Jan Mayen Island, seen from the R/V Poseidon, July 2012
The Elkins Research Group
My research focuses on using geochemistry to better understand Earth's dynamic processes, in particular how magmas are generated in the Earth's mantle layer and how they are emplaced to form new crust. Most of this work involves measuring and modeling major elements, trace elements, and isotope compositions in igneous rocks from continental rifts, ocean basins, hotspots, and anomalous volcanic areas, and using that work to interpret magma origins. Some former and ongoing research projects are described below:
Current Projects
Geochemical Modeling of Magma Genesis
Ongoing research in geochemical modeling aims to explore the origins of magmas using process-based modeling approaches. This work contributes additional computational tools to the pyUserCalc software modeling package, which uses python and open-source code to predict the geochemical compositions of magmas as products of melting in the Earth's mantle. Students interested in developing their coding and modeling skills have the opportunity to develop new tools for the geochemical community (such as geochemical plotting methods, mixing calculations, and mantle metasomatism calculators) and also to develop and run new calculations (such as whole-Earth evolution models, trace element predictions, and short-lived isotopic decay as tracers of magma generation and transport processes).
High-Precision Trace Element Analysis of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts
To better detect the types of rocks that produce magmas by partial melting in the Earth's mantle, particularly the role of recycled lithologies like eclogites and pyroxenites, this project will work with external collaborating labs to prepare and then measure high-precision trace elements by laser ablation mass spectrometry, using fresh lava samples from the divergent North Atlantic mid-ocean ridge system. For this project, we will be selecting and then mounting and polishing fresh lava chips for analysis, and then using computer models to interpret the results of our measurements. We will then present this research at local conferences.
Alpha Spectrometry Analysis of Continental Rift Lavas
A new project aims to implement and test alpha spectrometry methods for measuring short-lived isotopes in very fresh lava rocks, to better understand how magma degassing relates to eruption triggers at hazardous volcanoes in places like the East African Rift. To conduct this project, we will be setting up and testing an alpha spectrometer instrument in Merion Science Center, and also processing and analyzing a group of samples from the rift.
Other Student Research Opportunities
For students who are interested in some lab experience or work hours, there are opportunities to help set up the new Magma Genesis lab in Merion Science Center (such as by assembling new equipment, arranging supplies, cleaning the research space, and other practical tasks). We also have methods to test by preparing rock standards, sample specimens to sort, and research-related teaching materials to prepare. There are also many useful computer-based organizational tasks such as specimen cataloguing, research code updates and archiving, and other opportunities to contribute to our efforts!
Past and Continuing Projects
Geochemical Modeling of Uranium-Series Isotopes
Isotopic compositions in the uranium-series system (isotopes of the elements U, Th, Pa, Ra, and others) in basalts are interpreted through comparison with model calculations of the progressive melting process in the Earth's mantle. Calculations like these can consider not only the process of magma generation and transport from multiple source lithologies, but also the importance of timing in the melt process, including the effects of time on short-lived isotopic decay. Ongoing developments in modeling aim to improve our interpretations of regional and global geochemical data sets, leading to a better understanding of melting and melt transport processes on Earth. Recent work has been conducted in collaboration with scientists at LDEO, University of Utah, and others. This is an NSF-funded CAREER project in its final year, with papers and projects already published and final efforts currently underway (e.g., Elkins et al., 2019, 2023; Elkins and Spiegelman, 2021; Elkins and Lambart, 2024). Related research directions in geochemical modeling are explored here, and user tutorials for using pyUserCalc, our melt modeling package ,for your own modeling calculations can be found here.
The Kane-Atlantis Supersegment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a classic, slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge setting, and the Kane-Atlantis supersegment is among the best mapped and most intensively studied parts of that ridge. It contains many second-order ridge segments that exhibit a range of ridge morphologies, including both symmetrically- and asymmetrically-spreading sections. Ridges that diverge at slow rates, which constitute as much as 80% of the global mid-ocean ridge system, appear to be particularly sensitive to the factors that control ridge symmetry and crustal accretionary style, with as many as half of slow-spreading ridge segments exhibiting asymmetric character created by long-lived detachment faulting. For this project, we measured short-lived U-series disequilibria and radiogenic (Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf) isotope compositions in fresh basalts from the supersegment, with the goal of evaluating magma origins on short and long length-scales. The study focused on the 2012 suite of samples collected from the Kane-Atlantis supersegment under chief scientists Charlie Langmuir and Javier Escartin aboard the R/V Knorr. The ultimate goal of this study was to develop a more complete model for ocean crust formation at mid-ocean ridges and for the factors that control that process. Research collaborations for this project included Harvard University and the University of Wyoming. This project funded two graduate students and several undergraduate researchers, and ultimately involved a large number of colleagues and students in aspects of the research.
