Formation and evolution of the crust
Our researchers study the formation and evolution of the crust - from ancient remnants to crust still forming today, and how later tectonics, orogeny, and metamorphism have altered it using a wide range of geochemical and geophysical techniques.
The crust forms our primary record of Earth’s history, hosts the geological resources we rely on, and shapes the landscape around us.
Current projects
Crustal structure of the UK and the North Sea
Mapping the crustal structure of the UK and North Sea using seismological data.
Key staff: Professor Andrew Curtis
Deep structure of Ireland
Deep crustal architecture mapping of Ireland using Sm-Nd and Pb isotopes and uncovering evidence of rapid arc-ophiolite formation and obduction during the Grampian orogeny from new U-Pb and Sm-Nd constraints.
Key staff: Dr Steven Hollis
Earth’s earliest continental crust
Understanding the formation of >4 Ga continental crust using geochemical and isotopic studies on the ancient crust and its modern analogues and through high-pressure/temperature experiments on likely source lithologies. Determining the distribution, origins, and the later effects of ultra-high temperature metamorphism on ancient crust in Antarctica.
Key staff: Professor Godfrey Fitton, Professor Simon Harley, Dr Alan Hastie
Oceanic core complexes
Formation of giant oceanic core complexes within ocean fracture zones.
Key staff: Dr Steven Hollis
Breaking plates
Evolution of plate boundaries, the influence of tectonic inheritance, and changes in plate motion.
Key staff: Dr Lara Kalnins
Volatile and fluid-mobile element cycling in subduction zones and the deep mantle
Volatile and fluid-mobile element cycling in subduction zones and the deep mantle.
Key staff: Dr Cees-Jan De Hoog, Professor Linda Kirstein
Metamorphism and melting in the hottest orogens
Integrated P-T-time case studies of UHT metamorphism in the Napier Complex (Antarctica) and other granulite belts in order to define the behaviour of continental crust in hot and ultra-hot orogens. Using volatile abundances (H, C) and isotopic variations (C, Li) in cordierite to understand the heterogeneity and melt connectivity of partial melting in the deep crust during hot orogeny.
Key staff: Professor Simon Harley
Petrogenesis of Icelandic granites
A cross-disciplinary and integrated strategy is used in which geochemical data from samples collected in Iceland will inform high-pressure/temperature experiments coupled with thermodynamic and geodynamic modelling. Our results will deliver new insights into the formation of the oldest continental crust and give us a much better understanding of the processes involved in the physical, chemical and biological evolution of the early Earth.
Key staff: Dr Alan Hastie
Techniques and facilities
We use a wide range of techniques and facilities to support our multidisciplinary approach.
In-house facilities include:
- Scanning electron microscopy
- X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
- Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
- Electron microprobe analyses
- NERC Ion Micro-probe Facility (IMF)
Explore our NERC Ion Micro-probe Facility
University facilities include:
- Eddie - Eddie Mark 3 is the third iteration of the University's compute cluster.
- Cirrus - Cirrus is a national facility, housed at the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) to support our work in geophysical modelling of bathymetry/topography, gravity, magnetic, and seismic data as well as geodynamical modelling and plate reconstruction.
Learn more about Eddie our state-of-the-art research compute cluster
Find out more about Cirrus our high-performance computing system
International facilities include:
- STEM/ATEM (Lyon & St Etienne, France)
- Atom Probe (Curtin University, Australia) - Atom Probe is a facility that specialises in the application of atom probe tomography to geological samples.
- Femtosecond-Laser Ablation ICPMS (Toulouse)
Publications
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(2020) Metamorphic olivine records external fluid infiltration during serpentinite dehydration. Geochemical Perspective Letters. *Authors: Clarke, E., De Hoog J.C.M., Kirstein L.A., Harvey J., Debret, B. |
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(2020) New insights into North Sea deep crustal structure and extension from transdimensional ambient noise tomography. Geophysical Journal International . *Authors: Crowder, E., Rawlinson, N., Cornwell, D. G., Sammarco, C., Galetti, E, Curtis, A. |
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(2020) The impact of oblique inheritance and changes in relative plate motion on the development of rift-transform systems. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. *Authors: Farangitakis, G.-P., Heron, P.J., McCaffrey, K.J.W., van Hunen, J., L.M. Kalnins |
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(2020) Boron isotope record of peak metamorphic ultrahigh-pressure and retrograde fluid-rock interaction in white mica (Lago di Cignana, Western Alps) Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 175, Art. 20. *Authors: Halama R., Konrad-Schmolke M., De Hoog J.C.M. |
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(2020) The polygenetic Kahouanne Seamounts in the northern Lesser Antilles island arc: Evidence for large-scale volcanic island subsidence. Marine Geology. 419. 106046. *Authors: Carey, S., Sparks, R.S.J., Tucker, M.E., Li, T., Robinson, L., Watt, S.F.L., Gee, M., Hastie, A., Barfod, D.N., Stinton, A., Leng, M., Raineault, N., Ballard, R.D. |
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(2019) Eoarchaean tectonics: New constraints from high pressure-temperature experiments and mass balance modelling. Precambrian Research. 325, 20-38. *Authors: Hastie, A.R., Fitton, J.G. |
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(2019) Chalcophile element processing beneath a continental arc stratovolcano. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 522, 1-11. *Authors: Cox, D., Watt, S.F.L., Jenner, F.E., Hastie, A.R., Hammond, S.J. |
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(2018) Age and geochemistry of the Charlestown Group, Ireland: Implications for the Grampian orogeny, its mineral potential and the Ordovician timescale. Lithos, 302-303, 1-19. *Authors: Herrington, R.J., Hollis, S.P, Cooper, M.R., Stobbs, I.J., Tapster, S., Rushton, A. McConnell, B., Jeffries, T. |
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(2018) Oceanic-like axial crustal high in the central Red Sea. Tectonophysics, 747-748, 327-342. *Authors: Shi, W., Mitchell, N.C., Kalnins, L.M. , Izzeldin, A.Y. |
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