As an experimental igneous petrologist and mineralogist, I am interested in the formation and evolution of rocks and minerals under the high temperature and pressure conditions within the earth's upper mantle and crust. My work is important for understanding the creation and modification of the earth's crust by igneous and metamorphic activity associated with intrusion of molten rock at depth and the eruption of lavas on the surface.
My current research is focused on the partial melting of upper mantle and the generation of mid-ocean ridge basalts. I am slowly, but surely piecing together an experimental petrology laboratory in Founders Hall at HSU. The lab includes two principal devices to generate high temperature and pressure conditions. The first device is a one-atmosphere gas-mixing furnace that generates high temperatures at atmospheric pressures and controlled gas environments. This device is used for melting/crystallization studies of volcanic systems at the earth's, or other planetary, surfaces. The second device is a piston-cylinder apparatus. The piston-cylinder uses hydraulic rams to force a small piston onto a furnace assembly held within a pressure vessel (the cylinder). To generate high temperature while pressurized, an electric current is passed through a graphite tube, which heats up resistively within the furnace assembly. In these devices, small quantities (<1 gm) of rock powders are sealed inside metal capsules during an experiment. The run products are then analyzed using various x-ray and electron microbeam techniques.
To the left are back scattered electron (BSE) images of an experimental run product. In these experiments, powdered peridotite is placed within a graphite-lined platinum capsule with a layer of vitreous (glassy) carbon spheres. The porosity within the sphere layer serves as a "sink" for peridotite partal melt generated at high temperature and pressure using the piston-cylinder apparatus. The partial melt quenches to a glass when power to the experiment is turned off. The glass rind, visible in the lower image, is analzable by electron microprobe and is unmodified by the formation of quench crystals within the peridotite layer
I continue collaborative work with Dana Johnston and I am finalizing the setup of my laboratory for teaching and research use. Dana and I recently published a paper on trace element distribution in laboratory mantle melting experiments.
Undergraduate students, Kacie Powell and Graham Byrd, are shown here in early laboratory setup, building a shield for the bench top press.
