Trace Mississippi Valley-type mineralization of Tennessee and Kentucky – This project is aimed at better understanding the large fluid system responsible for emplacing zinc ores in the Central TN and East TN mining districts. Pb, Rb-Sr, and Sm-Nd isotopes and fluid inclusions of trace phases are being examined to understand timing and source of fluids in these more widespread minor occurrences often referred to as “surface veins”.

East Tennessee Field Diamonds – In a partnership with Martin Kohl of the Tennessee State Department of Environment & Conservation, we are examining fluid and solid inclusions in doubly terminated quartz crystals found in areas of east Tennessee. Insight gained from this work will help in understanding fluid (water, petroleum) migration in the crustal foreland of the Alleghanian orogeny.

Improv in the Geosciences – The use of improv

The setting of Gold in Central Wisconsin – This work is primarily aimed at better understanding the Reef Deposit. Believed to be formed initially in the root zone of a VMS system, the deposit was overprinted in multiple geologic events over a ~1.5 billion year time frame. The latest event was related to regional Mississippi Valley-type fluid migration which penetrated the basement rocks and remobilized the gold mineralization, perhaps emplacing new gold as well. Past work has investigated Pb isotopes of phases texturally associated with the gold,

Fluid Inclusion Calculation Applications – A variety of programs exist for interpretation of measurements made on fluid inclusions. However, many are written in defunct programming languages, or are written to calculate very specific fluid composition systems. Along with collaborators, I am working to create community developed, freely available, online calculation software that is as future proof as possible.

A trial shiny app built in R-studio is available here.