Dr. Meagen Pollock
Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology
(Mineralogy/Petrology)

Department of Geology
Kaufman Building, Office 135
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA 17013
USA

Phone: 717.245.1813
E-Mail:

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Mid-Ocean Ridges, Igneous Geochemistry/Petrology/Mineralogy, Solid Earth Processes, Geoscience Education

CURRENT RESEARCH

My current work focuses on the geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). I study the chemical variability of dikes and lavas collected from tectonic windows, escarpments where vertical sections of the ocean crust have been exposed. Such windows provide insights into the processes of oceanic crustal accretion unmatched by other approaches. By examining MORB composition in terms of their petrogenesis, I investigate the interaction of magmatic and tectonic processes in the generation the ocean crust. These unique exposures make it possible to examine temporal and spatial relationships in the composition of dikes and lavas, which constrain the physical processes affecting the growth and evolution of the ocean crust over time.

In the summer of 2007, I expanded my research to Iceland. Iceland has been used as a natural laboratory to examine processes that occur along mid-ocean ridges. The accessible and extensive exposures in Iceland allow us to examine the upper crust at a fine-scale resolution that is impossible to attain in marine studies. Although Iceland is a volcanic island situated along the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the geometry of the crustal exposures suggests that Iceland may be an analogue for fast-spreading centers. In particular, Icelandic flexure zones, which are essentially large-scale folds in which the crust dips toward a magmatic center, show an internal architecture that is remarkably similar to exposures of in situ oceanic crust. The purpose of this study is to perform a detailed investigation of an Icelandic flexure zone in order to better understand the processes by which oceanic crust forms and evolves at fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges. This study uses a geochemical and petrological approach, which complements on-going structural and paleomagnetic investigations. Such a comprehensive and detailed study of an Icelandic flexure zone is unprecedented and offers an opportunity to significantly advance our understanding of how the oceanic crust is constructed.