We constrain the timing and nature of processes in geological and planetary systems using chemistry, isotopes and mineralogy, plus field and petrologic observations. Areas of current interest include:

• Evolution of planets and planetary bodies in our solar system over time
  • Formation of the earliest continental crust and implications for the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere
  • Separation and differentiation of the core, mantle and crust
  • Formation of the Moon, lunar rocks and soil
  • Origin of meteorites and presolar grains
• Abundances of chemical elements and their isotopes as they are fractionated in geological processes
• Revealing deep mantle evolution through noble gas isotopic compositions and halogen contents of mantle rocks and minerals
• Determining the cause and timing of extinction events through high precision age determinations
• The origin and evolution of ore bodies