The Ubehebe Crater Volcano.
Ubehebe Crater photo taken by R. B. Trombley.
THE TEAM:
Participating in the expedition were INTLVRC's Principal Research Volcanologist, Dr. R. B. Trombley, Principal of Computer Operations, Phillip G. "Tuff" Andersen and Senior Volcano Technician, James M. Manikowski.
THE VOLCANO:
Ubehebe Crater: At the northern end of the Cottonwood Mountains, lies a field of volcanic craters, the largest of which the Indians named Ubehebe, which means big basket in the rock. Ubehebe was formed around 6,000 years ago when underground water came in contact with molten rock. The resultant steam pressure caused a massive explosion, sending debris high into the sky, blanketing the area with jagged rock up to 20ft in depth. There are several craters in the area, the most easily accessed being the largest, Ubehebe. Walking around the rim is very easy though winds are quite often extreme in this part of Death Valley. A simple 500ft descent awaits those who feel like walking to the bottom of Ubehebe; a rather more strenuous ascent awaits those who want to climb out, as the slopes are lined with a loose volcanic rubble that offers little purchase.
At the edge of Ubehebe Crater, you'll be greeted by an eerie, surreal landscape. All is quiet now, but you transported to a time just over two thousand years ago. Following weaknesses in Earth's crust, searing basaltic magma rose upward. A fault along the base Tin Mountain, responsible for uplift of the entire mountain range, lay in path of the molten mass, providing an easy escape route to the surface. Magma worked its way through fault-weakened rock where it water-soaked bedrock and alluvial fan sediments. In an instant, water flashed to a sudden, violent release of steam-powered energy blasted away the confining rock above. A dense, ground-hugging cloud of rocky debris surged out from the base at up 100 miles/hour, decimating the landscape. The largest of these produced Ubehebe Crater, over a mile wide and 770 feet deep. Up to 150 feet of rock debris mantles the countryside near the site of explosion. Over a dozen other explosion craters and tuff rings in the Ubehebe Crater are the result of this type of hydro-volcanic eruption.
THE MISSION:
1. One of the objectives of this expedition is to measure and calculate, from current GPS position, the current Pacific Plate vs. the North American Plate motion with respect to Ubehebe Crater.
2. Generate another magnetometer survey of the crater rim of the Ubehebe Crater, and,
3. Using satellite technology and NOAA software, determine the dimensional profile of the Ubehebe Crater floor.
THE WORK:
Research almost never stops on the volcanoes here at the INTLVRC ! This is especially true for our experienced senior staff members like Dr. R. B. Trombley & Dr. Jean-Paul Toutain. who are always trying to make contributions and do training to our colleagues and fellow volcanologists.
Some of the scenes at the Ubehebe Crater area ........
THE EXPERIMENT RESULTS:
1. Measure and calculate, from current GPS position, the current Pacific Plate vs. the North American Plate motion with respect to the Ubehebe Crater --We used the Digital Altimeter & a GPS Unit. After entering the data into the software programme "CGPS 2004 Relative Plate Motion Model", the results shows that the Ubehebe Crater is moving in the direction of 322.39o, moving North at a velocity of 36.10 mm/yr and West at a velocity of 28.95 mm/yr an overall result of 46.18 mm/yr.
2. Generate another magnetometer survey of the Ubehebe Crater rim --Used were the Digital Altimeter, Digital Compass, GPS Unit & the Fluxgate Magnetometer. For the last three years, eight (8) magnetometer readings were taken along the Ubehebe Crater complex in both the horizontal and vertical directions. These were the third set of readings for this site. The average of the eightreadings for this expedition where as follows: Magnetometer Horizontal reading average was 7,225.88 nT, Magnetometer Vertical reading average was 42,900.00 nT. The composite Magnetic Field Vector average of the three readings was 60,822.64 nT, the composite Total Field Magnitude average of the three readings was 42,851.89 nT, and lastly, the composite Inclination of the Field average of the three readings was 82.38o. At this point there is no evidence of any magma intrusion at this volcanic site.
3. Using satellite technology and NOAA software, determine the dimensional profile of the Ubehebe Crater floor --Using software programmes: "Google Earth", and, "Vincenty formula for distance between two Latitude/Longitude points", the distance of the crater floor was measured to be 785.65 ft. with widths ranging from 378.24 ft. to 1819.04 ft. The inclination of the crater floor was measured to range from 216 in. to 612 in. This was a totally new venture for this type of reading and it was felt, after examining the data, that the Googler Earth accuracy was not accurate enough to give proper readings. On our next visit to this volcanic site, we will take a Transit-Level and Laser Rangefinder to the interior of the crater to make a more detailed and accurate measurement of the crater floor.
An excellent set of work and interesting experiments were completed on this expedition.
Upcoming Planned Expeditions for Year 2010 .........
January, 2010 COMPLETED WILLOW SPRINGS, Apache Jct., AZ, USA (Plate motion.)
January, 2010 COMPLETED SILLY MOUNTAIN, Apache Jct., AZ, USA (Plate motion.)
February, 2010 COMPLETED UBEHEBE CRATER, Death Valley, CA, USA (Plate motion, Misc. experiments.)
Febraury,2010 COMPLETED Volcanic Gases Workshop Presentations (3) in the Phillippines.
March, 2010 HUMPREYS PEAK, Flagstaff, AZ, USA (Plate motion, Misc. experiments.)
March, 2010 SUNSET CRATER, Flagstaff, AZ, USA (Plate motion, Magnetometer. experiments.)
June, 2010 QUALIBOU, St. Lucia, Caribbean (Several experiments.)
July, 2010 WILLOW SPRINGS, Apache Jct., AZ, USA (Petrology experiments.)
Planned Expeditions for Year 2011 .........
January, 2011 SILLY MOUNTAIN, Apache Jct., AZ, USA (Plate motion.)
January, 2011 WILLOW SPRINGS, Apache Jct., AZ, USA (Plate motion.)
February, 2011 UBEHEBE CRATER, Death Valley, CA, USA (Plate motion, Misc. experiments.)
March, 2011 HUMPREYS PEAK, Flagstaff, AZ, USA (Plate motion, Misc. experiments.)
March, 2011 SUNSET CRATER, Flagstaff, AZ, USA (Plate motion, Magnetometer. experiments.)
