Matching Items (23)
Description
Seismic observations have revealed two large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) in the lowermost mantle beneath Pacific and Africa. One hypothesis for the origin of LLSVPs is that they are caused by accumulation of subducted oceanic crust on the core-mantle boundary (CMB). Here, I perform high resolution geodynamical calculations to test this hypothesis. The result shows that it is difficult for a thin (~ 6 km) subducted oceanic crust to accumulate on the CMB, and the major part of it is viscously stirred into the surrounding mantle. Another hypothesis for the origin of LLSVPs is that they are caused by thermochemical piles of more-primitive material which is remnant of Earth's early differentiation. In such case, a significant part of the subducted oceanic crust would enter the more-primitive reservoir, while other parts are either directly entrained into mantle plumes forming on top of the more-primitive reservoir or stirred into the background mantle. As a result, mantle plumes entrain a variable combination of compositional components including more-primitive material, old oceanic crust which first enters the more-primitive reservoir and is later entrained into mantle plumes with the more-primitive material, young oceanic crust which is directly entrained into mantle plumes without contacting the more-primitive reservoir, and depleted background mantle material. The result reconciles geochemical observation of multiple compositional components and varying ages of oceanic crust in the source of ocean-island basalts. Seismic studies have detected ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) in some localized regions on the CMB. Here, I present 3D thermochemical calculations to show that the distribution of ULVZs provides important information about their origin. ULVZs with a distinct composition tend to be located at the edges of LLSVPs, while ULVZs solely caused by partial melting tend to be located inboard from the edges of LLSVPs. This indicates that ULVZs at the edges of LLSVPs are best explained by distinct compositional heterogeneity, while ULVZs located insider of LLSVPs are better explained by partial melting. The results provide additional constraints for the origin of ULVZs.
ContributorsLi, Mingming (Author) / McNamara, Allen K (Thesis advisor) / Garnero, Edward J (Committee member) / Shim, Sang-Heon (Committee member) / Tyburczy, James (Committee member) / Clarke, Amanda (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Energy harvesting from ambient is important to configuring Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for environmental data collecting. In this work, highly flexible thermoelectric generators (TEGs) have been studied and fabricated to supply power to the wireless sensor notes used for data collecting in hot spring environment. The fabricated flexible TEGs can be easily deployed on the uneven surface of heated rocks at the rim of hot springs. By employing the temperature gradient between the hot rock surface and the air, these TEGs can generate power to extend the battery lifetime of the sensor notes and therefore reduce multiple batteries changes where the environment is usually harsh in hot springs. Also, they show great promise for self-powered wireless sensor notes. Traditional thermoelectric material bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and advanced MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems) thin film techniques were used for the fabrication. Test results show that when a flexible TEG array with an area of 3.4cm2 was placed on the hot plate surface of 80°C in the air under room temperature, it had an open circuit voltage output of 17.6mV and a short circuit current output of 0.53mA. The generated power was approximately 7mW/m2.
On the other hand, high pressure, temperatures that can reach boiling, and the pH of different hot springs ranging from <2 to >9 make hot spring ecosystem a unique environment that is difficult to study. WSN allows many scientific studies in harsh environments that are not feasible with traditional instrumentation. However, wireless pH sensing for long time in situ data collection is still challenging for two reasons. First, the existing commercial-off-the-shelf pH meters are frequent calibration dependent; second, biofouling causes significant measurement error and drift. In this work, 2-dimentional graphene pH sensors were studied and calibration free graphene pH sensor prototypes were fabricated. Test result shows the resistance of the fabricated device changes linearly with the pH values (in the range of 3-11) in the surrounding liquid environment. Field tests show graphene layer greatly prevented the microbial fouling. Therefore, graphene pH sensors are promising candidates that can be effectively used for wireless pH sensing in exploration of hot spring ecosystems.
On the other hand, high pressure, temperatures that can reach boiling, and the pH of different hot springs ranging from <2 to >9 make hot spring ecosystem a unique environment that is difficult to study. WSN allows many scientific studies in harsh environments that are not feasible with traditional instrumentation. However, wireless pH sensing for long time in situ data collection is still challenging for two reasons. First, the existing commercial-off-the-shelf pH meters are frequent calibration dependent; second, biofouling causes significant measurement error and drift. In this work, 2-dimentional graphene pH sensors were studied and calibration free graphene pH sensor prototypes were fabricated. Test result shows the resistance of the fabricated device changes linearly with the pH values (in the range of 3-11) in the surrounding liquid environment. Field tests show graphene layer greatly prevented the microbial fouling. Therefore, graphene pH sensors are promising candidates that can be effectively used for wireless pH sensing in exploration of hot spring ecosystems.
