Biography
Born in the beautiful Pfalz region of southwestern Germany, I studied Geology at the University of Mainz, Germany, and the University of Glasgow, Scotland, receiving a Diplom (M.Sc.) in Geology in 2000 with a thesis about mass transfer and element mobility in metasedimentary rocks of the Caples Terrane (South Island, New Zealand). In 2003, I obtained a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) in Mineralogy from the University of Tübingen, Germany, with a thesis about petrological and isotope geochemical investigations of carbonatites, basalts, gabbros and anorthosites of the Gardar Province (South Greenland).
I held postdoctoral positions at the Institut de Physique du Globe (Paris, France), the University of Maryland (USA), and the Universities of Kiel and Potsdam (Germany). I was awarded a Feodor-Lynen research fellowship from the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation in 2005 and the Habilitation (Facultas Docendi) in Geochemistry with a thesis about tracking geochemical cycling using novel stable isotope systems from the University of Kiel in 2011. I was appointed lecturer in Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology at Keele University in 2015.
Research and scholarship
My research interests include various aspects of igneous and metamorphic petrology as well as geochemistry. Main research themes are:
- Intraplate alkaline magmatism
- Pre-eruptive magmatic conditions recorded in volcanic rocks
- Geochronology and element transfer of fluid-rock interaction processes
- Light element stable isotopes (B, Li, N) as geochemical tracers
- Geochemical cycling in subduction zones
Past and present field areas of my research are in the Gardar Province (South Greenland), the Raspas Complex (Ecuador), the Coastal Cordillera (Chile), the Lesser Caucasus Volcanic Belt (Armenia) and the Sesia Zone (Western Alps, Italy).
I am a member of the Keele Petrology Group and of the Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft, the European Association of Geochemistry, the American Geophysical Union and the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Besides activities as session convener and reviewer for science foundations, I have written more than 100 reviews for scientific journals and acted as topic editor for the International Journal of Earth Science in a special volume about “Volatiles and Fluids in Subduction Zones”. Since 2016, I am Chief Editor of the Journal of Mineralogy and Geochemistry (Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie). In 2020, I was appointed as Associate Editor for Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
Teaching
Year 1
- ESC-10054: Introduction to Mineralogy and Petrology
Year 2
- ESC-20001: Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
- ESC-20064: Geochemistry
Year 3
- ESC-30028: Economic Geology
- ESC-30030: Advanced Petrology and Structural Geology Field Course
Year 4 (MGeoscience)
- ESC-40004: Geoscience Research Project
- ESC-40005: Research in Context
- ESC-40006: Research Report
Field courses
- ESC-30030: Mull, Scotland
- ESC-30033: Volcanism of Southern Italy
Selected Publications
-
Combined thermodynamic-geochemical modeling in metamorphic geology: Boron as tracer of fluid-rock interaction. LITHOS, 393-414, vol. 208. link> doi> full text>2014.
- 2011.
- 2010.
- 2008.
- 2005.
Full Publications Listshow
Journal Articles
-
The behaviour of nitrogen during subduction of oceanic crust: Insights from in situ SIMS analyses of high-pressure rocks. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, 16-34, vol. 321. link> doi> full text>2022.
-
Nitrogen loss and isotopic fractionation during granulite-facies metamorphism in the lower crust (Ivrea Zone, NW Italy). Chemical Geology, 120475. doi> full text>2021.
-
Earth’s Nitrogen and Carbon Cycles. Space Science Reviews, Article 45, vol. 217(3). doi> link> full text>2021.
-
Tourmaline Reference Materials for the In Situ Analysis of Oxygen and Lithium Isotope Ratio Compositions. GEOSTANDARDS AND GEOANALYTICAL RESEARCH, 97-119, vol. 45(1). link> doi> full text>2021.
-
Deciphering the Jurassic-Cretaceous evolution of the Hamadan metamorphic complex during Neotethys subduction, western Iran. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, 2135-2168, vol. 109(6). link> doi> full text>2020.
-
Pinched between the plates: Armenia's voluminous record of volcanic activity. Geology Today, 101-108, vol. 36(3). doi> link> full text>2020.
-
Magmatic and Metasomatic Effects of Magma-Carbonate Interaction Recorded in Calc-silicate Xenoliths from Merapi Volcano (Indonesia). JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY, Article ARTN egaa048, vol. 61(4). link> doi> full text>2020.
-
Boron isotope insights into the origin of subduction signatures in continent-continent collision zone volcanism. EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS, Article ARTN 116207, vol. 538. link> doi> full text>2020.
-
Boron isotope record of peak metamorphic ultrahigh-pressure and retrograde fluid-rock interaction in white mica (Lago di Cignana, Western Alps). Contrib Mineral Petrol, 20, vol. 175(3). link> doi> full text>2020.
-
Barium isotopic composition of the mantle: Constraints from carbonatites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. doi> full text>2019.
-
Crustal CO2 contribution to subduction zone degassing recorded through calc-silicate xenoliths in arc lavas. Sci Rep, 8803, vol. 9(1). link> doi> full text>2019.
-
The Thickness of the Mantle Lithosphere and Collision-Related Volcanism in the Lesser Caucasus. JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY, 199-230, vol. 60(2). link> doi> full text>2019.
-
Alkaline magmas in zones of continental convergence: The Tezhsar volcano-intrusive ring complex, Armenia. LITHOS, 172-191, vol. 320. link> doi> full text>2018.
-
Rb-Sr and in situ Ar-40/Ar-39 dating of exhumation-related shearing and fluid-induced recrystallization in the Sesia zone (Western Alps, Italy). GEOSPHERE, 1425-1450, vol. 14(4). link> doi> full text>2018.
