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Introduction
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The Department
of Geosciences has a diverse group of faculty and students working
on petrology, ore geology and volcanology. There is close collaboration
with faculty in the marine geology group in the College of Oceanic
and Atmospheric Sciences, where many of the analytical facilities
are housed. If you join us for coffee at the Beanery (coffee house)
across the street at about 10 A.M., you're likely to run into anywhere
from 3 to 15 "VIPERS" (members of the Volcanology, Igneous
Petrology and Economic Research group).
Research
projects of faculty and students alike are multifaceted, including
a variety of field, dating, geochemical and experimental techniques. Facilities
that are most used by faculty and students of the VIPER group are
the Cameca SX-100 electron microprobe, the ICP-MS facility
(including quadrupole and multicollector instruments) that includes
in-situ
laser ablation capacity, 40Ar-39Ar dating
lab, oxygen isotope
silicate extraction line, He isotope analytical lab (plus soon to
be arriving noble gas mass spectrometer), and a TRIGA
reactor for neutron activation analysis. Most of these facilities
are used on a cooperative basis with other groups on campus. All
said, most elements of geological
interest are analytically accessible. The department also houses
a variety of rock preparation facilities and petrographic research
microscopes with melt and fluid inclusion heating/cooling stages
as well as digital capture and image processing capabilites.
Geological employment among past students includes positions in
exploration geology, environmental geology, academic positions and
high school science teaching. Others are employed by the Gemological
Institute of America, the National Park system and the U.S. Geological
Survey.
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Research Foci
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- Subduction
Zone Magmatism
- Cascades
- Andes
- Mariana/Izu-Bonin
- Japan
- Mid
Ocean Ridge Magmatism
- Melt
Inclusion Formation
- Hydrothermal
Mineral Deposits
- Porphyry
Copper Deposits (Butte, Yerington, northern Chile)
- 3-D
time-space evolution of fossil hydrothermal systems
- Sulfur,
water, chlorine, and trace metal evolution of silicic melts
- Isotopic
dating and tracers
- High
Lava Plains Magmatism
- Subsurface
Biosphere Processes
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Faculty
- Sherman
Bloomer [Dean of College of Science] (bloomers<at>science.oregonstate.edu)
- Shan de Silva (desilvas<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- John
Dilles(dillesj<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Robert
Duncan (rduncan<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
- Cy
Field [Emeritus] (fieldc<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Martin
Fisk (mfisk<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
- David
Graham (dgraham<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
- Anita
Grunder (grundera<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Randall
Keller (rkeller<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Adam
Kent (kentad<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
-
Anthony Koppers (akoppers<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
- Roger
Nielsen (nielsenr<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Edward
Taylor [Emeritus] (taylore<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Frank Tepley (ftepley<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
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Graduate Students
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Current
- Mark
Ford (fordmark<at>geo.oregonstate.edu
- Denise
Giles (gilesde<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Charlotte
Goddard (cgoddard<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
-
Chris Harpel (harpelc<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
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Ashley Hatfield (hatfielda<at>geo.oregonstate.edu
- Christopher
Russo (crusso<at>coas.oregonstate.edu)
-
Morgan Salisbury (salisbum<at>geo.oregonstate.edu
- Kaleb
Scarberry (scarberk<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Abigail Stephens (stephensa<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Allison Weinsteiger (weinstega<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
Recently Finished
- Zach
Gonsior (gonsiorz<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Jeff
Hungerford (hungerfj<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Erik
Klemetti (klemettie<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Ed
Kohut (kohute<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Tony
Longo (longot<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
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Jeremiah Oxford (oxfordj<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
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Heather Petcovic (petcovih<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
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Michael Rowe (rowem<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
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Cris Darr (darrc<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
- Mariek
Schmidt (schmidtm<at>geo.oregonstate.edu)
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Postdocs
Isabelle
Chambefort (working with John Dilles)
Perrine
Paquereau (working with Anita Grunder)
Facilities
Plasma ICP-MS
and Multicollector ICP-MS Labs
The Keck collaboratory
in College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences (COAS) has been jointly
funded by the Keck Foundation, NSF, and OSU's COAS and College of
Science (Department of Geosciences). It consists of a number of
plasma-based instruments: a VG ExCell quadrupole ICP-MS, a VG Axiom high-resolution
single collector sector field ICP-MS, a Leeman Teledyne Optical Emission
Spectrometer,
and a NuPlasma multicollector ICP-MS. Two laser ablation systems are
available for in-situ analyses of trace element and isotopic comspotions:
a DUV 193 nm ArF Excimer laser and UP-213 nm quintupled Nd-YAG laser. Adam Kent (Geosciences) has developed
a set of working solid standards for Laser Ablation-ICP-MS, and
protocols for analysis of including NIST glasses and USGS sulfide, phosphate, and carbonates doped with trace
elements.
