Research Opportunities

Opportunities exist for M.Sc. and Ph.D. graduate students to participate in petrological research from field to experiment. Projects are available in:

• Petrological and geochemical investigations of large mantle massifs in outcrop, or peridotite xenoliths in recent alkaline magmas from the Cordillera. These studies focus on the origin and cooling histories of these rocks and their relation to the role of the mantle in orogeny or uplift in the Canadian Cordillera.

• Experimental petrology at high pressures and temperatures in the laboratory. Current studies concern: (a) trace element partitioning between igneous zircon, titanite, plagioclase and melt, with applications to oxybarometry of felsic magmas and (b) partitioning of copper between arc magmas and their liquidus minerals to understand the formation of large ore deposits.

• Petrologic studies of kimberlites to constrain their phase equilibria, composition, P-T conditions and crystallization history during emplacement. Experimental results are compared with detailed petrographic observations of natural samples from Lac de Gras and elsewhere.

• Analytical development of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA ICPMS) with applications in petrology and geochemistry.