This master thesis is part of a larger project detailing the volcanic rocks in the Oslo Rift. It will be integrated into the newly established VICCO (VISTA Centre for CO2 storage in volcanic-sedimentary systems) research centre which aims to further understanding of mixed volcanic-sedimentary deposits and implications for CO2 storage.
The main aim of the thesis is to describe and understand the interaction between lava flows and sediments in an arid climate, based on well-exposed sections of rhomb porphyry at Sollihøgda and corresponding drill cores. The lava interacts with unconsolidated sediment at different levels of the lava flow, particularly at the base and the top zone, and these interaction structures can be used to interpret eruption styles, lava flow behaviour and the local environment of the lava flow.
Investigating such relations in detail is important for understanding the large-scale development of volcanic systems within or overlying sedimentary basins. The interaction between sediment and lava within the Oslo Rift lavas has received limited attention and has previously not been described in detail, and the results from the study will also aid in understanding the geochemistry and reservoir characteristics (contact zones and fluid migrations pathways), applicable to analogue settings offshore.
Discipline:
Volcanology, petrology and sedimentology
Methods and learnings:
- Field-work (logging, sampling, descriptions)
- Core-logging
- (Microscopy - thin-section analysis?)
- (XRD? .. )
- Scientific analysis and writing
