Participating Faculty

Cooperating Faculty

Igneous Petrology

Projects include: the nature of Quaternary basaltic volcanism to the north of the Yellowstone Caldera; the evolution and connectivity of volcanic-plutonic complexes in the Colorado River Extensional Corridor; the use of melt inclusions to constrain the temporal evolution of the magmatic plumbing system beneath Mutnovsky Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia; the Klamath Mountains province of California and Oregon; the Franciscan subduction complex of California; the Pliocene-Recent basaltic volcanism in the southern Basin and Range Province in Nevada and Arizona; depth of melting in the Basin and Range province.

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Volcanology & Volcanic Hazards

Projects include: the nature of slab sediment vs. oceanic lithosphere input to the base of subduction zone volcanic plumbing system at Mutnovsky Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia; characterization of Pliocene-Recent basaltic volcanism and the depth of the melting column to elucidate the eruptive potential of the Yucca Mountain region; the evolution of continental volcanic centers and associated silicic eruptions and caldera collapse events; the Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonic evolution of western North America and New Zealand; and the nature of the plumbing system of the Valles Caldera, New Mexico.

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Experimental Petrology

Projects include: the evolution of platinum-group-element rich layered mafic intrusions; the physicochemical cause(s) of metal fractionation during punctuated differentiation of magmatic systems; trace element partitioning during prograde metamorphism of subducted sediment and oceanic lithosphere; the mechanical behavior of rocks at high temperature and pressure, and on the interaction between the processes of deformation and metamorphic reaction. Our experimental facilities include cold-seal vessels, TZM apparatuses, hydrothermal diamond anvil cells, traditional diamond anvil cells, piston-cylinder, and 1-atmosphere furnaces. We maintain a strong partnership with the High Pressure Science and Engineering Center (HiPSEC) at UNLV, and synchrotron facilities such as the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS).

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Metamorphic Petrology

Projects include: the generation and modification of juvenile crust in a long-lived supra-subduction environment in the Klamath Mountains province, California and Oregon; the exhumation history of a large coherent sheet of high pressure oceanic crust at a pacific-type subduction margin (Klamath Province); tracking the long-term (>300 million years) chemical evolution of sub-arc asthenosphere (Klamath Province); and testing models of melt-restite segregation during crustal anatexis (Proterozoic migmatites); the localization of strain in shear zones; the interactions between melting and deformation during regional metamorphism; and the exhumation of high- and ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks.

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Economic Geology

Projects include: elucidating the genesis of Carlin-type and volcanic-hosted gold deposits; the physical and chemical evolution of magmatic-hydrothermal ore systems such as the Climax-type molybdenum, the gold-porphyry deposits in the Maricunga Belt, Chile, and the Batu Hijau porphyry deposit in Indonesia; fluid evolution in magmatic systems; constraining the relationship between structure and metal grade in Carlin-type deposits; and the use of fluid inclusions to constrain ore deposit evolution. Strong working relationships with international mining companies such as Barrick Gold Corporation and Newmont Mining Company provide opportunities for students to gain real-world experience interning at mines and, importantly, learn to apply their data to exploration models.

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Mineral Physics

Our current projects involve: partitioning of REE and HFSE between hydrous melts and minerals of the transition zone of the mantle; studies of the structure of iron-bearing silicates at core-mantle boundary conditions; the structure of silicate melts between 200 and 500 kbar of pressure; direct partitioning studies of siderophile elements between silicate melts and metal.

More on Mineral Physics (.pdf)

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Geochemistry

Projects include: the mobility of trace elements during dehydration of eclogite in subduction zones; the effect of sulfur and oxygen fugacities on metal exchange between silicate melts, sulfide crystals/melt, and aqueous fluids; the incorporation of gold and other trace elements in pyrite; the mass transfer and concomitant fractionation of trace elements between minerals such as monazite, apatite, zircon, and supercritical aqueous fluid(s); the effect melt redox state on the mass transfer of chlorine between silicate melt and aqueous fluid.

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