-
Mineral dissolution and reprecipitation mediated by an amorphous phase. Nat Commun, 1637, vol. 9(1). link> doi> full text>2018.
-
Fluid-induced breakdown of white mica controls nitrogen transfer during fluid-rock interaction in subduction zones. INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW, 702-720, vol. 59(5-6). link> doi> full text>2017.
-
Slab mantle dehydrates beneath Kamchatka – yet recycles water into the deep mantle. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems. doi> full text>2016.
-
Magnesium isotope fractionation during carbonatite magmatism at Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania. EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS, 26-33, vol. 444. link> doi> full text>2016.
-
Slab mantle dehydrates beneath KamchatkaYet recycles water into the deep mantle. GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS, 2987-3007, vol. 17(8). link> doi> full text>2016.
-
Retrograde metasomatic effects on phase assemblages in an interlayered blueschist-greenschist sequence (Coastal Cordillera, Chile). LITHOS, 31-47, vol. 216. link> doi> full text>2015.
-
Combined thermodynamic-geochemical modeling in metamorphic geology: Boron as tracer of fluid-rock interaction. LITHOS, 393-414, vol. 208. link> doi> full text>2014.
-
Introduction to the special issue on SFB 574 "Volatiles and fluids in subduction zones: climate feedback and trigger mechanisms for natural disasters". INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, 1729-1731, vol. 103(7). link> doi> full text>2014.
-
Nitrogen recycling in subducted mantle rocks and implications for the global nitrogen cycle. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, 2081-2099, vol. 103(7). link> doi> full text>2014.
-
Volatile (H2O, CO2, Cl, S) budget of the Central American subduction zone. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, 2101-2127, vol. 103(7). link> doi> full text>2014.
- 2013.
-
Effects of fluid-rock interaction on Ar-40/Ar-39 geochronology in high-pressure rocks (Sesia-Lanzo Zone, Western Alps). GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, 475-494, vol. 126. link> doi> full text>2014.
- 2013.
- 2013.
- 2012.
- 2012.
- 2011.
- 2010.
- 2010.
- 2009.
- 2008.
- 2008.
- 2008.
- 2007.
- 2007.
- 2007.
- 2006.
- 2005.
- 2004.
- 2004.
- 2003.
- 2002.
Other
-
Insights into the magma plumbing system of La Fossa di Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy) using oxygen isotopes and clinopyroxene crystal structure. Copernicus GmbH. doi> full text>2020.
-
About fluid and element mobility in the subduction channel: Constraints from rehydrated eclogites. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA (p. A1369, vol. 73). link>2009.
-
Behavior of nitrogen and its isotopes during high-pressure fluid-driven metasomatic processes: A case study from the Tian Shan, China. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA (p. A487, vol. 73). link>2009.
-
Tourmaline reference materials for the in situ determination of lithium isotope composition. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA (p. A1438, vol. 73). link>2009.
-
Li isotope fractionation in the subducted slab - A case study from the Raspas complex, Ecuador. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA (p. A370, vol. 71). link>2007.
-
Li-Sr-Lu-Hf isotope and trace element systematics of eclogites from Bulgaria. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA (p. A879, vol. 71). link>2007.
-
Sodic pyroxene and sodic amphibole as potential micro-analytical reference material for Li isotopes. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA (p. A623, vol. 71). link>2007.
-
Volcanic hazard assessment of the Armenia Nuclear Power Plant site.
PGR/PGT Students
Current PhD students
- . PhD title: The transitions in eruption styles of arc eruptions.
- . PhD title: Xenoliths as tracers of magmatic and intra-crustal processes at subduction zone volcanoes.
Past PhD students
F. van der Straaten. 2008. Retrogression of eclogites to blueschists: a record of fluid infiltration during uplift in subduction zones. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Kiel, Germany.
Resulting paper: Chem. Geol. 292-293: 69-87
PGT students
- K. Sokol. 2016. Petrological study of the Tezhsar Alkaline Complex (TAC), Armenia; insights to alkaline magmatism of the Eurasian-Arabian collision zone. Unpublished MGeo thesis, Keele University
- J. Funnell. 2017. Inferring crystallisation and emplacement processes in the Upper Zone of the Bushveld complex through analysis of magnetite and gabbronorite samples. Unpublished MGeo thesis, Keele University.
- K. Mclaren. 2017. Origin of the felsic xenoliths of the Garusar cinder cone, Armenia: Implications for the mechanisms of melting in that region. Unpublished MSc thesis, Keele University.
- K. Burrows (2018): Distinguishing sandstones in historic buildings using handheld X-Ray fluorescence analysis. Unpublished MSc thesis, Keele University.
- S. Whitfield (2018): Geochemical analyses of the alteration and variation across the rhyolites of Parys Mountain, Anglesey. Unpublished MSc thesis, Keele University.
- B. Yang (2018): Using the difference in trace element concentrations to distinguish the obsidian from different deposits of Lipari and Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy). Unpublished MSc thesis, Keele University.
- H. Reese (2019): Mineralisation of the Shap Granite, Cumbria, UK. Unpublished MGeo thesis, Keele University.
- C.-L. Rogers (2019): The petrogenesis of alkaline igneous rocks from Loch Borralan, Scotland. Unpublished MSc thesis, Keele University.
- M. Godley (2019): The Ross of Mull Granite boundary; a petrological and geochemical approach. Unpublished MSc thesis, Keele University.
School of Geography, Geology and the Environment
William Smith Building
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG
Tel: +44 (0) 1782 733615
Email: gge@keele.ac.uk