The Central Highlands Diffuse Igneous Province
This study explored the recent and diffuse volcanic activity and its associations with faulting and tectonic activity in Vietnam. The project aimed to test working models for tectonics and volcanic activity in this collision-adjacent region, to better explain the tectonic setting and understand why volcanism and (active!) faulting are occurring in Indochina. One scenario is that rifting is occurring in an extensional environment associated with volcanism, adjacent to the formerly diverging East Vietnam/South China Sea. An alternative, preferred based on our field and remote sensing results, is that tectonic extrusion associated with the Himalayan collision is causing block rotation and coupled mantle upwelling. Together with co-PI and structural geologist and tectonicist C. Burberry from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and collaborators Hoang Nguyen from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and J. Lassiter at University of Texas at Austin, we developed and worked on a large NSF-funded project to study the tectonic setting of the Central Highlands. This project incorporated several seasons of field structural measurements, remote sensing methods, and geochemical analysis of basalts and xenoliths to better understand the origins of volcanic and tectonic activity in Indochina. This project supported multiple graduate students, and has produced two published manuscripts (Hobbs et al., 2023; Richard et al., 2024) and one additional manuscript in revision (Richard et al., in prep.).
The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province
This enormous large igneous province formed at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, when initial rifting of the central Atlantic contributed to the breakup of Pangea. That rift ultimately formed the central Atlantic ocean basin. We measured new hafnium isotope compositions to test and revise working hypotheses for CAMP magma formation. This research sought to better understand the role of the mantle in the initiation of continental rifting and eventual ocean basin formation, and was conducted with collaborators from the University of Padova, UT at Austin, University of South Carolina, and several universities in Brazil. This research was funded by University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Arts and Sciences, and was published in Elkins et al. (2020). The project also produced a geochemical calculator tool for assessing the role of ancient subduction-related fluid metasomatism in modifying the mantle beneath rifting continents, available as a supplement to the 2020 paper.
North Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridges
The mid-ocean ridge system north of Iceland (including the Kolbeinsey, Mohns, Knipovich, and Gakkel Ridges) provides an exciting set of circumstances for assessing mantle melting and ocean crust generation at slow and ultraslow spreading rates. These ridges range from 18 to less than 12 mm/yr. in spreading rate, and experience variable influence and magmatic input from the Iceland and Jan Mayen hotspots. The regional mantle composition varies dramatically along the ridge axis, as does seafloor axial depth, which ranges from the subaerial rifting on Iceland to regions with little or no basaltic crust along the Gakkel Ridge. Our research has focused on the geochemical makeup of fresh basalts erupted along this system of mid-ocean ridges, which provide clues to the melting processes occurring in the underlying mantle melting regime.
In addition to major and trace element concentrations and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb radiogenic isotope compositions, our research added U-Th-Pa-Ra short-lived isotope measurements to the North Atlantic ridge data set. These isotopes are sensitive to the melting process, particularly melting rate and the presence of the mineral garnet in the melting regime. The results suggested that a combination of mantle temperature variations and source compositional heterogeneities influence the production of magma and growth of new ocean crust in the Arctic Ocean (Elkins et al., 2011; 2014). This work was the result of collaboration with scientists from WHOI in Woods Hole, MA, University of Wyoming, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, University of Bristol, GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, and University of Iowa. Future research into the geochemistry of North Atlantic and global MORB is possible with these and additional partners, including the University of Southampton, and would include investigating the crustal accretionary process at mid-ocean ridges with very slow spreading rates but unusually high mantle temperatures and magma fluxes.
