
Specialization:
Magma Dynamics, Properties of Magmas, Volcanology and Geomaterials
Research:
Research applies the methods of fluid dynamics and transport phenomena to study generation, ascent and eruption of magma including interactions between fluids and rocks. Work includes laboratory studies of the viscometric properties of magma as well as studies of the geochemical evolution of magmatic centers. Using methods of Molecular Dynamics to understand the connection between the structure and properties of molten silicates and glasses of significance to petrologic processes.
Publications:
Citation Summary: Google Scholar
For publications please refer to http://magma.geol.ucsb.edu
2018
REJUVENATION OF CRUSTAL MAGMA MUSH: A TALE OF MULTIPLY NESTED PROCESSES AND TIMESCALES
2012
2011
2010
2009
Ghiorso M. and Spera F. (2009). Large scale simulations. In Rev. Mineral. Geochem., vol. 71 (eds. R. Wentzcovitch and L. Stixrude). Mineralogical Society of America, pp. 437-463.
2008
2007
2006
White, Scott M., Crisp, Joy A., Spera, Frank J.,"Long-Term Volumetric Eruption Rates and Magma Budgets",Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol 7, num1, doi:10.1029/2005GC001002. 2006.
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Bohrson, W. A., Spera, F. J., Energy-Constrained Open-System Magmatic Processes II: Application of Energy-Constrained Assimilation-Fractional Crystallization (EC-AFC) Model to Magmatic Systems. Journal of Petrology, v. 42, p. 1019-1041.?Figures: Figure1All Other Figures
?Spera, F. J., Bohrson, W. A., Energy-Constrained Open-System Magmatic Processes I: General Model and Energy-Constrained Assimilation and Fractional Crystallization (EC-AFC) Formulation. Journal of Petrology, v. 42, p. 999-1018.?Figures: Figure1All Other Figures
?De Vivo, B., et al., New constraints on the pyroclastic eruptive history of the Campanian volcanic Plain (Italy). Mineralogy and Petrology, v.73, p47- 65, (2001).
2000
Spera, F. J., Stein, D. J., Comment on "Rheology of bubble-bearing magmas" by Lejeune et al. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 175, p. 327-331.
?Spera, F. J., Physical Properties of Magma. In: Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, H. Sigurdsson, Ed. (Academic Press, New York, 2000), p. 171-190.
1999
?Bryce, J. G., Spera, F. J., Stein, D. J., Pressure dependence of self-diffusion in the NaAlO2-SiO2 system: Compositional effects and mechanisms. American Mineralogist, v. 84, p. 345-356.
?Spera, F. J., A Slippery Problem with Explosive Consequences. Science, v. 283, p. 1275-1276.
1998
J. Bryce, F. Spera, and D. Stein, Pressure dependence of self-diffusion in the NaAlO2-SiO2 system: Compositional effects and Mechanisms. American Mineralogist, Vol. 84, pp. 345-356, 1998.
New high-temperature rotational viscometer for silicate melts, magamatic suspensions and emulsions: D. Stein & F. Spera (1998)
1997
Dependence of self diffusivity on P and T in molten NaAlSi2O6: Comparison of laboratory and Molecular dynamics experiments: J. Byrce, F. Spera (1997) Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 24, pp. 711-715
Simulations of crustal Anatexis: Implications for the growth and differentiation of Continental crust: F. Raia & F. Spera (1997) Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 102 pp. 22629-22648
1996
Molecular dynamics simulations of liquids and glasses in the system NaAlSiO4-SiO2: Physical properties and transport mechanisms: D.J.Stein & F.J.Spera (1996) American Mineralogist vol. 81, pp. 284-302
1995
Stein, D. and Spera, F., Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Liquids and Glasses in the System NaAlSiO4-SiO2. Methodology and Melt Structures, American Mineralogist, 80, 417-431.
Spera, F., Oldenburg, C., Christensen, C. and Todesco, M. Simulations of convection with crystallization in the system KAlSi2O6-CaMgSi2O6: Implications for compositionally zoned magma bodies, American Mineralogist, 80, 1188-1207.
