Mark S. Ghiorso

Last updated
Mark S. Ghiorso
Portrait of Mark Ghiorso.jpg
In Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
Born(1954-10-21)October 21, 1954 [1]
San Francisco, California [1]
Citizenship American
Education University of California Berkeley
Known formodeling phase equilibria in magmatic systems
Scientific career
Fields geochemistry
InstitutionsOFM Research, University of Washington, Vanderbilt University [2]
Doctoral advisor Ian Carmichael
Website markghiorso.org

Mark S. Ghiorso (born October 21, 1954) is an American geochemist who resides in Seattle, Washington. He is best known for creating MELTS, a software tool for thermodynamic modeling of phase equilibria in magmatic systems. [3]

Contents

Education

Ghiorso earned an AB, MS, and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He chose Berkeley for practical reasons: "I went to Berkeley because it was the local school, because tuition was essentially free, and because I was fascinated as a high school student with hot springs, volcanos, and, in particular, the work of Howell Williams [ sic ] and Arthur L. Day." [4]

Career

In 1980, Ghiorso was hired by the University of Washington (UW) as assistant professor in the department of geological sciences. [1] He was promoted to associate professor (a tenured position) three years later and to full professor in 1986. He served as department chair from 1994 to 1999.

In 2003, he was hired by the University of Chicago. Leaving the UW was a difficult decision, as Ghiorso is a great believer in public education. He cited serious concerns about the UW administration as a primary reason for departing. [5] [6]

In 2005 he decided to leave academia and dedicate himself full-time to research. He returned to Seattle and, with his colleague Richard Sack, founded the small non-profit research company OFM Research, where he is vice president and senior research scientist. [7] [1] He also holds affiliate faculty appointments at the University of Washington and Vanderbilt University. [8] [9]

Ghiorso has also served as Associate Editor for the following scientific journals: American Journal of Science (1990–present); American Mineralogist (1990–1993); Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (1991–1993); and Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2015–present),

Scientific contributions

As an undergraduate, Ghiorso wrote an honors thesis on the hot springs in the Devil's Kitchen area of Lassen Volcanic Park. This work was never published. [10] During his graduate work he continued to do experimental work related to acid sulfate hot springs until he became interested in attempts by Ian Carmichael to create a model for solutions in silicate liquids that could be used as a geothermometer for igneous rocks. [10]

Background

In igneous petrology, geologists attempt to learn more about volcanic systems through the record in igneous rocks. Most magma is generated in the mantle through a process called decompression melting. As material rises and the pressure decreases, solidus declines until part of the mantle can melt. [11] At or near the surface, the magma cools and crystallizes. Depending on the conditions, it may have time to cool uniformly, or fractional crystallization can occur if parts of the magma are removed after they crystallize. [12]

Bowen's reaction series Bowen's Reaction Series.png
Bowen's reaction series

An early model for fractional crystallization, which explained why certain types of mineral tend to be found together in igneous rocks, was Bowen's reaction series, formulated in 1922. Bowen found that, as magma crystallizes, it separates into two series: a continuous series of minerals that continuously adjusts their composition through interactions with the melt, and a discontinuous series of minerals that remain fixed in composition as they cool. Thus, the type of mineral indicates the temperature at which it was formed. [13] : 297  [14] : 89–91 

Until the 1960s, interpretation of the igneous rock record was largely qualitative. Ian Carmichael wanted to determine quantitative information such as the temperature and pressure of the magma when crystals were formed as well as dissolved water and oxygen content. [15] For this, thermodynamic models were needed. Although attempts to apply rigorous thermodynamics to igneous processes go back to at least 1949, they were hindered by a lack of experimental data. [16] Using tools such as a drop calorimeter and wet chemistry, Carmichael and colleagues set out to systematically explore thermodynamic properties of magma at high temperatures. [15]

Thermodynamic models

Ghiorso began working with Carmichael on silicate-liquid models in 1978, and in 1980 they published their first geothermometers. [17] Carmichael hired Richard Sack in 1980, and Sack began extensive experiments that went into a more sophisticated model that was published in 1983, when Ghiorso was at the University of Washington. Ghiorso wrote a program in FORTRAN 77 that he distributed to other researchers. [17] Ghiorso and Sack realized, however, that the model needed to become more sophisticated.

