The first paper from my Post-Doc at BC with Mark Behn was published this week in G3. This contribution explores the evolution and fate of sediment diapirs that form in subduction zones. We use thermodynamic phase equilibria modelling coupled with a geodynamic code to show that a range of diapir behaviors are viable at modern subduction zones, including both melting within the mantle wedge and relamination to the base of the arc crust. The paper is available here.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters Publication!
I have a new article published in EPSL looking at the construction of the Bear Valley Intrusive Suite in the southernmost Sierra Nevada. This paper couples geochemistry, structural observations and a model of fractional crystallization within arc crust to better understand how arc crust is constructed.
MIT News story
MIT News wrote a great story on my recently published Geology Paper!
“Geologists raise the speed limit for how fast continental crust can form”
New Geology paper published!
My work using U-Pb zircon geochronology to constrain the emplacement timescale of the Bear Valley Intrusive Suite has been published in Geology!
New paper out
A new paper that Oli Jagoutz and I wrote entitled “On the importance of crystallization-differentiation for the generation of SiO2-rich melts and the compositional build-up of arc (and continental) crust” has been published in American Journal of Science. This was a fun review paper to write in which we evaluate multiple arguments often cited to support partial melting as the dominant process for magmatic differentiation, and find that these arguments are at least equally permissive of crystillization-differentiation. Read the full paper here:
MIT News story!
Our recent EPSL paper entitled ‘Archean crustal compositions promote full mantle convection’ was featured in a story written by MIT news. Check it out here:
http://news.mit.edu/2017/ancient-earth-hot-interior-graveyard-continental-slabs-0822