Ti-rich basalts on the moon, armalcolite and ilmenite
Under construction!
Rock-melt interactions in upper mantle xenoliths
My honors thesis at Macalester investigated how melt-rock interactions shape the lithospheric mantle. I started this project at the 2024 MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) under the guidance of Prof. Nicole Xike Nie.
I studied mantle xenoliths from two intraplate volcanic settings: Tariat in Mongolia and Kilbourne Hole in New Mexico, to investigate how melt composition and temperature influence the timescale of mineralogical and chemical evolution in the lithospheric mantle. Using petrography, micro-XRF, SEM-WDS, and EPMA, I analyzed six xenoliths and applied diffusion modeling to Ca and Al profiles, which constrain melt-rock interaction timescales to thousands of years in Tariat and only decades in Kilbourne Hole. The Tariat samples are enriched in Ca/Al and contain high Mg# olivine, while Kilbourne Hole samples exhibit signatures of melt depletion such as high Mg# in pyroxenes and elevated Cr# in spinel. Cooling rates also vary significantly, with Tariat samples cooling slowly over tens of thousands of years and Kilbourne Hole samples cooling rapidly within a few years.
Olivine crystallization from Ti-rich magma from Apollo 17
This was my first formal research experience under Prof. Emily First and my first work in planetary science!
In 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts collected a drill core of volcanic glass beads from titanium-rich eruptions containing about 9 wt.% TiO₂. Unlike other lunar pyroclastics, this deposit includes olivine, whose texture and chemistry reflect its crystallization history. We studied five thin sections containing glass, olivine, spinel, and ilmenite to understand how the magma evolved during ascent and eruption. Using petrographic and scanning electron microscopy, I built mosaics of section 74001,6047. We propose that olivine formed in three stages: large crystals (∼300 µm) in the Moon’s mantle, medium ones (∼50 µm) during ascent, and tiny dendritic grains (<1 µm) during eruption. Preliminary elemental zoning maps in olivine from section 74002,6043 supports this multi-stage crystallization model.