* Terry Plank at the Department of Earth Sciences, Boston University 
Professor
Department of Earth Sciences
Boston University
675 Commonwealth Ave. Rm. 141
Boston, MA 02215 
phone: 617.353.4213
fax: 617.353.3290
email:tplank@bu.edu
 

ES Home

Current Students

Former Students

Publications & Vita

Plank Home


CRUSTAL RECYCLING AT SUBDUCTION ZONES

  My research focuses on the study of magmas 
  associated with the plate tectonic cycle, at both 
  divergent and convergent plate margins. A 
  consequence of plate tectonics is the exchange 
  of material between the mantle and crust, and 
  many of my current research projects address crustal 
  recycling issues. My tools are largely chemical, but 
  finding links between magma chemistry and 
  geophysical parameters (crustal thickness, plate 
  velocities, material fluxes) is the ultimate goal, for 
  these linkages are what propel our understanding 
  of the physico-chemical processes that drive Earth 
  evolution. 
 

Our April 2006 field trip to western Massachusetts for ES 424 (Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology) was wet, but lots of fun! (click the photo for a high-res verion) 
Check out our July 2005 Field Campaign to 
Akutan and Makushin Volcanoes in the Aleutians!

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

  • Reading the volcanic record - what subduction zone magmas tell us about the fate of subducted sediments, mantle melting, volatile cycling, and continental evolution.

  • Leg 185 of the Ocean Drilling Program - crustal fluxes at the Mariana-Izu margin, the alteration of the oceanic crust, western Pacific sediment compositions.

  • High quality trace element analysis of volcanic rocks by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS); global relationships.

 

Disclaimer