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Geodynamics and Tectonics
The Geodynamics and Tectonics research group studies the origin, evolution, and rates of (de)formation of the Earth's crust. Studies focus on geophysical, geochemical and geological understanding of plate tectonics and use of inter-disciplinary data to predict and develop models of lithospheric deformation, magmatism, mass fluxes, sedimentation and fluid flow. The group maintains and operates state-of-the-art XRF and ICP-MS labs and geophysical equipment, and uses a number of specialized instruments at MSU's Center for Advanced Microscopy.
Faculty
Kazuya Fujita — Global Tectonics, Earthquake Seismology
Brian Hampton — Clastic sedimentology, Tectonics
Julie C. Libarkin — Paleoaltimetry
Kevin Mackey — Earthquake Seismology
Tyrone O. Rooney — Igneous Petrology and Geochemistry
Duncan F. Sibley — Geochemistry, sedimentary petrology
Michael A. Velbel — Clastic sedimentary petrology
Emeritus Faculty
William F. Cambray — Petrology, Mineralogy, Structural Geology
Thomas A. Vogel — Igneous Petrology
Adjunct Faculty
Lina C. Patino — Analytical Geochemistry
Research Staff
Matt Parsons — Geochemistry, ICP-MS Lab manager
Selected Research Topics
Stratigraphic and structural evolution of the Alaska Range suture zone
The accretion of the Wrangellia composite terrane (island arc) to the North America Cordillera is one of the largest additions of juvenile crust to a continental margin in the geologic record. Arc accretion is widely accepted to have occurred during Mesozoic time, however the detailed timing and tectonic evolution of this event remains widely debated. By applying geologic mapping, detailed sedimentologic and stratigraphic analysis, structure, and provenance studies (including sandstone petrology and U-Pb detrital zircon age dating) we are able to examine the history of exhumation and basin evolution in the Alaska Range suture zone during the early, middle, and late stages of arc accretion.
Related Publications:
Hampton, B.A., K.D. Ridgway, J.M. O'Neill, G.E. Gehrels, J. Schmidt, and R.B. Blodgett. 2007. Pre-, syn-, and postcollisional stratigraphic framework and provenance of Upper Triassic-Upper Cretaceous strata in the northwestern Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. In: Special Paper 431: Tectonic Growth of a Collisional Continental Margin: Crustal Evolution of Southern Alaska. pp. 401–438. Geological Society of America.
Intraplate activity in northeast Siberia and northern Alaska
We use seismic waveform and travel-time analysis of teleseismic, Russian regional and Alaskan local network data, to study intraplate activity in northeast Siberia and northern Alaska. In cooperation with the Yakut Science Center, Russia, and the University of Alaska, we have deployed digital recording systems in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia.
Seismology and tectonics of eastern Russia, western Alaska, the Arctic, and Michigan is studied using multiple data sets, including seismicity, seismotectonics, travel-time analysis, image and map interpretation, geology, and geochronology. These results are applied to earthquake prediction, nuclear monitoring, resource evaluation, plate interactions, seismic hazards, crustal structure, and tectonic evolution. In cooperation with the Yakut Science Center, Russia, and the University of Alaska, we have deployed digital recording systems in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia.
Related Publications:
Rautian, T., Khalturin, V., Fujita, K., Mackey, K., and Kendall, A., 2007. Origins and methodology of the Russian energy K-class system and its relationship to magnitude scales: Seismological Research Letters, v. 78(6), in press.
Hindle, D., Fujita, K., and Mackey, K., 2006. Current deformation rates and extrusion of the northwestern Okhotsk plate, northeast Russia: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 33, doi:10.1029/2005GL024814.
Selected Research Topics
Rift propagation in the East African Rift System: Complex bidirectional extension
Quaternary lavas erupted in zones of tectono-magmatic extension within the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) preserve details of lithospheric structure in the East African Rift System. This region records the unification of two rift systems, requiring care in interpreting the Main Ethiopian Rift as simply transitional between continental and oceanic environments.
Related Publications:
Rooney, T., Furman, T., Bastow, I.D., Ayalew, D., and Gezahegn, Y., 2007, Lithospheric modification during crustal extension in the Main Ethiopian Rift: Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets, v. doi:10.1029/2006JB004916.
Rooney, T., Furman, T., Yirgu, G., and Ayalew, D., 2005, Structure of the Ethiopian Lithosphere: Xenolith Evidence in the Main Ethiopian Rift: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 69, p. 3889-3910.
Weathering studies
Early stages of weathering and/or hydrothermal alteration can affect the initial composition of volcanic rocks to the point that petrological interpretations become impossible. Elements that have been labeled "immobile" seem to mobilized in the early stages of alteration. We study element mobilization along weathering profiles at the outcrop scale using macro and micro analytical techniques.
Related Publications:
Velbel, M.A. and Barker, W.W. 2008. Pyroxene weathering to smectite: conventional and cryo-field emission scanning electron microscopy, Koua Bocca ultramafic complex, Ivory Coast. Clays and Clay Minerals. v.56(1), 112-127.
Van Dam, R.L., Harrison, J.B.J., Hirschfeld, D.A., Meglich, T.M., Li, Y., and North, R.E. 2008. Mineralogy and magnetic properties of basaltic substrate soils: Kaho'olawe and Big Island, Hawaii. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 10.2136/sssaj2006.0281, 72(1), 244-257.
Velbel, M.A. and Price, J.R. 2007. Solute geochemical mass-balances and mineral weathering rates in small watersheds: Methodology, recent advances, and future directions. Applied Geochemistry, v.22(8), 1682-1700.
