Western Carpathian Extrusion, Exhumation, & Critical Minerals
My research interests primarily revolve around understanding the geological evolution and tectonic history of the Western Carpathian Mountains, particularly focusing on the High and Western Tatra Mountains along the Slovakia-Poland border and the Gemeric Superunit in eastern Slovakia.
In the High and Western Tatra Mountains, the goal is to investigate the past deformation history and its influence on mountain curvature, integrating quantitative age data to model the range’s development. Despite their significance, these mountains have received limited attention in comparison to other curved mountain ranges globally. By examining whole-rock geochemical and geochronological data from granitoid samples, including U–Pb zircon, Th–Pb monazite, and 40Ar/39Ar K-feldspar ages, we aim to outline the earliest tectonic history of the region and shed light on its exhumation processes.
In the Gemeric Superunit of eastern Slovakia, the focus is on understanding the origin and geochemical evolution of rare-metal-enriched S-type granites and their relationship to ore deposits. We seek to unravel the tectonic assembly and reconstruction dynamics within this region, particularly examining events associated with Variscan assembly to Permian extension. The research involves generating zircon U–Pb ages from granite intrusions to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Gemeric Superunit and its broader implications for early Paleozoic and Variscan orogenic events in central and western Europe.
This project was supported by the National Science Foundation: International Division.
Recorded Lectures regarding this work:
