environment. The
final workshop report is now being prepared andshould be available from Joint Oceanographic
Institutions (http://www .joi.org) in early 1997.

contributed by Henry Dick (Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, Massachusetts, USA) & Catherine
Mevel (Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris,
France)Long Basalt Flow Workshop, Townsville, Australia, 1121 July 1996, and Western Pacific Geophysics
Meeting, Brisbane, Australia, 23-27 July 1996
Lava flows were recently the topic of two focusedsessions Down Under--one a Chapman Conference
on Long Lava Flows (organized by J.P. Stephenson
and P.W. Whitehead) and one a special session on lava
flow emplacement mechanisms at the Western PacificGeophysics Meeting. Interest in lava flow emplacement has been sparked by detailed observations ofsheet flow inflation during recent activity in Hawaii.
New ideas about lava flow emplacement have givenrise to broader questions of rates and mechanisms

operative during the emplacement of very long lava
flows on Earth and the terrestrial planets. Discussion
focused on ways to combine evidence from (1)measurements of flow mechanics and rheology inactive lava flows, (2) textural and morphologicalmeasurements on solidified flows with well-documented emplacement histories, and (3) rheology
experiments:• to constrain numerical models of lava flow inchannels and lava tubes,• to understand emplacement conditions of komatiite
lavas,• to interpret beautifully-preserved flow morphologies on planetary surfaces, and• to address important issues concerning the emplacement of flood basalts in LIPs.
Participants of both sessions enjoyed the chance toshare ideas with the diverse communities interested
in this topic. As a consequence, it was decided toestablish an email group for lava flow discussions.
Anyone wishing to be added to this group should
contact Harry Pinkerton (h.pinkerton@lancaster.ac.uk)
or Kathy Cashman (cashman@oregon.uoregon.edu).

contributed by Kathy Cashman (University of Oregon,
USA)
Controls of Synrift Tectonics and Magmatism on
Basin and Reservoir Structures Workshop,
Faeroe Islands, 31 August-6 September 1996
This conference brought together 86 scientists andpetroleum industry representatives to discuss the
structure and evolution of sedimentary basinsinfluenced by magmatism. The meeting was divided
into four themes: 1) stress, rheology, basin formationand evolution, 2) magmatism, plumes and North
Atlantic margin processes, 3) tectonics, deposition andstructures of the North Atlantic margins, and 4)
analogues.
Theme 1 focused on fault mechanics and basinmodeling. The magmatic aspect was well represented
in themes 2 and 3, where topics varied from magmatic
influence on basin evolution, seismic properties offlood basalts, to petrology of sills offshore Norway
and basalts onshore/ offshore the Faeroes andGreenland. Speakers and poster presentations
reviewed the geology of the mid-Norwegian margin(V"'ring and M"'re basins), and offshore areas of the
Shetlands and Faeroes. The interest in these areas is
directly related to the recent or imminent petroleum
licensing rounds in Norway, United Kingdom and theFaeroes. These basins, related to the formation of theNorth Atlantic LIP, are commonly covered by thickbasalt flows. Thick basalt layers have proven to be amajor obstacle in imaging basin structures. Several
papers addressed this problem using results fromrecently acquired wide-angle seismic studies. The~
analogues presented were largely from sedimentary3basins that have not experienced substantial
magmatism, but gave the participants an overview ofgeology in Central Europe, Russia and the Ukraine(Peri-Caspian Basin), Turkey, Sicily, and offshore South
Africa.
The conference was followed by a two-day field trip,
giving the participants a chance to experience the local
geology and see the spectacular landscape, when thefog did not obscure it. The field trip started in thesouthwest in the Lower Basalt Series, characterized bymassive, up to 50-70 m thick flows, and progressed
through the Middle Basalt Series, with flows up to afew meters thick, and the Upper Basalt Series, which
resemble the Lower Series. Weathering of the thin,
Middle Series sequences gives rise to characteristic
gentle and smooth sloped hillsides, in stark contrast
with the thick flows of the Lower and Upper Series,
which yield step-like hillsides in the east, and sea cliffs
in the west.

site (TO 2178 m), where drilling recommenced in August
1996 in an attempt to drill through the basalt sequence orat least reach a deep prominent seismic reflector. A coalmine was visited, where the :51.5 m thick coal seam is still
hand-mined, represents a long period of quiescence andsediment deposition, and marks the boundary between
the Lower and Middle Basalt Series.
Conference participants are particularly grateful to
Martin Heinesen, Lis Mortensen and Bj0rn T. Larsen fororganizing the program and logistics, running theconference and the field trip. Lengthy discussions
among the participants were enhanced by the inclement
weather, and the hospitality of the bartenders at the CafeNatur.

contributed by Tadeusz Gladczenko (University of Oslo,
Norway)Synopses of recent meetings are welcomed-please send
your s100 word review to Mike Coffin or John Mahoney.

Field trip highlights included a stop by the Lopra well

LIPS and the Ocean Drilling Program
A proposal for basement drilling of the Kerguelen
Plateau and Broken Ridge has been proceeding throughthe JOIDES proposal review and maturation process forseveral years, and in August cleared a major hurdle
when it was selected for inclusion in the 1998-1999
drilling prospectus by the JOIDES Planning Committee.
Subsequently, the JOIDES Lithosphere Panel (meeting
Oct. 7-9, Kanazawa, Japan) rated this proposal #1
among those in the prospectus. Thus, drilling on the
Kerguelen Plateau and Broken Ridge is one critical step

closer to fruition. For information on what the rankings
mean and on ODP's current panel structure and procedures, see The LIP Reader #4 or #5. John Mahoney represents our Commission in the ODP advisory structure as amember of the Lithosphere Panel. Note, however, that thecurrent panel structure and proposal review process areundergoing a fundamental transformation, beginning inJanuary 1997. Stay tuned for more information in the next
issue of The LIP Reader. As always, we welcome input
from Commission members.

