Research

Current Research

Magmatic storage & timescales of the Freeman Creek pluton & Elevenmile Canyon caldera, Stillwater Range, NV

I am studying the Freeman Creek Pluton, an intrusive body associated with the Elevenmile Canyon Caldera in Nevada, to better understand the magmatic processes that drive ancient supereruptions. My research focuses on the geochemistry and crystallization history of the pluton to uncover its role in the broader magmatic system. During a week of fieldwork in September, I collected samples that I am now analyzing to investigate magma storage, mobilization, and the connections between plutonic and volcanic systems in large silicic complexes.

Past Research

Olivine diffusion chronometry reveals rapid ascent rates and complex eruptive history of Rangitoto, Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand

Rangitoto, the youngest and largest volcano in New Zealand’s Auckland Volcanic Field, offers insights into polygenetic behavior within a field of monogenetic basaltic volcanoes. My research examined the eruptive history and magma ascent dynamics of Rangitoto by analyzing Fe-Mg diffusion in olivine crystals from its summit and lower lava field. Two distinct magma batches, separated by ~50 years, indicate a complex eruption history. Using back-scattered electron (BSE) imaging and diffusion modeling techniques, I analyzed zoned olivine crystals to reconstruct magma ascent durations. Normally zoned olivines in basal lavas recorded two cooling events. Summit samples revealed reverse-zoned olivines with Mg-rich rims, indicative of rapid cooling over 1–20 days, likely triggered by a mafic magma injection. This injection rejuvenated the magmatic system, forming the central scoria cone and facilitating the ascent of Fe-rich magma to create the basal lavas. These findings have significant implications for assessing future volcanic hazards in Auckland, one of New Zealand’s largest cities.

Age and provenance of Cretaceous to Paleocene clastic rocks of the Yakutat Group in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

The Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene Yakutat Group contains a flysch and a mélange unit with an unknown source. Two samples collected from Glacier Bay National Park were analyzed using LA-ICPMS to determine their age and source terrane. The flysch sample from Grand Plateau Glacier has a maximum depositional age (MDA) of ~66 Ma, with a mid-Cretaceous age peak and notable Precambrian zircons. The mélange sample from Lituya Bay has an MDA of ~108 Ma, dominated by Jurassic ages. These findings allow correlations with other dated units in the region and suggest connections between the Yakutat terrane and rocks in the Western Mélange Belt of the North Cascades, highlighting post-Paleocene translation along the Cordillera margin.

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