RUI: Oxygen Isotope Studies of Hydrous Silicates in the Oceanic Lithosphere

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This project will establish a collaborative research program with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for undergraduate students at Bridgewater State College (BSC). We propose to calibrate by experiment the empirical/theoretical models used to predict oxygen isotope fractionation factors between common hydrous silicates and aluminosilicates and water. The results of these experiments will be used to constrain the thermal history of serpentinization in the oceanic lithosphere through oxygen isotope analyses of altered ultramafic rocks dredged from slow spreading mid-ocean ridge environments. Through involvement in both experimental and field-based inquiry, students working on this project will have an opportunity to experience how two vastly different approaches are used to support the solution to a scientific problem. The project is ideally suited for students in the interdisciplinary geology-chemistry program at BSC and all laboratory based research will be conducted at WHOI, providing students access to a unique research environment and extensive facilities.