ContributorsHan, Ruirui (Author) / Yu, Hongyu (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Garnero, Edward (Committee member) / Li, Mingming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Explosive mafic (basaltic) volcanism is not easily explained by current eruption models, which predict low energy eruptions from low viscosity magma due to decoupling of volatiles (gases). Sunset Crater volcano provides an example of an alkali basalt magma that produced a highly explosive sub-Plinian eruption. I investigate the possible role of magmatic volatiles in the Sunset Crater eruption through study of natural samples of trapped volatiles (melt inclusions) and experiments on mixed-volatile (H2O-CO2) solubility in alkali-rich mafic magmas.
I conducted volatile-saturated experiments in six mafic magma compositions at pressures between 400 MPa and 600 MPa to investigate the influence of alkali elements (sodium and potassium) on volatile solubility. The experiments show that existing volatile solubility models do not accurately describe CO2 solubility at mid-crustal depths. I calculate thermodynamic fits for solubility in each composition and calibrate a general thermodynamic model for application to other mafic magmas. The model shows that the relative percent abundances of sodium, calcium, and potassium have the greatest influence on CO2 solubility in mafic magmas.
I analyzed olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MIs) from Sunset Crater to investigate pre-eruptive volatiles. I compared the early fissure activity to the sub-Plinian eruptive phases. The MIs are similar in major element and volatile composition suggesting a relatively homogeneous magma. The H2O content is relatively low (~1.2 wt%), whereas the dissolved CO2 content is high (~2300 ppm). I explored rehomogenization and Raman spectroscopy to quantify CO2 abundance in MI vapor bubbles. Calculations of post-entrapment bubble growth suggest that some MI bubbles contain excess CO2. This implies that the magma was volatile-saturated and MIs trapped exsolved vapor during their formation. The total volatile contents of MIs, including bubble contents but excluding excess vapor, indicate pre-eruptive magma storage from 10 km to 18 km depth.
The high CO2 abundance found in Sunset Crater MIs allowed the magma to reach volatile-saturation at mid-crustal depths and generate overpressure, driving rapid ascent to produce the explosive eruption. The similarities in MIs and volatiles between the fissure eruption and the sub-Plinian phases indicate that shallow-level processes also likely influenced the final eruptive behavior.
I conducted volatile-saturated experiments in six mafic magma compositions at pressures between 400 MPa and 600 MPa to investigate the influence of alkali elements (sodium and potassium) on volatile solubility. The experiments show that existing volatile solubility models do not accurately describe CO2 solubility at mid-crustal depths. I calculate thermodynamic fits for solubility in each composition and calibrate a general thermodynamic model for application to other mafic magmas. The model shows that the relative percent abundances of sodium, calcium, and potassium have the greatest influence on CO2 solubility in mafic magmas.
I analyzed olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MIs) from Sunset Crater to investigate pre-eruptive volatiles. I compared the early fissure activity to the sub-Plinian eruptive phases. The MIs are similar in major element and volatile composition suggesting a relatively homogeneous magma. The H2O content is relatively low (~1.2 wt%), whereas the dissolved CO2 content is high (~2300 ppm). I explored rehomogenization and Raman spectroscopy to quantify CO2 abundance in MI vapor bubbles. Calculations of post-entrapment bubble growth suggest that some MI bubbles contain excess CO2. This implies that the magma was volatile-saturated and MIs trapped exsolved vapor during their formation. The total volatile contents of MIs, including bubble contents but excluding excess vapor, indicate pre-eruptive magma storage from 10 km to 18 km depth.
The high CO2 abundance found in Sunset Crater MIs allowed the magma to reach volatile-saturation at mid-crustal depths and generate overpressure, driving rapid ascent to produce the explosive eruption. The similarities in MIs and volatiles between the fissure eruption and the sub-Plinian phases indicate that shallow-level processes also likely influenced the final eruptive behavior.
