Cody L. Colleps
Assistant Professor (Starting January 2026)
Email: cody.colleps@unlv.edu
Education:
PhD. University of Hong Kong (2020)
MSc. University of Texas at Austin (2016)
BSc. University of Texas at Austin (2013)
Research Interests:
I am currently looking for motivated and enthusiastic graduate students to begin in the Fall of 2026. If interested, please do not hesitate to send along an email to discuss.
My research is motivated by an ultimate goal to advance our understanding of the mechanisms driving crustal exhumation at multiple spatial and temporal scales, and to reciprocally understand how distinct erosional events throughout deep-time have impacted elemental cycling within Earth’s dynamic system. My primary focus involves the application and further development of accessory mineral geo- and thermochronometry to track tectonic, climatic, and epeirogenic controls on crustal exhumation and sedimentation. I combine these techniques with field-based observations and advanced modelling approaches to assess a diverse array of geological problems, ranging from unravelling >1-billion-year burial and erosional evolutions from tectonically quiescent continental interiors, to tracking the impact of glacial erosion within modern glaciated landscapes over the past 1-10 million years.
I maintain ongoing geology-focused projects on (1) the exhumation of the Himalayas of NW India, (2) the dynamics of India-Asia collision, (4) the emplacement and erosion of the Deccan LIP, (5) the thermal histories of cratons, and (6) the erosional imprint of glaciers from the Neoproterozoic to the present. I also maintain, and will further establish, projects on method-development, including efforts to advance techniques in (1) 4He/3He thermochronology, (2) proton/neutron irradiation of geological material, (3) laser-ablation (U-Th)/He analyses, and (4) 40Ar/39Ar dating. I am always seeking new and exciting applications of these techniques—please feel free to reach out to discuss potential collaborations.
Select Publications:
Colleps, C. L., van der Beek, P., Amalberti, J., Sobel, E., Tremblay, M., and Bernard, M., Evaluating the resolving power of apatite 4He/3He thermochronology: Insights from the Fish Canyon Tufff (In Revision: Geology)
Bernard, M., van der Beek, P., Pedersen, V. K., and Colleps, C. L., 2025, Production and preservation of elevated low‐relief surfaces in mountainous landscapes by Pliocene‐Quaternary glaciations: AGU Advances: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024AV001610
Colleps, C. L., van der Beek, P., Amalberti, J., Denker, A., Tremblay, M. M., Bernard, M., Dittwald, A., and Bundesmann, J., 2024, Improving the efficiency of proton irradiations for 4He/3He Thermochronology: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011334
Colleps, C. L., McKenzie, N. R., Guenthner, W. R., Sharma, M., Gibson, T. M., and Stockli, D. F., 2021, Apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometric constraints on the northern extent of the Deccan large igneous province: Earth and Planetary Science Letters: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117087
Colleps, C. L., McKenzie, N. R., Horton, B. K., Webb, A. A. G., Ng, Y. W., and Singh, B. P., 2020, Sediment provenance of pre- and post-collisional Cretaceous-Paleogene strata from the frontal Himalaya of northwest India: Earth and Planetary Science Letters: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116079