At first, NSF program managers were skeptical of this computational approach, and Ghiorso had three NSF proposals turned down. [10] Fortunately, he managed to persuade the Digital Equipment Corporation to fund his work. [17] After a decade of publishing thermodynamic data on minerals such as olivine and feldspar, Ghiorso and Sack presented their new model, now called MELTS. Their 1995 publication in Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology became the journal's most cited paper, with more than 2,100 citations as of early 2017. [18]

After the publication of MELTS, Ghiorso continued to improve and extend it with the help of colleagues such as Mark Hirschmann, Paul Asimow, Pete Reiners and Victor Kress. After they identified some fundamental problems with the theory at high pressure, they developed pMELTS, a model for high pressures (1-3 gigapascals (GPa)), and published it in 2001. [17] Asimow and co-authors published phMELTS, a model for mid-ocean ridge basalts that incorporated the effect of water content. [19] In 1998, Ghiorso, Hirschmann and Tim Grove established the Library of Experimental Phase Relations (LEPR), an online database for experimental results on solid-melt equilibria. [17] [20] With Guilherme (Guil) Gualda, he modified MELTS to work better with rhyolite, a silicate-rich series of rocks, and released rhyolite-MELTS. [17]

Ghiorso is the lead investigator on an NSF collaborative research grant to develop ENKI (Enabling Knowledge Integration), a Web-based model-configuration and testing portal for computational thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. He is the lead principal investigator on the project. [21] With Dmitri Sverjensky of Johns Hopkins University, Ghiorso is leading a Deep Carbon Observatory project to integrate MELTS with the Deep Earth Water Model (DEW) created by Sverjensky. [22] The DEW program models water-rock interactions to depths of 200 km. [23] The movement of carbon between silicate melts and aqueous fluids is still poorly understood. [22]

Awards

In 1984, while Ghiorso was at the University of Washington, he received a Presidential Young Investigator Award, a research grant for an amount of $245,918, from the National Science Foundation. [24] For a paper published in Computers & Geosciences, [25] he received the Best Paper Award from its publisher, the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences. [26] He was elected Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America in 1993, the Geological Society of America in 1997, and the American Geophysical Union in 1999. The Mineralogical Society of America made him a Distinguished Lecturer for 1996–1997, elected him Councilor for 1997–2001, awarded him the Dana Medal in 2003, [10] and elected him president in 2021. [27] He received the Bunsen Medal from the European Geosciences Union in 2010 and the Norman L. Bowen Award from the VGP Section of the American Geophysical Union in 2014. [3] [4] [1]

Publications

Ghiorso has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers for a total of more than 10,000 citations and an h-index of 47. Some of the more highly cited papers follow:

Software tools

Software tools that Ghiorso has created, either alone or with others, include the following:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magma</span> Hot semifluid material found beneath the surface of Earth

Magma is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural satellites. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skarn</span> Hard, coarse-grained, hydrothermally altered metamorphic rocks

Skarns or tactites are coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by replacement of carbonate-bearing rocks during regional or contact metamorphism and metasomatism. Skarns may form by metamorphic recrystallization of impure carbonate protoliths, bimetasomatic reaction of different lithologies, and infiltration metasomatism by magmatic-hydrothermal fluids. Skarns tend to be rich in calcium-magnesium-iron-manganese-aluminium silicate minerals, which are also referred to as calc-silicate minerals. These minerals form as a result of alteration which occurs when hydrothermal fluids interact with a protolith of either igneous or sedimentary origin. In many cases, skarns are associated with the intrusion of a granitic pluton found in and around faults or shear zones that commonly intrude into a carbonate layer composed of either dolomite or limestone. Skarns can form by regional or contact metamorphism and therefore form in relatively high temperature environments. The hydrothermal fluids associated with the metasomatic processes can originate from a variety of sources; magmatic, metamorphic, meteoric, marine, or even a mix of these. The resulting skarn may consist of a variety of different minerals which are highly dependent on both the original composition of the hydrothermal fluid and the original composition of the protolith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop Tuff</span> Volcanic tuff in Inyo and Mono Counties, California, United States

The Bishop Tuff is a welded tuff that formed 764,800 ± 600 years ago as a rhyolitic pyroclastic flow during the approximately six day eruption that created the Long Valley Caldera. Large outcrops of the tuff are located in Inyo and Mono Counties, California, United States. Approximately 200 cubic kilometers of ash and tuff erupted outside the caldera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbonatite</span> Igneous rock with more than 50% carbonate minerals

Carbonatite is a type of intrusive or extrusive igneous rock defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50% carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble and may require geochemical verification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumulate rock</span> Igneous rocks formed by the accumulation of crystals from a magma either by settling or floating.

Cumulate rocks are igneous rocks formed by the accumulation of crystals from a magma either by settling or floating. Cumulate rocks are named according to their texture; cumulate texture is diagnostic of the conditions of formation of this group of igneous rocks. Cumulates can be deposited on top of other older cumulates of different composition and colour, typically giving the cumulate rock a layered or banded appearance.

