|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