ContributorsAllison, Chelsea Maria (Author) / Clarke, Amanda B (Thesis advisor) / Hervig, Richard L (Committee member) / Roggensack, Kurt (Committee member) / Semken, Steven (Committee member) / Till, Christy B. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
An exhaustive parameter study involving 133 dynamic crystallization experiments was conducted, to investigate the validity of the planetary embryo bow shock model by testing whether the cooling rates predicted by this model are consistent with the most dominant chondrule texture, porphyritic. Results show that using coarse-grained precursors and heating durations ≤ 5 minutes at peak temperature, porphyritic textures can be reproduced at cooling rates ≤ 600 K/hr, rates consistent with planetary embryo bow shocks. Porphyritic textures were found to be commonly associated with skeletal growth, which compares favorably to features in natural chondrules from Queen Alexandra Range 97008 analyzed, which show similar skeletal features. It is concluded that the experimentally reproduced porphyritic textures are consistent with those of natural chondrules. This work shows heating duration is a major determinant of chondrule texture and the work further constrains this parameter by measuring the rate of chemical dissolution of relict grains. The results provide a robust, independent constraint that porphyritic chondrules were heated at their peak temperatures for ≤ 10 minutes. This is also consistent with heating by bow shocks. The planetary embryo bow shock model therefore remains a viable chondrule mechanism for the formation of the vast majority of chondrules, and the results presented here therefore strongly suggest that large planetary embryos were present and on eccentric orbits during the first few million years of the Solar System’s history.
ContributorsPerez, Alexandra Marie (Author) / Desch, Steven J (Thesis advisor) / Till, Christy B. (Committee member) / Schrader, Devin L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Remote sensing in visible to near-infrared wavelengths is an important tool for identifying and understanding compositional differences on planetary surfaces. Electronic transitions produce broad absorption bands that are often due to the presence of iron cations in crystalline mineral structures or amorphous phases. Mars’ iron-rich and variably oxidized surface provides an ideal environment for detecting spectral variations that can be related to differences in surface dust cover or the composition of the underlying bedrock. Several imaging cameras sent to Mars include the capability to selectively filter incoming light to discriminate between surface materials.
At the coarse spatial resolution provided by the wide-angle Mars Color Imager (MARCI) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), regional scale differences in reflectance at all wavelengths are dominated by the presence or absence of Fe3+-rich dust. The dust cover in many regions is highly variable, often with strong seasonal dependence although major storm events can redistribute dust in ways that significantly alter the albedo of large-scale regions outside of the normal annual cycle. Surface dust reservoirs represent an important part of the martian climate system and may play a critical role in the growth of regional dust storms to planet-wide scales. Detailed investigation of seasonal and secular changes permitted by repeated MARCI imaging coverage have allowed the surface dust coverage of the planet at large to be described and have revealed multiannual replenishing of regions historically associated with the growth of storms.
From the ground, rover-based multispectral imaging acquired by the Mastcam cameras allows compositional discrimination between bedrock units and float material encountered along the Curiosity rover’s traverse across crater floor and lower Mt. Sharp units. Mastcam spectra indicate differences in primary mineralogy, the presence of iron-bearing alteration phases, and variations in iron oxidation state, which occur at specific locations along the rover’s traverse. These changes represent differences in the primary depositional environment and the action of later alteration by fluids circulating through fractures in the bedrock. Loose float rocks sample materials brought into the crater by fluvial or other processes. Mastcam observations provide important constraints on the geologic history of the Gale Crater site.
At the coarse spatial resolution provided by the wide-angle Mars Color Imager (MARCI) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), regional scale differences in reflectance at all wavelengths are dominated by the presence or absence of Fe3+-rich dust. The dust cover in many regions is highly variable, often with strong seasonal dependence although major storm events can redistribute dust in ways that significantly alter the albedo of large-scale regions outside of the normal annual cycle. Surface dust reservoirs represent an important part of the martian climate system and may play a critical role in the growth of regional dust storms to planet-wide scales. Detailed investigation of seasonal and secular changes permitted by repeated MARCI imaging coverage have allowed the surface dust coverage of the planet at large to be described and have revealed multiannual replenishing of regions historically associated with the growth of storms.