Simulations of convection with crystallization in the system KalSi2O6-CaMgSi2O6: Implications for compositionally zoned magma bodies: F.J.Spera, C.M.Oldenburg, C.Christensen, M.Todesco (1995) American Mineralogist vol. 80, pp. 1188-1207
1994
Trial, A. and Spera, F., Measuring the Multicomponent Diffusion Matrix: Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Silicate Melts, Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta., 58, 18, 3769-3783.
1993
Cousens, B., Spera, F. and Dobson, P. Post-eruptive alteration of silicic ignimbrites and lavas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands: Strontuim, neodymium, lead, and oxygen isotopic evidence. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 57,631-640.
Spera, F. and Stark, L. Comment on "Historical Review of a Long-Overlooked Paper by R.A. Daly Concerning the Origin and the Early History of the Moon" by Ralph B. Baldwin and Don Wilhelms. Jour. of Geophysical Research, 98, E2, 3087.
Spera, F and Trial, A, Verificaton of Onsager's Reciprocal Relatons in a molten silicate solution. Science, 259, 204-206.
Stein, D. and Spera, F, Experimental rheometry of melts in system NaAlSiO4-SiO2: Implications for melt structure and dynamics, American Mineral., 78, 710-723.
Rosenberg, N., Spera, F., Haymon, R., The relationship between flow and permeability field in seafloor hydrothermal systems, Earth Planet. Sci Letters, 116, 135-153.
Graham, D. W., Allard, P., Lilburn, C., Spera, F., Lupton, J., Helium isotopes in some historical lavas from Mount Vesuvius, Jour. Volcanol, Geotherm. Res, 58, 359-366.
Stein, D. and Spera, F., Rheometry of a dacitic melt: Experimental results and tests of empirical models for viscosity estimation, Geophy. Res. Letters, 20, 18, 1923-1926.
1992
Spera, F. J. Lunar magma transport phenomena. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 56, 2253-2265.
Rustad, J., Yuen, D. and Spera, F. J. Coordination variability and the structural components of silica glass under high pressures. Chemical Geology, 96, 421-437.
Trial, A. F., Spera, F. J., Yuen, D. and Greer, J. Simulations of magma withdrawal from compositionally zoned bodies. Jour. Geophys. Res., 97, B5, 6713-6733.
Todesco, M. and Spera, F. Stability of a chemically layered upper mantle. Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors, 71, 85-95.
Oldenburg, C. M. and Spera, F. J. Hybrid model for solidification and convection. Numerical Heat Trans. B, 21, 217-229.
Oldenburg, C. M. and Spera, F. J. Modeling transport processes in nonlinear systems: the example of solidification and convection. IN: Chaotic Processes in the Geological Sciences (ed. D. Yuen). IMA Volume in Mathematics and Its Applications, 41, 221-232, Springer-Verlag.
Rosenberg, N. and Spera, F. Convection in porous media with thermal and chemical buoyancy: A comparison of two models for solute dispersion. IN: Chaotic Processes in the Geological Sciences (ed. D. Yuen). IMA Volume in Mathematics and Its Applications, 41, 319-333, Springer-Verlag.
Stein, D. J. and Spera, F. J. Rheology and microstructure of magmatic emulsions: theory and experiments. Jour. Volcanology and Geotherm. Res., 49, 157-174.
Rosenberg, N. and Spera, F. J. Thermohaline convection in a porous medium heated from below. International Jour. Heat Mass Trans, 35, 5, 1261-1274.
1991
Rustad, J., Yuen, D. and Spera, F. J. The sensitivity of physical and spectral properties of silica glass to variations of interatomic potentials under high pressure. Phy. Earth Planetary Interiors, 65, 210-230.
Oldenburg, C. and Spera, F. J. Numerical modeling of solidification and convection in a viscous pure binary eutectic system. Inter. Jour. Heat Mass Trans., 34, 2107-2121.
