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Tracers of deep earth and deep time

Tracers of deep earth and deep time

Matthew Thirlwall

I'm interested in using geochemistry, including particularly the radiogenic isotopes of strontium, neodymium, hafnium and lead, to investigate interactions between mantle and crustal chemical reservoirs, and for isotopic dating.  I'm working particularly on spatial relationships between different components of the Iceland plume mantle, the melting process under Iceland, and how magma behaviour in the crust modifies the mantle signature. 

I'm also studying rocks affected by the various stages of the Caledonian Orogeny in Britain. This includes identifying different metamorphic phases in the Moine of NW Scotland using Lu-Hf isotopic dating on garnets and Rb-Sr isotopic dating of white mica, as well as deciphering the role of crustal components in Ordovician to Devonian Caledonian magmatism, in the Lake District and Scotland.

Garnets

 

Glencoe, Scotland

 

References

 

 

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