Evolution of the Precambrian Rocks of Yellowstone National Park and Surrounding Areas--Summer 2011 Program

Yellowstone National Park offers an amazing array of geologic features--hot springs, active tectonics, Eocene and Quaternary volcanism--and a largely unexplored sequence of Precambrian rocks along its northern border and adjacent exposures in the rugged Beartooth Mountains of Montana and Wyoming. The Evolution of Precambrian Rocks of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) REU site project will provide a complete research experience for students in three major components:

• Field mapping and sampling to contribute to a new geologic map of the basement rocks of YNP and vicinity; formulation of testable hypotheses by smaller working groups of students to address significant questions on the petrogenesis, architecture, tectonic environment and geologic evolution of these Precambrian rocks that will contribute to the larger group research project. This year we expect to spend ~ 2 weeks in the Slough Creek area of YNP, and 2 weeks working out of Cooke City, MT, to the east along the Beartooth Highway. Dates: June 26-July 24, 2011.
• Direct experience in modern analytical studies including sample preparation, training on modern instrumentation (geochemical and geochronological, University of Florida; mineral analyses using SEM, electron microprobe, and XRD, Louisiana State University and Montana State University), data acquisition, reduction, presentation, and interpretation; visits to analytical labs will be scheduled for fall semester 2011, and
• Presentation of research results, initially by submitting an abstract for a poster presentation at the Rocky Mountain Section meeting of the Geological Society of America, and participating in a group reunion meeting to contribute to a peer-reviewed journal article.Dates: Spring 2012, to be determined..

The scientific objectives of this REU site project are to contribute to the scientific research base on the natural history of YNP and to a broader research initiative that seeks to characterize the petrogenesis, architecture, and evolution of the Wyoming craton. For an example of our recent work in this area, please see: Mueller, P. A., Wooden, J. L., Mogk, D. W., Henry, D. J., and Bowes, D. R., 2010, Rapid Growth of an Archean Continent by Arc Magmatism, Precambrian Research, v. 183, p. 70-88.

Who Should Apply?

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We are looking for a group of students with diverse interests in geology to contribute to the research group. To unravel the geologic history of these Archean rocks, our research team will need students with interests in: igneous and metamorphic petrology, sedimentology, geochemistry and geochronology, and structural geology and tectonics. Please note: this year's focus will be on plutonic and metaplutonic rocks exposed in the Slough Creek area of YNP and in the Archean exposures on the Beartooth Highway from Cooke City MT to Beartooth Lake. There are also some minor enclaves of metasedimentary rocks that we will explore. (Summer 2010 we had more exposures of metasedimentary rocks). Highest consideration will be given to students who have:

• Finished most of the "core" geology curriculum; e.g. courses in mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, and sedimentary geology/stratigraphy; and
• Attended a field camp, or have had significant experience with field work via field methods courses or other field-based instruction.

How to Apply

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Your application package should include:

• Your letter of interest, indicating why you are interested in participating in this project, what you can contribute, and what you hope to gain from this experience;
• Two letters of support from faculty (or work advisors) who are well acquainted with your potential to participate in this project. If you plan to do follow-on independent study work at your home institution, one of these letters should come from your prospective advisor.
• A copy of your most recent academic transcripts (unofficial versions are fine--we just would like to review the breadth of your coursework, and you can also include a list of courses you are currently taking).

TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION, PLEASE CREATE A SINGLE PDF FILE THAT CONTAINS YOUR LETTER OF INTEREST, RELIABLE CONTACT INFORMATION (E-MAIL, PHONE, AND ADDRESS), AND YOUR ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPTS. USE YOUR OWN NAME IN THE FILE TITLE: YOURNAME_YELLOWSTONE_2011.PDF. LETTERS FROM YOUR REFEREES CAN BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY, AND AGAIN PLEASE USE YOUR OWN NAMES IN THE FILE TITLE: YOURNAME_FROM_YOURADVISOR.

Please send these materials via e-mail to:
Dr. David Mogk , (mogk@montana.edu).

Questions can be addressed to Dr. Mogk via e-mail (preferred) or call 406 994-6916 (Mountain time zone).

The application deadline is February 15, 2011. Applicants will be notified of the selection results in the following month.

Logistics and Support

The grant from NSF will cover the costs of travel and logistical support for participants: travel to Montana and room and board during the month-long field work in Yellowstone National Park (we'll have a communal living situation and plan to stay in a group house in nearby Gardiner MT, and will share group cooking responsibilities); travel, lodging and per diem for visits to our analytical labs in the fall semester; and travel, lodging and per diem for attendance at the Rocky Mountain GSA meeting in the spring semester. A stipend of $2000 will be paid for successful completion of the summer field experience.

