Collaborative research: Polyphase Orogenesis and Crustal Differentiation in West Antarctica

In this study the Fosdick migmatite?granite complex will be used to investigate crustal evolution through an integrated program of fieldwork, structural geology, petrology, mineral equilibria modeling, geochronology and geochemistry.

The PIs propose detailed traverses at four sites within the complex to investigate Paleozoic and Mesozoic orogenic cycles. They will use petrological associations, structural geometry, and microstructures of host gneisses and leucogranites to distinguish the migration and coalescence patterns for remnant melt flow networks, and carry out detailed sampling for geochronology, geochemistry and isotope research. Mafic plutonic phases will be sampled to acquire information about mantle contributions at the source.