211 Comer

61 Route 9W - PO Box 1000

Palisades

NY

10964-8000

US

Phone: 

(845) 365-8728

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My primary research interest is in the genesis and evolution of the Earth's crust in the ocean basins, in arcs, and in continents. I approach this topic from the perspective that reactions between melt and rock during transport through the upper mantle are as important as melting, mixing, and crystal fractionation processes in producing different crustal bulk compositions in different tectonic settings. Thus, in an ongoing effort, I've tried to develop a general theory that explains how reactive melt transport varies along different geothermal gradients, with, 1. mineral dissolution and focusing of flow into high permeability channels in hot, upwelling mantle, 2. diffuse flow where there is a low melt flux into conductively cooled, shallow mantle, and, 3. hydrofracture where high melt flux and crystallization due to cooling clog porosity, leading to ponding of magma and increasing melt pressure.

Over the years, I have become increasingly fascinated with pattern formation during fluid transport processes, and I hope to generalize some of the lessons learned to hydrology and to erosion processes on the Earth's surface. I've been very fortunate to work with a large number of tolerant geophysicists (Jack Whitehead, Einat Aharonov, Steve Holbrook, Marc Spiegelman, Greg Hirth, Jun Korenaga, Matthew Jull, and others) who have led me into the world of geodynamics. I am grateful to them all, particularly Greg Hirth with whom I have been able to pursue interdisciplinary studies of melt transport in the upper mantle and lower crust beneath oceanic spreading ridges, igneous accretion, thermal history, and composition of the oceanic lower crust, Tertiary magmatism in East Greenland and hotspot magmatism worldwide, genesis of the cratonic upper mantle, and arc magmatism and continental genesis.

Finally, not that long ago, I was a founding partner of Dihedral Exploration, mineral exploration consultants specializing in field work requiring technical climbing skills. Searching for ore deposits took me to British Columbia, Alaska and Greenland. I'd be happy to resume working on ore deposit geology with interested students.