From the ground, rover-based multispectral imaging acquired by the Mastcam cameras allows compositional discrimination between bedrock units and float material encountered along the Curiosity rover’s traverse across crater floor and lower Mt. Sharp units. Mastcam spectra indicate differences in primary mineralogy, the presence of iron-bearing alteration phases, and variations in iron oxidation state, which occur at specific locations along the rover’s traverse. These changes represent differences in the primary depositional environment and the action of later alteration by fluids circulating through fractures in the bedrock. Loose float rocks sample materials brought into the crater by fluvial or other processes. Mastcam observations provide important constraints on the geologic history of the Gale Crater site.
ContributorsWellington, Danika (Author) / Bell Iii, James F (Thesis advisor) / Christensen, Philip R. (Committee member) / Robinson, Mark S (Committee member) / Sharp, Thomas G (Committee member) / Till, Christy B. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The dynamic Earth involves feedbacks between the solid crust and both natural and anthropogenic fluid flows. Fluid-rock interactions drive many Earth phenomena, including volcanic unrest, seismic activities, and hydrological responses. Mitigating the hazards associated with these activities requires fundamental understanding of the underlying physical processes. Therefore, geophysical monitoring in combination with modeling provides valuable tools, suitable for hazard mitigation and risk management efforts. Magmatic activities and induced seismicity linked to fluid injection are two natural and anthropogenic processes discussed in this dissertation.
Successful forecasting of the timing, style, and intensity of a volcanic eruption is made possible by improved understanding of the volcano life cycle as well as building quantitative models incorporating the processes that govern rock melting, melt ascending, magma storage, eruption initiation, and interaction between magma and surrounding host rocks at different spatial extent and time scale. One key part of such models is the shallow magma chamber, which is generally directly linked to volcano’s eruptive behaviors. However, its actual shape, size, and temporal evolution are often not entirely known. To address this issue, I use space-based geodetic data with high spatiotemporal resolution to measure surface deformation at Kilauea volcano. The obtained maps of InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) deformation time series are exploited with two novel modeling schemes to investigate Kilauea’s shallow magmatic system. Both models can explain the same observation, leading to a new compartment model of magma chamber. Such models significantly advance the understanding of the physical processes associated with Kilauea’s summit plumbing system with potential applications for volcanoes around the world.
The unprecedented increase in the number of earthquakes in the Central and Eastern United States since 2008 is attributed to massive deep subsurface injection of saltwater. The elevated chance of moderate-large damaging earthquakes stemming from increased seismicity rate causes broad societal concerns among industry, regulators, and the public. Thus, quantifying the time-dependent seismic hazard associated with the fluid injection is of great importance. To this end, I investigate the large-scale seismic, hydrogeologic, and injection data in northern Texas for period of 2007-2015 and in northern-central Oklahoma for period of 1995-2017. An effective induced earthquake forecasting model is developed, considering a complex relationship between injection operations and consequent seismicity. I find that the timing and magnitude of regional induced earthquakes are fully controlled by the process of fluid diffusion in a poroelastic medium and thus can be successfully forecasted. The obtained time-dependent seismic hazard model is spatiotemporally heterogeneous and decreasing injection rates does not immediately reduce the probability of an earthquake. The presented framework can be used for operational induced earthquake forecasting. Information about the associated fundamental processes, inducing conditions, and probabilistic seismic hazards has broad benefits to the society.
Successful forecasting of the timing, style, and intensity of a volcanic eruption is made possible by improved understanding of the volcano life cycle as well as building quantitative models incorporating the processes that govern rock melting, melt ascending, magma storage, eruption initiation, and interaction between magma and surrounding host rocks at different spatial extent and time scale. One key part of such models is the shallow magma chamber, which is generally directly linked to volcano’s eruptive behaviors. However, its actual shape, size, and temporal evolution are often not entirely known. To address this issue, I use space-based geodetic data with high spatiotemporal resolution to measure surface deformation at Kilauea volcano. The obtained maps of InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) deformation time series are exploited with two novel modeling schemes to investigate Kilauea’s shallow magmatic system. Both models can explain the same observation, leading to a new compartment model of magma chamber. Such models significantly advance the understanding of the physical processes associated with Kilauea’s summit plumbing system with potential applications for volcanoes around the world.