Research Staff

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Our assembled research team has worked together on the genesis and evolution of the Precambrian crust of the northern Wyoming Province for over thirty years. These researchers bring a wealth of experience to this project, using a multi-faceted approach that integrates field studies, petrologic investigations, structural geology geochemical analysis, and geochronology and thermochronology. Together, we all bring great experience in analytical studies, and we all share a love of working in the field. The instructors of this field project include:

Dave Mogk; Professor of Geology, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Montana State University. He has been working in the Archean basement of Montana for thirty years, starting with his dissertation in the North Snowy Block of the Absaroka Range, and continuing across the Beartooths, Madison, Tobacco Root, Gravelly, Highland, and Little Belt Mountains. He is a metamorphic petrologist, with allied interests in structural geology (ductile deformation) and geochemistry.
Darrell Henry; Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University. He has worked in the Beartooth Mountains and surrounding Archean basement for thirty years as well as a variety of metamorphic terrains from NW Maine to the Mojave Desert, California. He is a metamorphic petrologist with interests in the development and applications of quantitative thermobarometry to tectonic problems. His other research interests focus on the characterization of detrital minerals, particularly tourmaline, to interpret provenance and geologic history of a wide range of geological settings.
Paul Mueller; Professor of Geology, University of Florida. He is a geochemist and geochronologist with long-time interests in Archean crustal genesis and evolution. Primary research activities involve application of whole rock geochemistry (major and trace element), and isotope systematics (geochronology and isotopic tracers) to the processes and history of crustal evolution.

David Foster; Professorof Geology, University of Florida. He studies the tectonic evolution of continents, mountain belts, and extensional basins. He uses thermochronology, structural geology and isotope geochemistry to understand the evolution and deformation of continental crust in western North America, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand.

Expectations

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This REU project will provide a comprehensive research experience that will give you the opportunity to: a) work in the field in one of the most amazing study areas in the country, b) design your own research project that will be completed in small working groups in the field and lab, c) work with faculty mentors in their analytical labs to acquire the fundamental data to address your research questions(whole rock geochemistry, mineral composition data for P/T determinations, geochronology and thermochronology), and d) report your findings at the Rocky Mountain Section Meeting of the Geological Society of America and contribute to writing a scholarly research article. To gain the full benefit of this experience:

• You must be committed to participate in the full program which will be distributed throughout a one year cycle. The field component will run through most of the month of July (June 26-July 24, 2010), visits to the instructors' analytical labs will be scheduled for the fall semester in time to acquire data for c) submission of our GSA abstracts in the early winter of 2012, and d) presentation of the results at the Rocky Mountain Section GSA Meeting (dates to be determined).
• Part of the instructors' research agenda is actually research on learning. We are keenly interested in exploring ways in which students best learn in the field. Throughout the project we will be using a variety of research techniques such as interviews, observations (some with video tape), pre-tests, GPS tracking to understand ways to improve field instruction. We hope that you will help us in these efforts by participating in these learning assessment activities.
• Disclaimer:The field component of this project will truly be a back country experience. You need to be aware that this project will be physically demanding. This does not mean we will be running a "boot camp", but take a look at the pictures on these webpages and you'll see that there is a lot of topography. We will be doing a lot of hiking, typically ~10 miles/day to get to field sites and collect samples that we'll pack out. You must be in reasonable shape when you arrive at the project to be able to fully participate in the field activities. You should also be aware that there are inherent risks associated with back country geology. The weather can be quite variable, some of the study area is in rattlesnake country, and yes, there are bears (Oh My!). Safety first will always be the rule of the project, and one of the instructors (Mogk) is a Wilderness First Responder. Going into this project, you just need to know that there are some inherent risks--but even so, the rewards of working in this country are great!

Geologic Setting

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The Precambrian rocks that occur along the northern margin of Yellowstone National Park reside in relative obscurity, compared with the more charismatic geologic interests related to hot spot volcanism, active tectonics, and life in extreme environments. Nonetheless, these rocks are an important component of the Yellowstone GeoEcosystem, and represent a missing chapter of the overall natural history of the Park. In addition, these basement rocks occupy a large unknown region in our long-term research program to characterize the petrogenesis and evolution of the Precambrian rocks of the Wyoming craton, including surrounding areas such as the Beartooth Mountains (Mueller et al., 1998, 2005; Mogk and Henry, 1988; Mogk et al., 1988, 1992, ) and Archean-cored Laramide uplifts in regions to the west (Madison Range, and Tobacco Root Mountains; Mueller and Frost, 2006; Mogk et al., 1992; Mueller et al., 2004; Mogk et al., 2004).

