Title: Identifying tectonic assembly in high-grade gneiss terranes: Case study in the Adirondack Lowlands, New York.

What: This project will be an integrated structural and
metamorphic study that will focus on two high-grade fault zones in the
Adirondack portion of the Grenville Province, with a focus on dating
deformation, determining shearing conditions within the zone, and
identifying discontinuities across the boundaries.

When: July 12 to August 9, 2008

Where: Adirondacks and Colgate University

Who: 9 students. William Peck, Associate Professor, Colgate University; Bruce Selleck, Harold Orville Whitnall Professor of Geology, Colgate University; and Martin Wong, Assistant Professor, Colgate University.

Project Description and Goals: This project will focus on the
Carthage Colton Shear zone (CCSZ) and Black Lake shear zone (BLSZ) in
the Adirondacks. Two weeks will be spent mapping and collecting samples
in the field, after an introductory field trip examining Adirondack
geology. The final two weeks of the project will be spent at Colgate
preparing samples for analytical work at Colgate and elsewhere. We will
make use of SEM, XRF, XRD, stable isotope and fluid inclusion
instrumentation at Colgate, tailoring analytical strategies to either
be completed before departure or finished at student home institutions.
See http://departments.colgate.edu/geology/instruments/ for details of analytical facilities.

Student Projects: Possible projects include deformation
studies of fault rocks and syntectonic intrusive rocks, metamorphic
petrology and carbon isotope thermometry of marbles across the faults,
geothermobarometry of pelites in the fault zone, fluid inclusion and
stable isotope study of syntectonic high-temperature veins, whole-rock
chemistry of aluminous rocks from the BLSZ to determine protoliths of
the enigmatic tectonized lithologies. These projects will probably be
synthesized into topical papers about the BLSZ and CCSZ discussing
metamorphic petrology, intrusion history, and structures.

Field Conditions: We will be housed in cabins in the
Adirondacks and dorms at Colgate. The closeness of the field sites to
Colgate (2-3 hrs) will allow return trips to the field near the end of
the project if preliminary work shows the need to make new measurements
or collect additional samples. Field work in this part of the
Adirondacks is fairly straightforward; access is good, the locals are
friendly, and the localities are close enough to each other that the
students will have a good idea of the scope of all the projects.

Course Preparation: Igneous & Metamorphic Petrology or Structural geology, Field camp (or similar field experience) recommended.

For more information contact: Professor William Peck (Project Director) [email or website] or Professor Andrew de Wet (Keck Geology Consortium Director) [email or website].