Jan Mayen Island and the Eggvin Bank
Additional past research includes an NSF-funded, focused case study of the geographic region immediately around the Jan Mayen Island volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic basin, for which we measured the geochemistry of lavas from the Northern Kolbeinsey Ridge segment, the Southern Mohns Ridge, and Jan Mayen Island itself. In collaboration with scientists at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, we went to sea aboard the R/V Poseidon in 2012 to map the seafloor on the Northern Kolbeinsey Ridge and shallow Eggvin Bank (see Yeo et al., 2016), to sample fresh lava flows, and to add additional high resolution images for select areas using the AUV Abyss. That expedition resulted in the identification of a previously unknown, large, volcanically active seamount on the Eggvin Bank, which hosts fresh popping rocks in the summit crater.
Geochemical analysis of these newly collected basalt samples, and comparison with lavas from the nearby Southern Mohns Ridge and Jan Mayen Island, produced much higher resolution geochemical coverage than previously existed for this tectonically and volcanically interesting region. New major and trace element data, Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb radiogenic isotope data, and U-Th-Ra isotope data has produced new insights into the role of eclogite rocks in the mantle source region beneath Jan Mayen Island and the Eggvin Bank, which seem to both overlie anomalous mantle compositions and melting regimes (Elkins et al., 2016a; 2016b). This work was the product of collaboration between scientists at University of Wyoming, GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, University of Bergen, University of Iowa, and Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon. As a follow-up, researchers (including Elkins) returned to this area in July 2016 to conduct additional mapping and sampling research.
Nuts and Bolts
Facilities
The Magma Genesis research group at West Chester University is currently designing and setting up new research facilities in Merion Science Center. Geochemical measurements were formerly made in the UNITE (University of Nebraska Isotope and Trace Element) geochemistry lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which was built and managed by Dr. Elkins and our research team. Our research is also conducted in collaboration with external mass spectrometry facilities, including University of Wyoming, UT at Austin, and University of South Carolina, among others. Additional geochemical work and measurements for individual projects are conducted in top-notch facilities at collaborating institutions, including those listed below.
Funding
To-date, this group's research has been funded through multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, as well as through generous internal research grants from Bryn Mawr College, University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Arts and Sciences, West Chester University's College of Science and Mathematics, and the PA State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).
Collaborating Institutions
Past and ongoing collaborations have included scientific researchers at University of Nebraska, WHOI, LDEO, University of Wyoming, University of Utah, GEOMAR, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, University of Bristol, University of Bergen, University of Iowa, Harvard University, UT at Austin, University of Padova, University of South Carolina, and VAST, among others.
My research focuses on using geochemistry to better understand Earth's dynamic processes, in particular how magmas are generated in the Earth's mantle layer and how they are emplaced to form new crust. Most of this work involves measuring and modeling major elements, trace elements, and isotope compositions in igneous rocks from continental rifts, ocean basins, hotspots, and anomalous volcanic areas, and using that work to interpret magma origins. Some former and ongoing research projects are described below:
Current Projects
Geochemical Modeling of Magma Genesis
Ongoing research in geochemical modeling aims to explore the origins of magmas using process-based modeling approaches. This work contributes additional computational tools to the pyUserCalc software modeling package, which uses python and open-source code to predict the geochemical compositions of magmas as products of melting in the Earth's mantle. Students interested in developing their coding and modeling skills have the opportunity to develop new tools for the geochemical community (such as geochemical plotting methods, mixing calculations, and mantle metasomatism calculators) and also to develop and run new calculations (such as whole-Earth evolution models, trace element predictions, and short-lived isotopic decay as tracers of magma generation and transport processes).
High-Precision Trace Element Analysis of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts
To better detect the types of rocks that produce magmas by partial melting in the Earth's mantle, particularly the role of recycled lithologies like eclogites and pyroxenites, this project will work with external collaborating labs to prepare and then measure high-precision trace elements by laser ablation mass spectrometry, using fresh lava samples from the divergent North Atlantic mid-ocean ridge system. For this project, we will be selecting and then mounting and polishing fresh lava chips for analysis, and then using computer models to interpret the results of our measurements. We will then present this research at local conferences.
Alpha Spectrometry Analysis of Continental Rift Lavas
A new project aims to implement and test alpha spectrometry methods for measuring short-lived isotopes in very fresh lava rocks, to better understand how magma degassing relates to eruption triggers at hazardous volcanoes in places like the East African Rift. To conduct this project, we will be setting up and testing an alpha spectrometer instrument in Merion Science Center, and also processing and analyzing a group of samples from the rift.
