Based on the student's interests, he or she would then join in one of the research areas in some appropriate role. The SPP group emphasizes interdisciplinary research in areas involving important collective phenomena. Work in the Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory. These laboratories include separate Mass Spectrometry, Chemistry, Mineral Separation and Rock Preparation facilities. Some of the main thrusts of research in the IGL include studies of the mantle and crust, the isotopic evolution of the oceans, and the evolution of the early solar system.
Applications also target tectonic and environmental problems.
Specific studies include subsidence rates in the foreland basin of Huon Gulf, Papua New Guinea. The evolution of highly siderophile elements in Earth s mantle and crust. Specific targets of interest include mafic-ultramafic rocks from Finland, Zimbabwe, Canada, Mexico and Russia. The chronology and chemical evolution of solar system materials. This would be appropriate for someone serious about entering this field, and would probably require more than four hours per week.