SGER: Characterizing Carboniferous and Cretaceous Granites and their Sources in the Fosdick Mountains Gneiss Dome - A Pilot Study

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research investigates the origin of granites from the Fosdick Mountains, Antarctica. The project will determine the granite source to delineate tectonic processes that drove regional melting and doming. These processes include cycles of subduction, rifting, and magmatism driven by tectonic events related to the evolution and break-up of Gondwana. Potential sources--ancient sedimentary rocks and younger plutons--will be characterized and compared with granites of known age. Analytical work will include major and trace element analyses; isotope geochemistry; and U-Pb dating of zircon. In terms of broader impacts, this project supports research for a postdoctoral fellow and undergraduate student.