Campus
- Mississauga (UTM)
Fields of Study
- Petrology, Mineralogy, and Earth Materials
Areas of Interest
My research is focused on the petrology of Earth’s upper mantle. Most of the interior of Earth is inaccessible for direct study, and our best samples of it exist as rare fragments accidentally brought to the surface by volcanic rocks such as kimberlite and alkaline basalt. Specific topics of interest include evidence from xenoliths for a subduction origin for some material in the subcontinental upper mantle, quantitative determination of rock types in the upper mantle from detailed study of xenolith and xenocryst suites, major element and stable isotope studies of diamonds and their mineral inclusions, and the role of indicator minerals in exploration for, and evaluation of, diamondiferous and diamond-free kimberlites. Current research involves material from Canada, United States, southern Africa, Russia and Venezuela.