Schaetzl, R.J., Mikesell, L.R., Velbel, M.A.. 2006. Soil characteristics related to weathering and pedogenesis across a geomorphic surface of uniform age in Michigan. Physical Geography. v.27(2), 170-188.
Patino, L. C., Velbel, M. A., Price, J. R., and Wade J. A., 2003, Trace element mobility during spheroidal weathering of basalts and andesites in Hawaii and Guatemala, Chemical Geology, 202, 343– 364.
Meteorite studies
Related Publications:
Zolensky, M.E. et al. (Velbel, M.A.) 2008. Comparing Wild 2 particles to chondrites and IDPs. Meteorics & Planetary Science. v.43(1-2), 261-272.
Zolensky, M.E. et al. (Velbel, M.A.) 2006. Report - Mineralogy and petrology of comet 81P/Wild 2 nucleus sample. Science. v.314(5806), 1735-1739.
Wentworth, S.J., Gibson, E.K., Velbel, M.A. and McKay, D.S. 2008. Antarctic Dry Valleys and indigenous weathering in Mars meteorites: Implications for water and life on Mars. Icarus. v.174(2), 383-395.
Magma in Arc Settings
Research into the evolution of arc-setting magmas as well as evolution of continental crust is conducted in Central America, the Cascades, the Philippines, and Alaska. This research area includes the effects of slab composition on the composition of arc magma.
Related Publications:
Almberg, L. D., Eichelberger, J. C, Larsen, J. F, Vogel, T. A, Patino L. C., in press, Comparison of eruptive and intrusive samples from Unzen volcano, Japan : Effects of contrasting pressure – tempura – time paths, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.
Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C., Guillermo, G. E. and Rose, W. I., In Press, Petrogenesis of Ignimbrites, in Bundschuh & Alvarado (eds), Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards.
Vogel, T. A., P. J. Hidalgo, L. Patino, K. S. Tefend, and R. Ehrlich, 2008, Evaluation of magma mixing and fractional crystallization using whole-rock chemical analyses: Polytopic vector analyses, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q04020, doi:10.1029/2007GC001790.
Deering, C. D., Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C., Alvarado, G. E., 2007, Origin of distinct silicic magma tyes from the Guachipelin Caldera, NW Costa Rica: Evidence for magma mixing and protracted subvolcanic residence, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2007.05.004
Tefend, K. S., Vogel, T. A., Flood, T. P., Erhlich, R., 2007, Identifying Relationships Among Silicic Magma Batches by Polytopic Vector Analysis: A Study of the Topopah Spring and Pah Canyon Ash-flow Sheets of the Southwest Nevada Volcanic Field, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 167, 198-211.
Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C., Guillermo, G. E. and Rose, W. I., 2007, Petrogenesis of Ignimbrites, in Bundschuh & Alvarado (eds), Central America: Geology, Resources and Hazards. Chapter 23, 591-618.
Vogel, T. A., Patino, L. C, Eaton J. K., Valley , J. W. William I. Rose, Guillermo E. Alvarado and Ela L. Viray, 2006, Origin of silicic magmas associated with the Central American volcanic front, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 156, 206-228.
Vogel, T. A., Flood, T. P., Patino, L. C., Wilmont, M. S., Maximo, R. P. R., Arpa, C. B., Arcilla, C. A., and Stimac, J. A., 2006, Geochemistry of silicic magmas in the Macolod Corridor, SW Luzon Philippines: evidence of distinct, mantle-derived, crustal sources for silicic magmas, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol, 151, 267-281.
Patino, L. C., Alvarado, G. E. and Vogel T. A., 2004, Early arc magmatism: geochemical characteristics of volcanic clasts from Punta Samara , Costa Rica , Revista Geológica de América Central, 30, 117-126.
Long-term evolution of sedimentary basins and mountain belts
Tectonics-oriented research is geared towards a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in creating topographic features such as mountains and plateaus, as well as other structures related to uplift.
Related Publications:
Garzione C.N., Hoke G.D., Libarkin J.C., Withers S., MacFadden B., Eiler J., Ghosh P., Mulch A., 2008, Rise of the Andes: Science, v.320(5881), 1304-1307.
Hampton, B. A. and Horton, B. K., 2007, Sheetflow fluvial processes in a rapidly subsiding basin, Altiplano plateau, Bolivia, Sedimentology, 54(5), 1121-1148.
BOOK CHAPTER: Libarkin, J.C. and Riihimaki, C., 2007. Ch. 12. Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides as Paleoaltimetric Proxies, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry volume; Paleoelevation: geochemical and thermodynamic approaches, Edited by M. Kohn, v.66, 269-278.
Farley, K.A., Libarkin, J., Mukhopadhyay, S., and Amidon, W., 2006. Cosmogenic 3He in apatite, titanite, and zircon: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 248, 436-446.
Hampton, B. A., Ridgway, K. D., and Gehrels, G. E., 2005, Detrital Zircon record of the configuration and evolution of the Alaska Range suture zone, South-Central Alaska. GSA Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Hampton, B. A., Horton, B. K., Fink, R. J., and LaReau, B. N., 2003, Paleogene basin development and synorogenic sedimentation in the Altiplano plateau, southwest Bolivia: Revista Técnica de Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos, v. 21, p. 229-234.
Libarkin, J.C., and Chase, C.G., 2003. Timing of Colorado Plateau Uplift: Initial constraints from vesicular basalt-derived paleoelevations: Comment and Reply: Geology, v. 31, 191-192.
Horton, B. K., Hampton, B. A., LaReau, B. N., and Baldellón, E., 2002, Tertiary provenance history of the northern and central Altiplano (central Andes, Bolivia): A detrital record of plateau-margin tectonics: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 72, p. 711-726.
