Participant Perspective - July 23, 2001

Interview with Susan Kulp
Geologist - University of Florida

Jeff: What project are you working on along the Juan de Fuca Ridge?

Susan: My project deals with a location south of Axial Volcano on the south Cleft segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. I'm looking at the intersection of the southern Cleft segment of Juan de Fuca Ridge with the Blanco Fracture Zone, a big transform fault. I'm studying the "cold edge effect." It's a geochemical phenomenon that occurs due to the interaction of the hydrothermally active ridge with the hydrothermally inactive transform fault. The Blanco Fracture Zone basically cools down and truncates the magma chamber underneath the ridge. This causes melting to occur more quickly, and the magma doesn't have as much time to crystallize. It results in lava melts that have a different geochemical signature at the Blanco intersection than it would farther to the north or south. I'm also looking at the structure of the southern Cleft segment and how it relates to the frequency of the eruptions. The current non-steady-state model for the ridge's formation states that eruptions don't happen continuously. The high axial ridge builds during the eruptions. When the magma supply is cut off during the extension process the axial ridge collapses forming the axial valley along the southern Cleft segment.

Jeff: Did you have a rock collection as a kid?

Susan: No, I didn't. At one point I thought that looking at rocks was boring. Then in college I took an oceanography class and that's where I first learned about plate tectonics. I thought it was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. It's incredible. Before, I had a lot of misconceptions about what geologists do. Once I found out that it's a whole new world of exploration I was hooked. I love plate tectonics as a whole. I get excited about anything dealing with the plates spreading or moving. I've always been interested in the Juan de Fuca ridge because it's a little plate off the west coast and there's subduction and the creation of the plate. It's exciting for me. I really just like the active processes of geology and am more interested in tectonics than sedimentation. I'm more interested in the active than the passive.

Jeff: Does our public education system expose students enough to geology and
the earth sciences?

Susan: No. I think it's a shame that a lot of school systems don't stress the Earth Sciences. We need students to be exposed to Earth Science. All of the other sciences, such as biology and chemistry, have their practical applications. You can make money off them right away, for instance, pharmaceuticals. However, we still need to understand how the Earth works. As geologists we study the history of the Earth and the Earth processes that are going on right now. We need geologists to understand our planet and the other planets in our solar system. There are so many different aspects of geology that you can get yourself into. Because geology it is under-appreciated and relatively misunderstood, we definitely need Earth Science at the younger levels in public education.