Description

My first foray into geologic research began with mantle rocks and the study of mantle rocks has remained a core component of my research ever since. The crust of the Earth and the wide variety of rock types that we encounter as geologists are all derived in some way from the mantle. So, I am fascinated by the general nature of the mantle, how it evolves, how it is effected by melting and metasomatism, and its role in the broader plate tectonic cycle.

My mantle-focused projects cover a very wide range of tectonic settings and environments. Sometimes I am using a weathered and serpentinized abyssal peridotite from a back-arc basin to help me understand the the tectonic lifecycles of back-arc spreading ridges. Sometimes I am using a suite of pristine mantle xenoliths from a subaerial lava flow to reveal the processes involved in the formation and evolution of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle.