Hungry for some Geology?!I am currently in the process of setting up the Thermochronology Analysis for Structure and Tectonics laboratory here at CSULB (TASTe lab). We focus on regional tectonics questions by reconstructing structural relationships and documenting surface processes on both space and time using low-temperature thermochronometry as well as geochronology, and geochemistry tools.
What is Thermochronology?Thermochronology is a method used to date the cooling age of a rock. You may be familiar with geochronology used to date the formation age of rocks. Thermochronology is similar but instead of dating when the rock formed we are dating when a rock was cooled (or reheated and cooled) after it has already formed. To do this we measure the amount of elements in a mineral that undergo natural radioactive decay. When these elements decay they produce different products (for example atoms like He or crystal damage like fission tracks) which accumulate in a crystal over time. So, after a long time a mineral might have a lot of extra helium or fission tracks. However, these decay products are temperature sensitive! This means that if the temperature is relatively high those decay products might disappear (for example the He can diffuse out of the crystal or the fission tracks can heal themselves). Different minerals are sensitive to different temperatures so by analyzing different systems we can obtain information about when rocks cooled below certain temperatures and how long it took to cool from one temperature range to another!
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Sometimes when you've been out in the field too long rocks start to look like food
Photo credit Dr. Devon Orme: Tibet. Rock very reminiscent of a slice of white bread.... |
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What can effect the temperature of a rocks?
Rocks can cool by getting closer to the surface of the Earth's driven by
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Facilities & EquipmentStay tuned:
We are in the process of setting up three spaces: (1) The "dusty lab" for crushing rocks, (2) the "separation lab" for separating different minerals with sieves, water, heavy liquids, and big ol' magnets (i.e. Frantz), and (3) and the "picking lab" which will sport a lovely microscope and camera system for selecting minerals for Thermo- & Geo-chronology. |
People
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Alyssa Abbey
Ph.D., 2018 Earth and Environmental Sciences | University of Michigan B.S., 2012 Geosciences | University of Arizona B.A., 2012 French | University of Arizona Hometown: Tucson, AZ Research Interests: Thermochronology, Tectonics, fault growth processes, continental rifting, Geoscience education Other Interests: Hiking and camping, bike-packing, musical theater, reading, gardening |
Current Students
Darren Westby. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Grain size measurement calibrations for error propagation in thermochronologic age calculations.
Cheyenne Senesac. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Documenting uplift of the Poncha Block in CO with stratigraphic, thermochronologic, and geochronologic analyses.
Roxy Schulman. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Provenance analysis of Miocene sediments in the Stewart Valley, NV, using clast counts and geochronology.
Amanda Carranco. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Paleo-surface reconstructions of the Stewart Valley using GIS and thermpchronology analyses.
Cheyenne Senesac. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Documenting uplift of the Poncha Block in CO with stratigraphic, thermochronologic, and geochronologic analyses.
Roxy Schulman. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Provenance analysis of Miocene sediments in the Stewart Valley, NV, using clast counts and geochronology.
Amanda Carranco. CSULB Undergraduate student. Project: Paleo-surface reconstructions of the Stewart Valley using GIS and thermpchronology analyses.
Former Students Supervised
Alec Billmeier. CSULB Undergraduate student. B.S. 2022. Project: Stewart Valley, NV: Mapping paleo-environments
Spencer Cooper. CSULB Undergraduate student. (Now accepted M.S. Student at California State University Long Beach) Projects: Stewart Valley, NV Geologic & Structural Mapping, & Setting up and testing new TASTe lab instruments in the "separation lab"
Yueyi Chi. University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate student. B.S. 2022. (Now PhD student at Stanford) Project: Glacial retreat and glacier geometry in Lyell Canyon during the Last Glacial Maximum, Yosemite NP, CA
Kyla de Villa. University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate student. B.S. 2021. (Now PhD student at UC Berkeley) Project: Modelling isotope exchange in apatite that experienced hydrothermal interactions
Kaylin Luciani. CSULB Undergraduate student B.S. 2021. Project: Testing Thermal History Modeling Tutorials and workshop materials & applying forward modeling techniques to predict thermochronmetric ages for fault systems in the Basin and Range
Holli Swarner. University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate student B.S. 2020. (Now M.S. Student at the University of California, Davis) Project: Constraining age dispersion from hydrothermally altered apatites
Megan Hendrick. University of Michigan Undergraduate student B.S. 2017. (M.S. University of Colorado, Denver, 2021) (Now Solutions Engineer at Esri) Projects: Modelling Monazite thermochronometry data & Paleo-altimetry in the southern Rocky Mountains (CO)
Forest Gilfoy. University of Michigan Undergraduate student B.S. 2015. (M.S. University of Michigan, 2016) (Now Geologist at North Jackson Company, WI) Project participant: Thermochronology in the northern Rio Grande Rift
Jesse Fenno. University of Michigan Undergraduate student B.S. 2015. Project participant: Thermochronology in the southern Rocky Mountains (CO)
Spencer Cooper. CSULB Undergraduate student. (Now accepted M.S. Student at California State University Long Beach) Projects: Stewart Valley, NV Geologic & Structural Mapping, & Setting up and testing new TASTe lab instruments in the "separation lab"
Yueyi Chi. University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate student. B.S. 2022. (Now PhD student at Stanford) Project: Glacial retreat and glacier geometry in Lyell Canyon during the Last Glacial Maximum, Yosemite NP, CA
Kyla de Villa. University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate student. B.S. 2021. (Now PhD student at UC Berkeley) Project: Modelling isotope exchange in apatite that experienced hydrothermal interactions
Kaylin Luciani. CSULB Undergraduate student B.S. 2021. Project: Testing Thermal History Modeling Tutorials and workshop materials & applying forward modeling techniques to predict thermochronmetric ages for fault systems in the Basin and Range
Holli Swarner. University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate student B.S. 2020. (Now M.S. Student at the University of California, Davis) Project: Constraining age dispersion from hydrothermally altered apatites
Megan Hendrick. University of Michigan Undergraduate student B.S. 2017. (M.S. University of Colorado, Denver, 2021) (Now Solutions Engineer at Esri) Projects: Modelling Monazite thermochronometry data & Paleo-altimetry in the southern Rocky Mountains (CO)
Forest Gilfoy. University of Michigan Undergraduate student B.S. 2015. (M.S. University of Michigan, 2016) (Now Geologist at North Jackson Company, WI) Project participant: Thermochronology in the northern Rio Grande Rift
Jesse Fenno. University of Michigan Undergraduate student B.S. 2015. Project participant: Thermochronology in the southern Rocky Mountains (CO)