Research in Geochemistry and Petrology

UCLA geochemists and petrologists explore chemical processes at scales ranging from atoms, molecules and unit cells to plate boundaries, mountain belts, and whole planets. Our graduate students work on both field-based and experimental projects. Recent theses have examined the pressure-temperature-time evolution of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism in western China/northern Tibet, high-resolution geochronology of rhyolite magma chambers, and the chemical evolution of the early solar system. Current students are also studying solubilities of high-field-strength elements in high P-T fluids, evaporation and condensation processes in the solar nebula, early differentiation of the Moon, speciation of dissolved silica, and stable-isotope fractionation mechanisms acting on metals in aqueous solutions.

Cutting-edge research is performed using an array of instrumentation, including the national ion microprobe facility, gas- and solid-source mass spectrometers, and a multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer for precise measurements of isotopic compositions of natural materials. Experimental petrology facilities allow the synthesis and equilibration of minerals and fluids at pressure and temperature conditions from the Earth’s surface to its core-mantle boundary, and include high-temperature furnaces, low, moderate, and high-pressure piston-cylinder devices, and the diamond-anvil cell. Computational facilities are available for first-principles studies of molecules and minerals, including the Beowulf-type linux clusters brainbug and NESSIE. Other petrologic and geochemical facilities include a new electron microprobe, an environmental scanning electron microscope (SEM) with cathodo-luminescence capabilities, and Raman spectrometers.

Faculty and Contacts:

Mark Harrison,	Professor of Geology
Abby Kavner,	Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Materials
Craig Manning,	Professor of Geology & Geochemistry
Kevin McKeegan,	Professor of Geochemistry
Edwin Schauble,	Assistant Professor of Geochemistry and Astrobiology
John Wasson,	Professor of Geochemistry and Chemistry
Ed Young,	Professor of Isotope Geochemistry
Don Carlisle,	Professor Emeritus of Geology & Mineral Resources
Wayne Dollase,	Professor Emeritus of Geology
Ian Kaplan,	Professor Emeritus of Geology & Geochemistry
John Rosenfeld,	Professor Emeritus of Geology