Research

I have wide and diverse research interests. My research focuses on utilizing field and laboratory methods to understand the setting, style, genesis and exploration of mineral deposits and the crustal growth and evolution of orogenic belts.  I am a field geologist whose utilizes field relationships obtained through mapping, stratigraphy, and logging of drill core to provide the base for which subsequent layers of analytical data are built upon. I extensively use lithogeochemistry, radiogenic isotopes (Nd-Hf-Sr-Pb), stable isotopes (C-H-O-S), geochronology (U-Pb, Ar-Ar, Re-Os), infrared spectroscopy, and microanalytical methods to solve various geological problems.  My specific research interests include: 

  1. Volcanic, sedimentary, and hydrothermal alteration facies analysis of mineral deposits to delineate the setting, style, alteration distribution, and basin analysis, with particular emphasis on volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), volcanic-hosed uranium, and sediment-hosted base metal deposits.  
  2. Lithogeochemistry, mineralogy, and isotopic methods to understand the petrology of ore-associated and ore-barren magmatism to understand the relationship between magmatism and tectonics in ore deposit genesis and localization (e.g., VMS, orogenic Au, volcanic-hosted U).  
  3. Hydrothermal alteration systems: mineralogy, lithogeochemistry, chemical fluxes, and applications to exploration.
  4. Shales and hydrothermal sediments as vectors to hydrothermal mineralization and their utilization to understand paleoceanography and oceanic oxidation state and its control on ore deposit genesis and localization.  
  5. The development and utilization of field portable analytical instrumentation in economic geology (e.g., pXRF, NIR-SWIR). 
  6. Sediment and sedimentary rock geochemistry, radiogenic isotopes, and detrital zircon U-Pb analysis to understand sediment provenance and utilization in understanding terrane translation, basin reconstruction, and controls on ore deposit localization.  
  7. Origin of fluids and metals in ore deposits.  
  8. The interrelationships between magmatism, tectonics, and ore deposit formation.
  9. Crustal growth, tectonics, and metallogeny of ancient orogens (e.g., Cordillera, Appalachians) and greenstone belts (e.g., Abitibi, Slave Province).
  10. Machine learning methods and applications to lithogeochemistry, mineralogy, and mineral exploration and development.
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