Rustad, J., Yuen, D. and Spera, F. J. Molecular dynamics of amorphous silica at very high pressures (135 GPa). Thermodynamics and extraction of structures through analysis of Voronoi polyhedra. Physical Review B, 44, No. 5, 2108-2121.
Rustad, J., Spera, F. and Yuen, D. The statistical geometry of amorphous silica at lower mantle pressures - implications for melting slopes of silicates and anharmonicity. Jour. Geophys. Res., 96, 19665-19673.
1990
Trial, A. F. and Spera, F. J. Mechanisms for the generation of compositional heterogeneities in magma chambers. Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 10, 353-367.
Borgia, A. and Spera, F. J. Error analysis for reducing noisy wide-gap concentric cylinder rheometric data for non-linear fluids: Theory and applications. Jour. Rheology, 34 (1), 117-136.
Cousens, B., Spera, F. J. and Tilton, G. Isotopic patterns in silicic ignimbrites and lava flows of the Mogan and Lower Fataga formations, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands: Temporal changes in mantle source composition. Earth Planet. Sci. Letters, 96, 319-335.
Clark, S. C. and Spera, F. J. Evolution of the Miocene Tejeda magmatic system, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. Part II. Petrologic Constraints. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 104, 681-699.
Trigila, R., Spera, F. J. and Aurisicchio, C. The 1983 Mount Etna eruption: Thermochemical and dynamical inferences. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 104, 594-608.
Oldenburg, C., Spera, F. J. and Yuen, D. Self-organization in convective magma mixing. Earth-Science Reviews, 29, 331-348.
Rustad, J., Yuen, D. and Spera, F. J. Molecular dynamics of liquid SiO2 under high pressure. Physical Review A, 42, 3rd series number 4, 2081-2089.
Oldenburg, C. and Spera, F. J. Simulation of phase change and convection in magma bodies, in Heat Transfer in Earth Science Studies (ASME-HTD vol. 149), C. Carrigan and T. Y. Chu, eds., p. 35-42.
1989
Spera, F. J. Thermodynamic modeling of geological materials: Minerals, fluids, melts. Geology, 17, 388. [REVIEW]
Oldenburg, C., Spera, F. J., Yuen, D. and Sewell, G. Dynamic mixing in magma bodies: Theory, simulations and implications. Jour. Geophys. Res., 94, B7, 9215-9236.
Spera, F. J., Oldenburg, C. and Yuen, D. Compositional zonation in magma bodies: Effects of chemical buoyancy and diffusivity in marginal upwelling. University of Minnesota Supercomputer Institute, UMSI 89/53.
Rustad, J., Yuen, D. and Spera, F. Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics of liquid sulfur in Couette flow. Jour. Chem. Phys., 91(6), 3662-3670.
Spera, F. J., Oldenburg, C. and Yuen, D. Magma zonation: Effects of chemical buoyancy and diffusion. Geophy. Res. Letters, 16, 12, 1387-1390.
Rosenberg, N. D., and Spera, F. J. Role of anisotropic and/or layered permeability in hydrothermal convection. Geophys. Res. Letters, 17 (3), 235-238.
1988
Trial, A. F. and Spera, F. J. Natural convection boundary layer flows in isothermal ternary systems: role of diffusive coupling. Int. Jour. Heat Mass Transfer, 31, 941-955.
Spera, F. J., Borgia, A., Strimple, J. and Feigenson, M. Rheology of melts and magmatic suspensions 1. Design and calibration of concentric cylinder viscometer with application to rhyolitic magma. Jour. Geophys. Res., 93, 10273-10294.
Oldenburg, C., Spera, F. J. and Yuen, D. Self-organization and convective magma mixing. University of Minnesota Supercomputer Institute, UMSI 88/138.
1987
Steady state double diffusive convection in magma chambers heated from below in B. O. Mysen (ed.), Magmatic Processes: Physicochemical Principles, Geochemical Society, Special Publication No. 1 (with S. Clark and D. Yuen).