Students working on this project will have the opportunity to work in small groups to address a research question of their own design. Some of the key research questions that persist include:

• What is the relationship of the metaigneous rocks (Archean gneiss unit) in YNP to the more completely characterized and apparently older late Archean magmatic rocks of the Beartooth Mountains (Mueller et al., 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988)? Do these rocks have similar compositions and ages, and do they derive from similar source areas and petrogenetic processes? Is extant geochronology accurate?
• What are the ages and depositional environments of the metasedimentary rocks? What is the provenance of the sediments, and are these source areas currently recognizable in the Wyoming Province or were these rocks emplaced during Proterozoic orogenesis?
• What is the nature of the contacts of the metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks--are they tectonic or intrusive? Is there confirming evidence that the unusually low-grade metasedimentary rocks are allochthonous in their current setting (Mogk, 1984), and, if so, when and how were they tectonically emplaced? Do they have compositions similar to the most unusual, transition metal-enriched metasedimentary rocks of the Stillwater aureole? To what extent has the regional Paleoproterozoic tectonothermal event (ca. 1.8-1.6 Ga, as preserved in the Precambrian basement west of YNP, e.g., Harms et al., 2004) affected the rocks in this area? Prior work indicated that K-Ar systems have been partially reset in this area, whereas K-Ar ages further east in the main Beartooth massif have preserved late Archean ages (ca. 2.5 Ga).
• To what extent have the ages, compositions, and architecture of the basement rocks impacted the geologic evolution of the area in terms of the crustal genesis (e.g. crust-mantle interactions; geochemical cycling; igneous petrogenesis; metallogenesis; number and timing of orogenic events; reactivation of basement structures)? The age, composition, and structures of these rocks have important influences on other topical geological questions such as volcanic processes (e.g., what was the basement contribution to the crustal melting that may have contributed to Eocene Absaroka or Quaternary Yellowstone volcanism?), neotectonics (e.g., do basement structures control the location of active structures in the Laramide, Sevier, and Basin-and-Range styles of faulting?), and metallogenesis (e.g., was the Precambrian basement the source of gold mineralization in the historical gold-mining districts at Jardine, Independence Stock (a Cretaceous porphyry system), and Crown Butte (a stratabound Au-Cu system related to the Eocene Absaroka volcanism)?

Selected References for Further Reading

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Berg, R. B., Lonn, J. D., and Locke, W. W., 1999, Geologic Map of the Gardiner 30' x 60' Quadrangle, south-Central Montana, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Open File Report MBMG 387

Casella, C. J., Levay, J. Eble, E., and others, 1982, Precambrian geology of the southwestern Beartooth Mountains, Yellowstone National park, Montana and Wyoming, in Precambrian Geology of the Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming, MBMG Sp. Publ., 84, p 1-24.

Foster, D.A., P.A. Mueller, D.W. Mogk, J.L. Wooden, and J.J. Vogl, 2006, Proterozoic evolution of the western margin of the Wyoming Craton: implications for the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the northern Rocky Mountains: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 43, p. 1601-1619, doi: 10.1139/E06-052.

Hallager, W. S., 1984, Geology of gold-bearing metasediments near Jardine, Montana, in Gold '82 the Geology, Geochemistry and Genesis of Gold Deposits, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 191-218.

Harms, T. A., Brady, J. B., Burger, H. R., and Cheney, J. T., 2004, Advances in the geology of the Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana, and their implications for the history of the northern Wyoming Province, , in J. B. Brady, H. R. Burger, J. T. Cheney and T. A. Harms (eds.), Precambrian Geology of the Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana, GSA Special Paper 377, pp. 227-246.

Henry, D. J., Mueller, P. A., Wooden, J. L., Warner, J. L., and Lee-Berman, R., 1982, Granulite facies supracrustal assemblages of the Quad Creek area, eastern Beartooth Mountains, Montana: In Mueller, P. A. and Wooden, J. L., eds., Precambrian Geology of the Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication, v. 84, p. 147-156.

Henry, D. J., Zimmerman, E. C., Mueller, P. A. and Mogk, D., 1998, Age constraints and provenance of Archean metaturbidites and auriferous ironstones of the Jardine area, MT (USA). Proceedings of the International Geological Correlation Program - Project 371, The Archean-Proterozoic transition in the northern Wyoming Province - Crustal Genesis, Evolution and Cratonization.