The unprecedented increase in the number of earthquakes in the Central and Eastern United States since 2008 is attributed to massive deep subsurface injection of saltwater. The elevated chance of moderate-large damaging earthquakes stemming from increased seismicity rate causes broad societal concerns among industry, regulators, and the public. Thus, quantifying the time-dependent seismic hazard associated with the fluid injection is of great importance. To this end, I investigate the large-scale seismic, hydrogeologic, and injection data in northern Texas for period of 2007-2015 and in northern-central Oklahoma for period of 1995-2017. An effective induced earthquake forecasting model is developed, considering a complex relationship between injection operations and consequent seismicity. I find that the timing and magnitude of regional induced earthquakes are fully controlled by the process of fluid diffusion in a poroelastic medium and thus can be successfully forecasted. The obtained time-dependent seismic hazard model is spatiotemporally heterogeneous and decreasing injection rates does not immediately reduce the probability of an earthquake. The presented framework can be used for operational induced earthquake forecasting. Information about the associated fundamental processes, inducing conditions, and probabilistic seismic hazards has broad benefits to the society.
ContributorsZhai, Guang (Author) / Shirzaei, Manoochehr (Thesis advisor) / Garnero, Edward (Committee member) / Clarke, Amanda (Committee member) / Tyburczy, James (Committee member) / Li, Mingming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The pace of exoplanet discoveries has rapidly accelerated in the past few decades and the number of planets with measured mass and radius is expected to pick up in the coming years. Many more planets with a size similar to earth are expected to be found. Currently, software for characterizing rocky planet interiors is lacking. There is no doubt that a planet’s interior plays a key role in determining surface conditions including atmosphere composition and land area. Comparing data with diagrams of mass vs. radius for terrestrial planets provides only a first-order estimate of the internal structure and composition of planets [e.g. Seager et al 2007]. This thesis will present a new Python library, ExoPlex, which has routines to create a forward model of rocky exoplanets between 0.1 and 5 Earth masses. The ExoPlex code offers users the ability to model planets of arbitrary composition of Fe-Si-Mg-Al-Ca-O in addition to a water layer. This is achieved by modeling rocky planets after the earth and other known terrestrial planets. The three distinct layers which make up the Earth's internal structure are: core, mantle, and water. Terrestrial planet cores will be dominated by iron however, like earth, there may be some quantity of light element inclusion which can serve to enhance expected core volumes. In ExoPlex, these light element inclusions are S-Si-O and are included as iron-alloys. Mantles will have a more diverse mineralogy than planet cores. Unlike most other rocky planet models, ExoPlex remains unbiased in its treatment of the mantle in terms of composition. Si-Mg-Al-Ca oxide components are combined by predicting the mantle mineralogy using a Gibbs free energy minimization software package called Perple\_X [Connolly 2009]. By allowing an arbitrary composition, ExoPlex can uniquely model planets using their host star’s composition as an indicator of planet composition. This is a proven technique [Dorn et al 2015] which has not yet been widely utilized, possibly due to the lack of availability of easy to use software. I present a model sensitivity analysis to indicate the most important parameters to constrain in future observing missions. ExoPlex is currently available on PyPI so it may be installed using pip or conda on Mac OS or Linux based operating systems. It requires a specific scripting environment which is explained in the documentation currently stored on the ExoPlex GitHub page.
ContributorsLorenzo, Alejandro M., Jr (Author) / Desch, Steven (Thesis advisor) / Shim, Dan S.-H. (Committee member) / Line, Michael (Committee member) / Li, Mingming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Utilizing both 16S and 18S rRNA sequencing alongside energetic calculations from geochemical measurements offers a bridged perspective of prokaryotic and eukaryotic community diversities and their relationships to geochemical diversity. Yellowstone National Park hot spring outflows from varied geochemical compositions, ranging in pH from < 2 to > 9 and in temperature from < 30°C to > 90°C, were sampled across the photosynthetic fringe, a transition in these outflows from exclusively chemosynthetic microbial communities to those that include photosynthesis. Illumina sequencing was performed to document the diversity of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes above, at, and below the photosynthetic fringe of twelve hot spring systems. Additionally, field measurements of dissolved oxygen, ferrous iron, and total sulfide were combined with laboratory analyses of sulfate, nitrate, total ammonium, dissolved inorganic carbon, dissolved methane, dissolved hydrogen, and dissolved carbon monoxide were used to calculate the available energy from 58 potential metabolisms. Results were ranked to identify those that yield the most energy according to the geochemical conditions of each system. Of the 46 samples taken across twelve systems, all showed the greatest energy yields using oxygen as the main electron acceptor, followed by nitrate. On the other hand, ammonium or ammonia, depending on pH, showed the greatest energy yields as an electron donor, followed by H2S or HS-. While some sequenced taxa reflect potential biotic participants in the sulfur cycle of these hot spring systems, many sample locations that yield the most energy from ammonium/ammonia oxidation have low relative abundances of known ammonium/ammonia oxidizers, indicating potentially untapped sources of chemotrophic energy or perhaps poorly understood metabolic capabilities of cultured chemotrophs.
