PhD Candidate
Research
Crustal evolution of Cordilleran orogens
What are the processes responsible for crustal thickening along Cordilleran arcs? For example, the Central Andes, the type locality of a Cordilleran orogen, displays significant variations in crustal thickness along strike from >80-km thick crust in the Altiplano to ~45-km thick crust beneath the northern Puna. When did the crust thicken, what processes control crustal thickening, and why is crustal thickness so variable along strike? As part of the NSF Collaborative Research: TransANdean Great Orogeny (TANGO) project at UA, I am currently using the geochemistry of igneous rocks from the central Andes to answer these questions. Read more about this project here!
Volcan Tuzgle
Volcan Maipo
Volcan Maipo
Pyroxenite melting at subduction zones
Arc magmatism is thought to be driven by peridotite melting in the mantle wedge. Yet pyroxenites are ubiquitous in the melting region beneath magmatic arcs. Because pyroxenites have lower solidi temperatures and higher melt productivities compared to peridotite, preferential melting of pyroxenite may supply disproportionate volumes of magma to the arc budget. In collaboration with Dr. Ananya Mallik, I am currently using geochemistry and experimental petrology to evaluate the relative contribution of pyroxenite- vs. peridotite-derived melts to arc magmatism. I have recently published a component of this work, read the article here!
Piston cylinder in Dr. Ananya Mallik's experimental petrology laboratory at the University of Arizona
Effects of arclogite formation and foundering on the development of Cordilleran systems
For the first chapter of my PhD, I used thermodynamic modelling to investigate the effects of crystallization, partial melting, and retained melt on the foundering ability of sub-arc residual roots. Read the journal article here!