Jablinski, J., and Holst, T., 1990, Deformational history of Archean metasedimentary rocks of the Beartooth Mountains in the vicinity of the Mineral Hill Mine, Jardine, Montana, Jour. Geol., v. 100 no 5, 561-578.

Mogk, D. W., 1984, Archean allochthonous units in the northern and western Beartooth Mountains, Montana, in S.E. Lewis and R. B. Berg (eds) Precambrian and Mesozoic Plate Margins: Montana, Idaho and Wyoming with Field Guides for the 8th International Conference on Basement Tectonics, MBMG Sp. Publ., 96, 43-52.

Mogk, D.W., Mueller, P.A., and Wooden, J.L., 1988, Archean Tectonics of the North- Snowy-Block, Beartooth Mountains, Montana. Journal of Geology, 96, 125-141.

Mogk, D.W., Mueller, P.A., and Wooden, J.L., 1992, The Nature of Archean Terrane Boundaries - an Example from the Northern Wyoming Province. Precambrian Research, 55, 155-168.

Mogk, D. W.,Burger, H. R., Mueller, P. A., D'Arcy, K., Heatherington, A., Wooden, J. L., Abeyta, R. L., Martin, J., Jacob, L. J., 2004, Geochemistry of quartzofeldspathic gneisses and metamorphic mafic rocks of the Indian Creek and Pony-Middle Mountain Metamorphic Suites, Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana, in J. B. Brady, H. R. Burger, J. T. Cheney and T. A. Harms (eds.), Precambrian Geology of the Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana, GSA Special Paper 377, pp. 15-46.

Montgomery, C. W., and Lytwyn, J. N., 1984, Rb-Sr systematics and ages of principal Precambrian lithologies in the South Snowy Block, Beartooth Mountains, Jour. of Geology, v. 92 no 1, 103-112.

Mueller, P. A., Wooden, J. L., Odom, A. L. and Bowes, D. R., 1982, Geochemistry of the Archean rocks of the Quad Creek and Hellroaring Plateau areas of the eastern Beartooth Mountains. Mueller, P. A. and Wooden, J. L., eds., Precambrian Geology of the Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 84, 69-82.

Mueller, P. A., Wooden, J. L., Schulz, K., Bowes, D. R., 1983, Incompatible-element-rich andesitic amphibolites from the Archean of Montana and Wyoming: Evidence for mantle metasomatism. Geology, 11, 203-206.

Mueller, P. A., Wooden, J. L., Henry, D. J., and Bowes, D. R., 1985, Archean crustal evolution of the eastern Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming: in Czamanske, O.K., and Zientek, M. L., eds., Stillwater Complex, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 92, 9-20.

Mueller, P. A., Shuster, R. D., Graves, M. A., Wooden, J. L. and Bowes, D. R., 1988, Age and composition of a late magmatic complex, Beartooth Mountains. Montana Bureau of Mines Special Publication, 96, 7-22.

Mueller, P.A., Wooden, J.L., Mogk, D.W., Nutman, A.P., and Williams, I.S. (1996)Extended history of a 3.5 Ga trondhjemitic Gneiss, Wyoming province, USA: Evidence from U-Pb systematics in zircon. Precambrian Research, 78, 41-52.

Mueller, P. A., Wooden, J. LO., Nutman, A. Pl, and Mogk, D. W., 1998, Early Archean crust in the northern Wyoming province Evidence from U-Pb ages of detrital zircons, Precambrian Research, vol 91, p. 295-307.

Mueller, P. A., Burger, R. H., Wooden, J. L., Heatherington, A. L., Mogk, D. W., and D'Arcy, K., 2004, Age and evolution of the Precambrian crust of the Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana, in J. B. Brady, H. R. Burger, J. T. Cheney and T. A. Harms (eds.), Precambrian Geology of the Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana, GSA Special Paper 377, pp. 181-202.

Mueller, P.A., Burger, H.R., Wooden, J.L., Brady, J.B., Cheney, J.T., Harms, T.A., Heatherington, A. L., and Mogk, D. W., 2005, Paleoproterozoic metamorphism in the northern Wyoming province: Implications for the assembly of Laurentia. Journal of Geology, 113, 169-179.

Mueller, P.A., and Frost, C.D., 2006, The Wyoming Province: a distinctive Archean craton in Laurentian North America. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 43(10), 1391- 1397.

Zimmerman, E. C., Henry, D. J., Mueller, P. A. and Mogk, D. ,1998, Provenance and age of an ancient sedimentary basin: Evidence from detrital tourmaline and zircon. Transactions from the American Geophysical Union, 79, S354-355.