In geology, igneous differentiation, or magmatic differentiation, is an umbrella term for the various processes by which magmas undergo bulk chemical change during the partial melting process, cooling, emplacement, or eruption. The sequence of magmas produced by igneous differentiation is known as a magma series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fractional crystallization (geology)</span> Process of rock formation

Fractional crystallization, or crystal fractionation, is one of the most important geochemical and physical processes operating within crust and mantle of a rocky planetary body, such as the Earth. It is important in the formation of igneous rocks because it is one of the main processes of magmatic differentiation. Fractional crystallization is also important in the formation of sedimentary evaporite rocks or simply fractional crystallization is the removal of early formed crystals from an Original homogeneous magma so that the crystals are prevented from further reaction with the residual melt.

Jonathan David Blundy FRS is Royal Society Research Professor at the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford and honorary professor at the University of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melt inclusion</span>

A melt inclusion is a small parcel or "blobs" of melt(s) that is entrapped by crystals growing in magma and eventually forming igneous rocks. In many respects it is analogous to a fluid inclusion within magmatic hydrothermal systems. Melt inclusions tend to be microscopic in size and can be analyzed for volatile contents that are used to interpret trapping pressures of the melt at depth.

Partial melting is the phenomenon that occurs when a rock is subjected to temperatures high enough to cause certain minerals to melt, but not all of them. Partial melting is an important part of the formation of all igneous rocks and some metamorphic rocks, as evidenced by a multitude of geochemical, geophysical and petrological studies.

Magmatic water, also known as juvenile water, is an aqueous phase in equilibrium with minerals that have been dissolved by magma deep within the Earth's crust and is released to the atmosphere during a volcanic eruption. It plays a key role in assessing the crystallization of igneous rocks, particularly silicates, as well as the rheology and evolution of magma chambers. Magma is composed of minerals, crystals and volatiles in varying relative natural abundance. Magmatic differentiation varies significantly based on various factors, most notably the presence of water. An abundance of volatiles within magma chambers decreases viscosity and leads to the formation of minerals bearing halogens, including chloride and hydroxide groups. In addition, the relative abundance of volatiles varies within basaltic, andesitic, and rhyolitic magma chambers, leading to some volcanoes being exceedingly more explosive than others. Magmatic water is practically insoluble in silicate melts but has demonstrated the highest solubility within rhyolitic melts. An abundance of magmatic water has been shown to lead to high-grade deformation, altering the amount of δ18O and δ2H within host rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igneous rock</span> Rock formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava

Igneous rock, or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.

Tectonic–climatic interaction is the interrelationship between tectonic processes and the climate system. The tectonic processes in question include orogenesis, volcanism, and erosion, while relevant climatic processes include atmospheric circulation, orographic lift, monsoon circulation and the rain shadow effect. As the geological record of past climate changes over millions of years is sparse and poorly resolved, many questions remain unresolved regarding the nature of tectonic-climate interaction, although it is an area of active research by geologists and palaeoclimatologists.

Bernard (Bernie) Wood is a British geologist, and professor of mineralogy and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford. He specializes in the thermodynamics of geological systems, using experimental techniques. He is a prominent figure in the field of experimental petrology, having received multiple awards throughout his career and taught at several universities worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Holland</span> British scientist

Timothy John Barrington Holland is a petrologist and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titanium in zircon geothermometry</span>

Titanium in zircon geothermometry is a form of a geothermometry technique by which the crystallization temperature of a zircon crystal can be estimated by the amount of titanium atoms which can only be found in the crystal lattice. In zircon crystals, titanium is commonly incorporated, replacing similarly charged zirconium and silicon atoms. This process is relatively unaffected by pressure and highly temperature dependent, with the amount of titanium incorporated rising exponentially with temperature, making this an accurate geothermometry method. This measurement of titanium in zircons can be used to estimate the cooling temperatures of the crystal and infer conditions during which it crystallized. Compositional changes in the crystals growth rings can be used to estimate the thermodynamic history of the entire crystal. This method is useful as it can be combined with radiometric dating techniques that are commonly used with zircon crystals, to correlate quantitative temperature measurements with specific absolute ages. This technique can be used to estimate early Earth conditions, determine metamorphic facies, or to determine the source of detrital zircons, among other uses.

Ian Stuart Edward Carmichael, was a British-born American igneous petrologist and volcanologist who established extensive quantitative methods for research in the thermodynamics of magmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal mush</span>

A crystal mush is magma that contains a significant amount of crystals suspended in the liquid phase (melt). As the crystal fraction makes up less than half of the volume, there is no rigid large-scale three-dimensional network as in solids. As such, their rheological behavior mirrors that of absolute liquids.

Rebecca Ann Lange is a professor of experimental petrology, magmatism and volcanism at the University of Michigan. Her research investigates how magmatism has shaped the evolution of the Earth, as well as the formation of continental crust. She is a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America and was awarded the F.W. Clarke Medal in 1995.

