Research Area: Central & South America

Southern Patagonian Andes, Argentina:

Matthew L. Gorring. Application of geochemistry and geochronology of igneous and metamorphic rocks as tools for monitoring mantle and crustal processes and their relation to regional tectonics. The study of mafic volcanic rocks, granitoids and high-grade gneisses and their record of geochemical, P-T, and tectonic conditions under which they formed. This research has focused on Mesoproterozoic gneisses and granites from Neogene to Quaternary mafic volcanic rocks from the southern Patagonian Andes, Argentina . Research is being done in collaboration with scientists at Binghamton University , Cornell University , University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Massachusetts , Universi dad de Buenos Aires, Rutgers University, SUNY-Oswego, SUNY-Potsdam, and the NJ Geological Survey.

 

Peru:

Josh Galster graduated from Lehigh in spring 2006 with a Ph.D. from the Earth & Environmental Sciences Dept. working under Dr. Frank Pazzaglia. His research focused on the interactions between rivers and their watersheds, and used a combination of field work, aerial photographs, and GIS to determine the effects of land use change on rivers. He has worked as a post-doctoral research scientist at Lehigh, using GIS to analyze glaciers in Peru to determine the effects of climate change in the tropical Andes ("Quantifying equilibrium line altitudes for paleoglaciers in Peru"). He has two recently accepted publications in Geosphere and has assisted in teaching Methods of Water Quality Analysis, Soil Science, Environmental and Organismal Biology and other undergraduate courses.