This NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) is focused on developing skills in geologic mapping and field work in Precambrian rocks. Our work will integrate structural geology, metamorphic geology, and earthquake geodynamics in a remote, international setting.
The research goal is to better understand how earthquake ruptures propagate through bedrock in the deeper reaches of Earth's crust. To accomplish this, the REU students will map the distribution of pseudotachylyte – thin black veins that formed by frictional melting along faults during earthquakes. The faults are preserved in Archean, high-grade metamorphic rocks, and were probably active during early Proterozoic time at a depth of 10–15 km. They were later exhumed and uplifted to Earth's surface and are now well exposed in coastal outcrops in western Greenland.
Application Deadline: February 7, 2022
Application link: https://www.arcticreu.earth/
April-May 2022: Online bimonthly meetings and logistical planning.
June 23 to July 21, 2022: Field work based in Sisimuit, Greenland. Due to pandemic protocols, we will quarantine in Albany, New York the first week followed by a 5-day quarantine in Kangerlussuaq Greenland before field work. Professional development and virtual research activities will be scheduled for quarantine time.
July 22-Aug 4: Campus-based lab research at Concord University and Montana State University.
September-October 2022: Online bi-monthly meetings for research poster preparation.
Late Fall 2022: Presentation of your research results at a geologic conference in Denver or Chicago (funding provided) with additional career and graduate school mentoring.
Applicants should be undergraduates who preferably will have completed a course in mineralogy, petrology, or Earth materials. Coursework in structural geology and/or field geology or field methods is useful. NSF requires REU participants to be US citizens or permanent residents.
Participants should have a planned date of graduation no earlier than December, 2022. Because of the late start time, students completing a geology field camp early in the summer might be able to attend this REU.
We encourage applications from first-generation college students and members of under-represented groups.