Commission Products and Services
LIPs on Internet

Anonymous FTP

LIPs have an Internet presence, accessible via
standard Internet tools. The Commission's LIPbibliography of -2750 references, directory of -500
members, and digital database of LIP areas (Figure 1 ofCoffin & Eldholm, Reviews of Geophysics, 1994) areavailable, as well as the calendar of events and text
versions of The LIP Reader. The Internet site is currently
set up as a Gopher server, which allows users to log inwith anonymous ftp or WWW tools, such as Netscape,Internet Explorer, or NCSA Mosaic. As time allows, thesite 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 "utig.ig.utexas.edu", use the login name"anonymous" and your Internet address as the
password. Change directory to "outgoing/ lips".
GopherUsing your Gopher client software, open
"gopher.utexas.edu". Navigate to "UT-Austin", to"Colleges and Departments", to "Institute for Geo
physics", to "Research Projects", and then to "Commission
on Large Igneous Provinces".
World Wide Web

The Universal Resource Locator (URL) is http: / I
www .ig.utexas.edu/ research/ projects/lips.html

Upcoming Meetings
6-13 December: Economic Deposits Associated with Carbonatites, Amba Dongar Workshop, India. Information: Dr. Keith Bell, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Carleton Univ., Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada.
Internet: kbell@ccs.carleton.ca; Drs. Tony Simonetti and Shrinivas Viladkar, Max-Planck-Institut fiir
Chemie, Postfach 3060, D-55020 Mainz, Germany. Internet: tsimonet@geobar.mpch.mainz.mpg.de;viladkar@geobar.mpch-mainz.mpg.de
15-19 December: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, USA. Information:
AGU Meetings Dept., 2000 Florida Ave., Washington, D.C., USA. Special sessions: Volcanic Rifted
Margins and Other Large Igneous Provinces, The Ontong Java Plateau, Alternatives to Mantle Plume
Theory, and Mantle Dynamics. Telephone 1.202.462.6900. Facsimile: 1.202.238.0566. WWW: http:/ I
www.agu.org
1997
19-24 January: IAVCEI General Assembly, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Symposium: Large-Volume Basaltic
Provinces, convened by S.P. Verma, M. Coffin, & J. Mahoney. Special Session: Remote Sensing ofVolcanoes on Earth and the Planets, convened by R. Lopes-Gautier, P. Mouginis-Mark, & A. Ocampo.
Information: IAVCEI General Assembly 1997, 9051-C Siempre Viva Road, Suite 37-011, San Diego,
California 92173, USA. Internet: iavcei97@tonatiuh.igeofcu.unam.mx. WWW: http: / I
charro.igeofcu.unam.mx/ iavcei97 I iavcei97.html
3-16 February: Flood Basalts, Rifting and Paleoclimates in the Ethiopian Rift and the Afar Depression, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. Information: Sofia Nadir, INSU-CNRS, 3 rue Michel-Ange, BP 287, 75766 Paris cedex
16, France. Telephone: 33.1.44964372. Facsimile: 33.1.44964965. Internet: sofia.nadir@cnrs-dir.fr.
23-27 March: European Union of Geosciences (EUG9), Strasbourg, France. Special Session: Large Igneous
Provinces and Earth's Evolution. Union Symposia: Core and Lower Mantle: Structure, Composition
and Dynamics; Global Seismic Tomography, Mineral Physics and Geodynamics; Hot Spots and Mantle
Plumes; Volcanic Eruptions: Causes and Consequences. Information: http: / / sparc.ipgp.jussieu.fr/
EUG/ EUG9.html
14-19 April: Plumes, Plates, and Mineralisation '97, Pretoria, South Africa. Information: PPM'97, c/ o Prof. S.A.
de Waal, Department of Geology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. Telephone:
27.12.4202454. Facsimile: 27.12.433430. Internet: ppm97@scientia.up.ac.za
19-21 May: Ottawa '97: Joint Annual Meeting of the Geological Association of Canada and Mineralogical
Association of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Special Session: New Developments in Paleocontinental
Reconstruction, convened by R.E. Ernst (rernst@.gsc.emr.ca), l.W.D. Dalziel (ian@utig.ig.utexas.edu), &K.L. Buchan (kbuchan@gsc.emr.ca). Information: C. Vodden, Geological Survey of Canada, Room 757,
601 Booth St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OE8. Telephone 1.613.947.7649. Facsimile 1.613.947.7650. Internet:
Ottawa97@emr.ca
17-22 June: The History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motions, Marshall, California, USA. Information: M.
Richards (markr@seismo.berkeley.edu) or J. Stock Gstock@seismo.gps.caltech.edu).
2-6 June: Seventh Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Tucson, Arizona, USA. Symposium: Large Igneous
Provinces and Their Relation to Plumes and Climate. Information: M.J. Drake(goldconf@lpl.arizona.edu). WWW: http:/ / cass.jsc.nasa.gov / lpi.html
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: 61.3.9646.7737. Internet: mscarlett@peg.apc.org
15-18 September: Volcanism and Volcanic Hazards in Immature Intraplate Oceanic Islands, La Palma, CanaryIslands, Spain. Information: W.J. McGuire, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University College London,
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Internet: w.mcguire@ud.ac.uk

Th e

LI P

ReaderInstitute for Geophysics
TheUniversityofTexas atAustin
8701 NorthMopacFxpressway
Austin, Texas 78759-8397 USA