My interest in the Mongolian Altai (or Altay) began during the summer of 2008, when I participated in a Keck Geology Consortium undergraduate research experience studying active tectonics and Pleistocene glaciation in the region.
My current project is part of a large, NSF-supported collaborative research project focused on determining the timing of uplift of the Mongolian Altai and the connection between Altai deformation and the India-Asia collision. The project combines basement thermochronology from Altai subranges with analysis of adjacent sedimentary basins (including sedimentology, provenance analysis, detrital geochronology and thermochronology, and subsidence analysis) to understand the timing, rates, and paleogeographic evolution of Altai uplift. These results are being integrated with numerical modelling to investigate the connections between Mongolian Altai uplift to the collision of the Indian subcontinent with the southern margin of Eurasia ca. 60 million years ago and whether or not such a connection can be explained geodynamically/geomechanically.
We have completed two field seasons in Mongolia over the last few years, and we are generating lots of exciting new data. Stay tuned for results! See Updates and Opportunities for more information.
See project descriptions of the New Mexico Tech and Indiana University awards for more information about the project.