Judson Mead Geologic Field Station

I am a structural geologist interested in the tectonic processes that create and destroy mountain belts. My research integrates geologic mapping and structural analysis with detrital and igneous U-Pb geochronology, (U-Th)/He thermochronology, and metamorphic petrology to test and/or create tectonic models. I am involved in field-based research focused on extension dynamics, continental subduction, and the suturing process in the western United States and southern Tibet (Xizang), China. In addition, I am involved in research that applies detrital zircon geochronology to test provenance, determine maximum depositional ages, and track changes in the geochemistry of magmatism throughout the orogenic cycle.