Past Projects

This is a comparative study of inflated and disrupted pāhoehoe lava on Mars and the Earth. The project will involve fieldwork in the Zuni-Bandera Volcanic Field of New Mexico and mapping of potentially analogous lava flows within the Elysium region of Mars.

Investigation of spatiotemporal changes in island shorelines due to water-level changes using the mapping and analytical tools of a geographic information system (GIS). Study area is The Massasauga Provincial Park archipelago (Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Ontario).

This Keck project is an interdisciplinary investigation of biologically mediated precipitation of dolomite and other carbonate minerals in Deep Springs Lake, CA. Elucidating the mechanisms of modern dolomite precipitation is a fundamental and longstanding problem in sedimentology and Earth history. Students and faculty will develop an integrated suite of field and laboratory data utilizing techniques in microbiology, aqueous geochemistry, sedimentology, mineralogy, and isotope geochemistry. During the project, participants will have the opportunity to perform cutting-edge geobiological research, including one week of fieldwork in a modern alkaline playa lake and three weeks of lab research at the sponsoring institutions.

The 2013 project will investigate the impact of Tropical Storm Irene on sediment transport in the Deerfield River Basin. This record-breaking storm dumped 180-250 mm of rain within a 24-hour period causing extensive flooding throughout the watershed. Numerous mass wasting events helped contribute to an anomalously high sediment load.

This project focuses on the tectonic evolution of the Chugach-Prince William terrane in Southeast Alaska, and it is a continuation of our 2011, and 2012 projects. This thick accretionary complex is dominated by Campanian-Paleocene (c. 75-55 Ma) trench fill turbidites likely derived from a volcano-plutonic complex. Near-trench plutons of the Sanak-Baranof belt imprinted a distinctive thermal event on these rocks and are a key indicator of plate position between 61-50 Ma. The primary study area for 2013 is the Sitka Graywacke in Sitka, Alaska, and the nearby and presumed metamorphosed equivalent, Baranof Schist in Whale Bay in the South Baranof Wilderness Area. Student projects will be focused on metamorphism and thermal evolution of these rocks, and sedimentary provenance including U/Pb dating of detrital zircon.

In this project, we will collect specimens so that field relations can be considered as part of the magnetic/geochemical provenance problem. There is also a more general archaeological/anthropological perspective involving sourcing theory, technological choices, and economic models for the students to balance the strictly geological aspects of this project.

This project will be a field-based study of the structural, tectonic, metamorphic and thermal history of the spectacular northern Snake Range in eastern Nevada. The Snake Range is a classic example of a metamorphic core complex where mid-crustal metamorphic rocks have been penetratively deformed and exhumed by tectonic extension along a major low-angle normal fault and shear zone.

The Keck Colorado 12 project will work with a large interdisciplinary study (Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory: Weathered profile development in a rocky environment and its influence on watershed hydrology and biogeochemistry-NSF 0724960) directed by Suzanne Anderson, Institute for Arctic and Alpine Studies (INSTAAR), University of Colorado.

The 2012 Lough Carra, Ireland project will investigate Holocene climate, aquatic productivity, and pollution records by collecting and analyzing lacustrine carbonate sediments. In addition, we will verify the fidelity of the marl delta 13C record by conducting a series of pore water incubation experiments. The summer program will consist of fieldwork in Ireland and laboratory analyses at Amherst College and Wesleyan University.