Geochemical
labs are housed in both COAS (including a 2003 Class II clean lab), and
DOG and have for sample dissolution facilities for rocks and minerals
(including a 14 cell microwave digestion unit). David Graham (COAS), Adam
Kent (Geo), and Jim McManus (COAS) plan to set up column chemistry for
extraction of Nd, Sr, Pb and Mo for isotopic analysis with the Nu multicollector.

Electron
microbeam analyzer lab (Cameca SX-100, purchased 2003)
Analysis of major and trace elements in rocks, minerals, and alloys, housed
in COAS at OSU. Lab includes oxide, silicate, sulfide, and metal standards,
carbon coating, and imaging systems as well as a microscope.
Sample prep
& photography
The Dept of Geosciences houses standard rock crushing,
sawing, polishing and mineral separations labs. Petrographic microscopes (transmitted
& reflected with standard photography are available), and was outfitted
in 2002 with a Nikon DX-100 (12 Megapixel) digital camera and computer
interface with imaging software.
Vacuum lines
for O, S, & H extraction from rocks and minerals
The Dept of Geosciences
houses vacuum lines (Dilles and Grunder) for extraction of oxygen via
laser fluorination using ClF3 and a CO2 laser, and conversion of O2 to
CO2 for isotopic analysis. They also maintain a vacuum line for extraction
of hydrogen (U-reduction) from minerals and fluids for isotopic analyses,
and a vacuum extraction line that allows extraction of sulfur from sulfides
for isotopic analyses.
Stable Isotope
Lab
Alan Mix (OSU-COAS) operates and maintains three gas-source mass
spectrometers, including Finnigan 251 and 252 for static mode, and a Delta
Plus for Continuous Flow mode (purchased by NSF, Mix et al., ). The latter
has C, H, N, and S isotope capabilities via a Carlo Erba EA/GC that has
both an oxidation furnace (for organic C, H, & S) and reduction furnace
for organic (N). NSF funds will allow purchase in 2003 of a Finnigan TC/EA
(carbon reduction 1500°C) furnace for analysis of H, O, and C isotopes
from a variety of sulfate, carbonate, and hydrous minerals). This instrument
would interface with the existing Delta Plus CF mass spectrometer.
USGS-type
gas flow fluid inclusion heating/freezing stage, Olympus BX-60 microscope,
and video system (purchased 1998 under an NSF equipment grant to Dilles,
1998).
Vernadsky high temperature melt inclusion stage. Recently acquired
allows heating of small samples to +1200*C and rapid quench.
Ar-Ar dating
lab
Operated and maintained by Professor Robert Duncan, COAS. Includes
vacuum line, Ta furnace & UV laser heating systems, and getters inline
with a gas source mass spectrometer for Ar-Ar isotopic analyses.
He isotope
lab Vacuum extraction lines and a mass spectrometer
Operated and maintained by Dr. David Graham and Dr. John Lupton at
the COAS facility in Newport, OR. Recent funding has provided for
purchase of a noble gass mass spectrometer and extraction line system
Ore deposits
hand sample and mineral collection
Maintained by John Dilles and incorporates
C.W. Field collection; it includes samples from more than 30 porphyry
copper deposits of the American Cordillera, as well as numerous other
ore deposits.
Maintained by Adam Kent (adam.kent<at>geo.oregonstate.edu). Last updated 1/2007
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