Research Interests
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My main research tool is 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology and geochronology. The 40Ar/39Ar technique offers the ability to recover detailed thermal histories from igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. An ability to determine T-t history is a key to understanding a variety of tectonic problems, evaluating energy sources such as fossil fuels and geothermal energy, and is the best method for precise dating of young volcanic rocks. Over the past several years I have focused on using this technique to understand problems associated with the collision between Indian and Asia. Thermochronologic data have significantly enhanced our understanding of one of the most exciting problems in geodynamics today. The fact the this collision continues today makes it possible to link geophysical constraints from the present day to geologic data from the past. I have active research projects in Nepal involving the High Himalayan crystalline rocks and the foreland basin . I have recently combined the magnetostratigraphic dating of strata in the foreland basin with petrology and geochronology to understand the uplift of the Himalaya. Other projects underway in my lab include the dating of the timing of volcanism in the Tertiary Trans-Pecos Volcanic Province in west Texas, the timing of plutonism in the Silver City, NM area, the Precambrian thermal history of central Texas, and dating of diagenesis in sedimentary basins. The 40Ar/39Ar lab (both laser and furnace extraction lines plus the mass spec) at UH is fully automated (a feature available in only a few labs in the world), allowing rapid and continuous gathering of data.
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Selected Publications
Yin, A., Harrison, T.M., Ryerson, F.J., Wenji, C., Kidd, W.S.F., Copeland, P., 1994, The structural evolution of the Gangdese Thrust, southern Tibet, J. Geophys.
Copeland, P., Harrison, T.M., Yun, P., Kidd, W.S.F., Roden, M., 1994, Thermal Evolution of the Gangdese Batholith, Southern Tibet: A History of Episodic Unroofing, Tectonics,
Copeland, P., and Spell, T.L., 1994, On plateaus, Abstr. of the 8th Int. Conference on Geochron., Cosmochron., & Isotope Geol- U.S. Geol. Surv. Circ. 1107, p. 67
Harrison, T.M., Copeland, P., Kidd, W.S.F., and Lovera, O., 1994, The Nyainqêntanghla shear zone: Implications for Tibetan Plateau uplift and onset of the Asian monsoon,
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