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Research School of Earth Sciences
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Current Research


SHRIMP dating zircons of Himalayan Granitoids
My PhD research is focused on the tectonic and magmatic history of the Himalayan orogen. I am particularly interested in the timing of phases of magmatism in the Ladakh and Karakorum batholiths of north-western India. I have been using SHRIMP to date zircons from cross-cutting granitoid phases in these batholiths to establish when magmatism was and wasn't occuring during the Himalayan orogen. I am ultimately interested in what tectonic processes are responsible for generating these magmas and what this means for our understanding of orogenesis.


The "High-Uranium Effect"
Many of the zircons that I am measuring have very high concentrations of uranium (>5000 ppm) as they are young and/or associated with pegmatites. The high-uranium concentrations result in older apparent ages when measured with SHRIMP. I have therefore been trying to understand why this is the case, and how we can fix this problem.

Deformable Plate Reconstructions
I am also interested in global plate reconstructions. The RSES structure/tectonics team is developing Pplates, a software package that is capable of simulating deformation in plate reconstructions. This allows us to open/close extensional basins, build/destroy mountain belts and to simulate fault movement during a reconstruction. I have therefore been building reconstructions of Australia-Antarctica break up and the associate fault development in the basins along Australia's southern margin, trying to close the East-African Rift and building a deformable reconstruction of the Himalayan orogen.