Edward Manin Stolper is an American geologist, petrologist, and planetologist. He is known for his research on igneous rocks and volatiles in igneous processes, especially his research involving "pioneering experiments defining the behavior of volatiles in silicate melts and glasses."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Curriculum Vitae : Mark S. Ghiorso" (PDF). Markghiorso.org. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  2. 1 2 "Welcome to MELTS". Melts.ofm-research.org. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  3. 1 2 "Robert Wilhelm Bunsen Medal 2010: Mark S. Ghiorso". Awards & Medals. European Geophysics Union. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  4. 1 2 AGU (20 April 2015). "Ghiorso and Sack receive 2014 Norman L. Bowen AwardAGU". EOS. 96. doi: 10.1029/2015EO028095 .
  5. ↑ "UW fears massive departure". The Daily. University of Washington. 28 January 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Administration blamed". The Daily. University of Washington. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to OFM Research". OFM Research Inc. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Directory Profile - Earth and Space Sciences". Ess.washington.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  9. ↑ "Earth and Environmental Science | Vanderbilt University". Vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Carmichael, Ian (2004). "Presentation of the Mineralogical Society of America Dana Medal for 2003 to Mark S. Ghiorso" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 89: 909. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Brown, G.C.; Hawkesworth, C. J.; Wilson, R. C. L., eds. (1992). Understanding the earth : A new synthesis (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp.  92–93. ISBN   9780521427401.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Marjorie (1993). Igneous petrogenesis (Reprint ed.). London: Chapman & Hall. p. 82. ISBN   9780412533105.
  13. ↑ Young, Davis A. (2003). Mind over magma : the story of igneous petrology. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN   9780691102795.
  14. ↑ Monroe, James S.; Wicander, Reed (2011). The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution. Engage Learning. ISBN   9781133715511.
  15. 1 2 Lange, Rebecca (14 February 2012). "Ian S. E. Carmichael (1930–2011)". Eos Transactions. 93 (7): 68. Bibcode:2012EOSTr..93...68L. doi: 10.1029/2012EO070006 .
  16. ↑ Ghiorso, Mark S. (May 1997). "Thermodynamic models of igneous processes". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 25 (1): 221–241. Bibcode:1997AREPS..25..221G. doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.25.1.221.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A largely factual and incomplete history of MELTS". OFM Research. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Google Scholar Citations". Scholar.google.com. 1995-01-03. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  19. ↑ Asimow, P. D.; Dixon, J. E.; Langmuir, C. H. (January 2004). "A hydrous melting and fractionation model for mid-ocean ridge basalts: Application to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Azores" (PDF). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 5 (1): Q01E16. Bibcode:2004GGG.....5.1E16A. doi: 10.1029/2003GC000568 .
  20. 1 2 Hirschmann, M. M.; Ghiorso, M. S.; Davis, F. A.; Gordon, S. M.; Mukherjee, S.; Grove, T. L.; Krawczynski, M.; Medard, E.; Till, C. B. (March 2008). "Library of Experimental Phase Relations (LEPR): A database and Web portal for experimental magmatic phase equilibria data". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 9 (3): n/a. Bibcode:2008GGG.....9.3011H. doi:10.1029/2007GC001894. S2CID   15045989.
  21. ↑ "NSF Award Search: Award#1550482 - SI2-SSI: Collaborative Research: ENKI: Software Infrastructure that ENables Knowledge Integration for Modeling Coupled Geochemical and Geodynamical Processes". Nsf.gov. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  22. 1 2 "Models create a virtual carbon laboratory". Deep Carbon Observatory. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  23. ↑ "Deep Earth Water Model". Deep Carbon Observatory. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  24. ↑ "Award Abstract #8451694: Presidential Young Investigator Award". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  25. ↑ Ghiorso, Mark S. (January 1983). "LSEQIEQ: a FORTRAN IV subroutine package for the analysis of multiple linear regression problems with possibly deficient pseudorank and linear equality and inequality constraints". Computers & Geosciences. 9 (3): 391–416. Bibcode:1983CG......9..391G. doi:10.1016/0098-3004(83)90008-0.
  26. ↑ "Computers & Geosciences - Best Paper Award (1978 – )". Awards & Honors. International Association for Mathematical Geosciences. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  27. ↑ "Mineralogical Society of America - MSA Officers and Councillors".
  28. ↑ http://enki-portal.org
  29. ↑ "CTserver Web services". MELTS. OFM Research. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  30. ↑ "PhasePlot Help Center". Phaseplot.org. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  31. ↑ "MagmaSat on the Mac App Store". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  32. ↑ Ghiorso, Mark S.; Gualda, Guilherme A. R. (5 June 2015). "An H2O–CO2 mixed fluid saturation model compatible with rhyolite-MELTS". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 169 (6): 53. Bibcode:2015CoMP..169...53G. doi:10.1007/s00410-015-1141-8. S2CID   92964723.
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