Results so far

Completed extensive fieldwork in the Eastern Carpathians and South Apuseni Mountains, resulting in a representative and well-documented sample collection of adakitic, shoshonitic, calc-alkaline, and basaltic rocks, including enclaves and potential contaminant lithologies.
Prepared and characterized samples for multi-scale analysis, including thin sections, zircon and accessory mineral separates, and homogeneous glass beads for whole-rock major and trace element analyses.
Established and calibrated reproducible laboratory workflows for whole-rock geochemistry (XRF and LA-ICP-MS), confirming the presence of both arc-like and adakitic geochemical signatures in the investigated magmatic suites.
Optimized mineral-scale analytical methods, including combined zircon U/Pb geochronology and trace-element analysis, and high-resolution LA-ICP-MS trace element mapping of plagioclase, amphibole, and clinopyroxene.
Obtained preliminary petrographic and mineral-chemical results showing complex crystal zoning, resorption textures, and multiple growth stages, indicative of open-system magmatic processes.
Disseminated initial methodological developments and preliminary results through presentations at national and international scientific meetings (including Goldschmidt 2025).
Trained undergraduate, MSc, and PhD students in fieldwork, sample preparation, and advanced analytical techniques, contributing to capacity building and early-career researcher development.

Published papers

Bassler, L, Carrapa B., DeCelles, P., Ducea, M.N., 2026, Crustal thickness and elevation of the North American Cordillera from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Miocene, Tectonics, In press, accepted Dec 4, 2025.

Ducea, M.N., 2026, The origin and evolution of the Sebes Lotru terrane, South Carpathians (Romania), Journal of the Geological Society of London, in press, accepted Dec 1 2025, doi.org/10.6084/ jgs2025-177R1

Ducea, M.N,. DeCelles, P.G., Chapman, J., Delph, J.R., Carrapa, B., Petrescu, L., Ward, K.M., and Rossel, P., 2026, The role of crustal magmatism in the formation and the evolution of orogenic plateaus, Geological Society of America Bulletin, in press, accepted Dec 2, 2025, doi.org/10.1130/B38190.1. 9.