Other Student Research Opportunities
For students who are interested in some lab experience or work hours, there are opportunities to help set up the new Magma Genesis lab in Merion Science Center (such as by assembling new equipment, arranging supplies, cleaning the research space, and other practical tasks). We also have methods to test by preparing rock standards, sample specimens to sort, and research-related teaching materials to prepare. There are also many useful computer-based organizational tasks such as specimen cataloguing, research code updates and archiving, and other opportunities to contribute to our efforts!
Past and Continuing Projects
Geochemical Modeling of Uranium-Series Isotopes
Isotopic compositions in the uranium-series system (isotopes of the elements U, Th, Pa, Ra, and others) in basalts are interpreted through comparison with model calculations of the progressive melting process in the Earth's mantle. Calculations like these can consider not only the process of magma generation and transport from multiple source lithologies, but also the importance of timing in the melt process, including the effects of time on short-lived isotopic decay. Ongoing developments in modeling aim to improve our interpretations of regional and global geochemical data sets, leading to a better understanding of melting and melt transport processes on Earth. Recent work has been conducted in collaboration with scientists at LDEO, University of Utah, and others. This is an NSF-funded CAREER project in its final year, with papers and projects already published and final efforts currently underway (e.g., Elkins et al., 2019, 2023; Elkins and Spiegelman, 2021; Elkins and Lambart, 2024). Related research directions in geochemical modeling are explored here, and user tutorials for using pyUserCalc, our melt modeling package ,for your own modeling calculations can be found here.
The Kane-Atlantis Supersegment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a classic, slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge setting, and the Kane-Atlantis supersegment is among the best mapped and most intensively studied parts of that ridge. It contains many second-order ridge segments that exhibit a range of ridge morphologies, including both symmetrically- and asymmetrically-spreading sections. Ridges that diverge at slow rates, which constitute as much as 80% of the global mid-ocean ridge system, appear to be particularly sensitive to the factors that control ridge symmetry and crustal accretionary style, with as many as half of slow-spreading ridge segments exhibiting asymmetric character created by long-lived detachment faulting. For this project, we measured short-lived U-series disequilibria and radiogenic (Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf) isotope compositions in fresh basalts from the supersegment, with the goal of evaluating magma origins on short and long length-scales. The study focused on the 2012 suite of samples collected from the Kane-Atlantis supersegment under chief scientists Charlie Langmuir and Javier Escartin aboard the R/V Knorr. The ultimate goal of this study was to develop a more complete model for ocean crust formation at mid-ocean ridges and for the factors that control that process. Research collaborations for this project included Harvard University and the University of Wyoming. This project funded two graduate students and several undergraduate researchers, and ultimately involved a large number of colleagues and students in aspects of the research.
The Central Highlands Diffuse Igneous Province
This study explored the recent and diffuse volcanic activity and its associations with faulting and tectonic activity in Vietnam. The project aimed to test working models for tectonics and volcanic activity in this collision-adjacent region, to better explain the tectonic setting and understand why volcanism and (active!) faulting are occurring in Indochina. One scenario is that rifting is occurring in an extensional environment associated with volcanism, adjacent to the formerly diverging East Vietnam/South China Sea. An alternative, preferred based on our field and remote sensing results, is that tectonic extrusion associated with the Himalayan collision is causing block rotation and coupled mantle upwelling. Together with co-PI and structural geologist and tectonicist C. Burberry from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and collaborators Hoang Nguyen from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and J. Lassiter at University of Texas at Austin, we developed and worked on a large NSF-funded project to study the tectonic setting of the Central Highlands. This project incorporated several seasons of field structural measurements, remote sensing methods, and geochemical analysis of basalts and xenoliths to better understand the origins of volcanic and tectonic activity in Indochina. This project supported multiple graduate students, and has produced two published manuscripts (Hobbs et al., 2023; Richard et al., 2024) and one additional manuscript in revision (Richard et al., in prep.).
The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province
This enormous large igneous province formed at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, when initial rifting of the central Atlantic contributed to the breakup of Pangea. That rift ultimately formed the central Atlantic ocean basin. We measured new hafnium isotope compositions to test and revise working hypotheses for CAMP magma formation. This research sought to better understand the role of the mantle in the initiation of continental rifting and eventual ocean basin formation, and was conducted with collaborators from the University of Padova, UT at Austin, University of South Carolina, and several universities in Brazil. This research was funded by University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Arts and Sciences, and was published in Elkins et al. (2020). The project also produced a geochemical calculator tool for assessing the role of ancient subduction-related fluid metasomatism in modifying the mantle beneath rifting continents, available as a supplement to the 2020 paper.
North Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridges
The mid-ocean ridge system north of Iceland (including the Kolbeinsey, Mohns, Knipovich, and Gakkel Ridges) provides an exciting set of circumstances for assessing mantle melting and ocean crust generation at slow and ultraslow spreading rates. These ridges range from 18 to less than 12 mm/yr. in spreading rate, and experience variable influence and magmatic input from the Iceland and Jan Mayen hotspots. The regional mantle composition varies dramatically along the ridge axis, as does seafloor axial depth, which ranges from the subaerial rifting on Iceland to regions with little or no basaltic crust along the Gakkel Ridge. Our research has focused on the geochemical makeup of fresh basalts erupted along this system of mid-ocean ridges, which provide clues to the melting processes occurring in the underlying mantle melting regime.
In addition to major and trace element concentrations and Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb radiogenic isotope compositions, our research added U-Th-Pa-Ra short-lived isotope measurements to the North Atlantic ridge data set. These isotopes are sensitive to the melting process, particularly melting rate and the presence of the mineral garnet in the melting regime. The results suggested that a combination of mantle temperature variations and source compositional heterogeneities influence the production of magma and growth of new ocean crust in the Arctic Ocean (Elkins et al., 2011; 2014). This work was the result of collaboration with scientists from WHOI in Woods Hole, MA, University of Wyoming, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, University of Bristol, GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, and University of Iowa. Future research into the geochemistry of North Atlantic and global MORB is possible with these and additional partners, including the University of Southampton, and would include investigating the crustal accretionary process at mid-ocean ridges with very slow spreading rates but unusually high mantle temperatures and magma fluxes.
Jan Mayen Island and the Eggvin Bank
Additional past research includes an NSF-funded, focused case study of the geographic region immediately around the Jan Mayen Island volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic basin, for which we measured the geochemistry of lavas from the Northern Kolbeinsey Ridge segment, the Southern Mohns Ridge, and Jan Mayen Island itself. In collaboration with scientists at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, we went to sea aboard the R/V Poseidon in 2012 to map the seafloor on the Northern Kolbeinsey Ridge and shallow Eggvin Bank (see Yeo et al., 2016), to sample fresh lava flows, and to add additional high resolution images for select areas using the AUV Abyss. That expedition resulted in the identification of a previously unknown, large, volcanically active seamount on the Eggvin Bank, which hosts fresh popping rocks in the summit crater.
Geochemical analysis of these newly collected basalt samples, and comparison with lavas from the nearby Southern Mohns Ridge and Jan Mayen Island, produced much higher resolution geochemical coverage than previously existed for this tectonically and volcanically interesting region. New major and trace element data, Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb radiogenic isotope data, and U-Th-Ra isotope data has produced new insights into the role of eclogite rocks in the mantle source region beneath Jan Mayen Island and the Eggvin Bank, which seem to both overlie anomalous mantle compositions and melting regimes (Elkins et al., 2016a; 2016b). This work was the product of collaboration between scientists at University of Wyoming, GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, University of Bergen, University of Iowa, and Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon. As a follow-up, researchers (including Elkins) returned to this area in July 2016 to conduct additional mapping and sampling research.
Nuts and Bolts
Facilities
The Magma Genesis research group at West Chester University is currently designing and setting up new research facilities in Merion Science Center. Geochemical measurements were formerly made in the UNITE (University of Nebraska Isotope and Trace Element) geochemistry lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which was built and managed by Dr. Elkins and our research team. Our research is also conducted in collaboration with external mass spectrometry facilities, including University of Wyoming, UT at Austin, and University of South Carolina, among others. Additional geochemical work and measurements for individual projects are conducted in top-notch facilities at collaborating institutions, including those listed below.
Funding
To-date, this group's research has been funded through multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, as well as through generous internal research grants from Bryn Mawr College, University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Arts and Sciences, West Chester University's College of Science and Mathematics, and the PA State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).
Collaborating Institutions
Past and ongoing collaborations have included scientific researchers at University of Nebraska, WHOI, LDEO, University of Wyoming, University of Utah, GEOMAR, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, University of Bristol, University of Bergen, University of Iowa, Harvard University, UT at Austin, University of Padova, University of South Carolina, and VAST, among others.
