Summary: Piton de la Fournaise (Reunion Island, Indian Ocean) is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, erupting once every 9 months on average. This volcano is well known to produce basaltic lavas that can be either extremely crystal-poor, or extremely crystal-rich, with up to 60% vol. olivine and as low as 40% vol. melt. In this talk, we will look into the origin of these olivine crystals, and what they can tell us about the plumbing system of the volcano. 

Biography: Ben is a visiting assistant professor at Macalester College. He studies how crystals form in magmas using a variety of microscopes and high temperatures furnaces. Ben earned his PhD in France in 2010, where he studied olivine basalts erupted at Piton de la Fournaise volcano (Reunion hotspot). Since then, he has worked at several research institutes in the US (Hawaii, Cornell, Brown) to expand on his crystal growth research.

Please visit his homepage at https://benoitwelsch.com for an overview of activities.