ContributorsRomero, Joseph Thomas (Author) / Shock, Everett L (Thesis advisor) / Cadillo-Quiroz, Hinsby (Committee member) / Till, Christy B. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Volcanic devolatilization is one of the major processes in the global nitrogen cycle. Past studies have often estimated the magnitude of this flux using volcanic emission measurements, which are limited to currently active systems and sensitive to atmospheric contamination. A different methodological approach requires appropriate analytical parameters for nitrogen analysis in silicate glasses by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), which have not yet been established. To this end, we analyze various ion implanted basaltic and rhyolitic glasses by SIMS. We demonstrate that water content significantly affects the ion yields of 14N+ and 14N16O−, as well as the background intensity of 14N+ and 12C+. Application of implant-derived calibrations to natural samples provide the first reported concentrations of nitrogen in melt inclusions. These measurements are from samples from the Bishop Tuff in California, the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff of the Yellowstone Volcanic Center, and material from the Okaia and Oruanui eruptions in the Taupo Volcanic Center. In all studied material, we find maximum nitrogen contents of less than 45 ppm and that nitrogen concentration varies positively with CO2 concentration, which is interpreted to reflect partial degassing trend. Using the maximum measured nitrogen contents for each eruption, we find that the Bishop released >3.6 x 1013 g of nitrogen, the Huckleberry Ridge released >1.3 x 1014 g, the Okaia released >1.1 x 1011 g of nitrogen, the Oruanui released >4.7 x 1013 g of nitrogen. Simple calculations suggest that with concentrations such as these, rhyolitic eruptions may ephemerally increase the nitrogen flux to the atmosphere, but are insignificant compared to the 4 x 1021 g of nitrogen stored in the atmosphere.
ContributorsRegier, Margo Elaine (Author) / Hervig, Richard L (Thesis advisor) / Roggensack, Kurt (Committee member) / Till, Christy B. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
White Dwarf stars are the stellar remnants of low mass stars which have completed their evolution. Nearly all stars will become white dwarfs. The interior of a white dwarf encapsulates its evolution history: unraveling a white dwarf’s internal structure constrains the physical events which occurred to construct its composition. Variable, or pulsating, white dwarfs emit pulsations which are sensitive to their internal stratification. Just as seismology reveals Earth’s interior, asteroseismology can reveal stellar interiors. The standard approach to construe an observed white dwarf’s chemical makeup is to match observed pulsation properties to theoretical stellar models. Observed white dwarf pulsation data has reached 6-7 significant digits of precision. As such, it is important for computational modeling to consider systematic offsets from initial conditions and theoretical uncertainties that are within the detectable threshold. By analyzing the magnitude of pulsation differences among various uncertainties from white dwarf models, one can place constraints on important theoretical uncertainties. In this thesis, I explore impacts on white dwarf pulsations that result from accounting for various uncertainties in computational models. I start by showing the importance of 22Ne, and its impact on the pulsations in Helium atmosphere white dwarfs. Next, I discuss how certain trapped modes of white dwarfs may yield a signal for the 12C(α,γ)16O reaction rate probability distribution function. This reaction occurs during the Helium core burning phase in stellar evolution, and chiefly determines the Carbon and Oxygen abundance of white dwarfs. Following this work, I show how overshooting impacts the pulsation signatures of the 12C(α, γ)16O reaction rate. I then touch on the analytical work I’ve done regarding educational research in the HabWorlds course offered at Arizona State University (ASU). I then summarize my conclusions from these efforts.
ContributorsChidester, Morgan Taylor (Author) / Timmes, Francis X (Thesis advisor) / Young, Patrick (Committee member) / Li, Mingming (Committee member) / Borthakur, Sanchayeeta (Committee member) / Line, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023