Pyroclastic flows and lavas of the Mogan and Fataga formations, Tejeda Volcano, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Mineral chemistry, intensive parameters, and magma chamber evolution. Contr. Mineral. Petrol., 96, 503-518 (with Joy
1986
Dynamics of magma withdrawal from stratified magma chambers. University of Minnesota Supercomputer Institute, UMSI 86/7 (with D. Yuen, J. Greer and G. Sewell).
[TECHNICAL REPORT]
Double-diffusive convection in magma chambers: Single or multiple layers. Geophys. Res. Lett., 13, 1, 153-156 (with D. Yuen, S. Clark and H. Hong)
Fluid dynamics of ascending magma and mantle metasomatic fluids. In M. Menzies and C. Hawkesworth (eds.), Mantle Metasomatism. Academic Press, London, p. 1-21.
[CHAPTER IN BOOK]
Dynamics of magma withdrawal from stratified magma chambers. Geology, 14, 723-726 (with D. Yuen, J. Greer and G. Sewell).
1985
Co-mingling of acid and basic magma with implications for the origin of mafic I-type xenoliths: Field and petrochemical relations of an unusual dike complex at Eagle Lake, Sequoia National Park, California, USA. Jour. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 24, 151-178 (with T. Furman).
Parametrizzazione dei percorsi magmatici legati all'eruzione dell'Etna (1983) su base termodinamica e petrologico-sperimentale. Boll. C.N.R.-G.N.V., 1, 12-20 (with C. Aurisicchio and R. Trigila).
1984
Mass transfer rates along vertical walls in magma chambers: Evaluation of the marginal upwelling hypothesis. Nature, 310, 764-767 (with D. Yuen and D. Kemp).
Adiabatic decompression of aqueous solutions: Applications to geology. Geology, 12, 707-710 (with S. A. Wood).
1983
Case studies on the origin of basalt. II. The transition from tholeiitic to alkalic volcanism on Kohala Volcano, Hawaii. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 84, 390-405 (with M. Feigenson and A. W. Hofmann).
1982
Thermal boundary layer convection in silicic magma chambers: Effects of temperature-dependent rheology and implications for thermogravitational chemical fractionation. Jour. Geophys. Res., 87, B10, 8755-8767 (with D. Yuen and S. J. Kirschvink).
1981
Carbon dioxide in petrogenesis II. Fluid dynamics of mantle metasomatic processes. Contr. Mineral. Petrol., 77, 56-65.
Eruption volume, periodicity, and caldera area: Relationships and inference on development of compositional zonation in silicic magma chambers. Jour. Volcano. Geother. Res., 11, 169-187 (with J. Crisp).
Dynamical model for temporal variation in magma type and eruption interval at Kohala Volcano, Hawaii. Geology, 9, 531-534 (with M. D. Feigenson).
On the origin of an amphibole-rich vein in a periodotite inclusion from the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field, Nevada, U.S.A. Earth and Planet. Sci. Letters, 56, 343-361 (with S. Bergman and K. Foland).
1980
Melt production by viscous dissipation: Role of heat advection by magma transport. Geophys. Res. Letters, 7, 2, 145-148 (with M. Feigenson).
Carbon dioxide in petrogenesis I. Aspects of the dissolution of CO2 in silicate melts. Contr. Mineral. Petrol., 74, 55-66 (with S. Bergman).
1979
Thermal evolution of plutons: A parameterized approach. Science, 297, 299-301.
1977
High-temperature properties of silicate liquids: Applications to the equilibration and ascent of basic magma. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A 286, 373-341 (with I. Carmichael, J. Nicholls, B. J. Wood and S. A. Nelson).
1974
Thermodynamic basis for predicting H2O solubilities in silicate melts and implications for the low velocity zone. Contr. Mineral. Petrol., 45, 175-186.
Courses:
Earth 102A: Petrology of Igneous Rocks
Earth 123: The Solar System
Earth 159: Origin of the Earth
Earth 114: Geomaterials