Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023)

Metamorphic petrology is concerned with changes in the mineralogy and textures of rocks in response to burial and heating in the Earth's crust. Reading the record of metamorphic rocks provides unique and essential information that allows geoscientists to unravel the evolution of Earth’s crust from its inception 4.5-odd billion years ago, and to piece together the complex history of Earth’s plate interactions through time.

The long-range objectives of my research program are to make cutting-edge advances in the theory and techniques of metamorphic petrology, and to apply these in concert with allied techniques to solve broader problems in Earth Science, especially those related to the evolution of Earth’s orogenic (mountain) belts. The objectives of this five year research program are two-fold:
1. to devise innovative new techniques to address the interplay between equilibrium (thermodynamics) and kinetics (mechanisms and rates of reaction) in controlling metamorphic mineral assemblage development; and
2. to apply this new knowledge to fill gaps in our understanding of how mountain belts form by examining processes that occur in the deep “roots” of mountain belts, focusing on the world-famous Canadian Cordillera.

Concerning the first objective, sub-objectives include: (1-1) reconciling the imperfect match between thermodynamically predicted mineral assemblages and their occurrence in well-constrained natural settings, one of the first-order goals of metamorphic petrology; and (1-2) recognizing and quantifying the extent to which kinetic impediments to reaction influence the development of metamorphic mineral assemblages and textures. The latter is one of the most vibrant new research areas in metamorphic petrology because it challenges the long-held view that metamorphic processes happen close to equilibrium.

Concerning the second objective, sub-objectives include: (2-1) unravelling the complex history of burial, heating and exhumation of the southeastern Omineca belt of southeastern British Columbia, a deeply eroded domain in the core of the Canadian Cordillera that developed in response to the collision of oceanic volcanic terrains with the ancient margin of North America millions of years ago; and (2-2) solving one of the outstanding tectonic puzzles in the evolution of southeastern Canadian Cordillera, namely the marked contrast in burial and thermal history between two major domains of the mountain belt (Purcell Anticlinorium and Kootenay Arc).

The above projects will provide excellent opportunities for the education of the new generation of geoscientists, providing them with observational, analytical, computational, interpretational and communication skills that are highly valued in academia, government and industry.