Lynne Elkins
Lecturer and Lab Coordinator
Contact Information:
Bryn Mawr College
Department of Geology
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Office Location: 193 Park Science Building
Phone: (610)526-7971
Fax: (610)526-5086
email: lelkins(at)brynmawr.edu
Fields of Study:
Igneous geochemistry
Mantle chemical structure and evolution
Uranium series isotopes Igneous geochemistry
Volcanology and volcanic hazards
Research Interests:
I am interested in both the long-term chemical evolution of the Earth's mantle, and mantle magma production and transport on shorter time scales. To examine these problems, I use major element chemistry, trace element chemistry, and variations in long- and short-lived radiogenic isotopes to study the means by which melts form in the planet's interior, how those melts are transported, and why they vary from place to place on the Earth's surface. In particular I study the chemistry and isotopes of volcanic materials erupted at slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges, where new crust is being formed. The processes by which lavas reach the mid-ocean ridges are proving to be highly complex, requiring imperfect mixing of magmas from different depths and a combination of quilibrium and disequilibrium processes during magma transport.
Selected Publications:
Elkins, L.J., Sims, K.W.W., Prytulak, J., Fretzdorff, S., Elliott, T., Humphris, S., Schilling, J.-G., in prep., Mantle temperature control on slow- and ultraslow spreading ridges in the Arctic from 238U and 230Th, for submission to Nature.
Elkins, L.J., Sims, K.W.W., Prytulak, J., Blichert-Toft, J., Blusztajn, J., Fretzdorff, S., Reagan, M., Haase, K., Elliott, T., Humphris, S., Schilling, J.-G., in prep., Generation of 231Pa, 226Ra, 238U, and 230Th excesses in Arctic mid-ocean ridge basalts from the Kolbeinsey, Mohns, Knipovich, and Gakkel Ridges, for submission to Earth Planet Sci. Lett.
Elkins, L.J., Sims, K.W.W., Prytulak, J., Mattielli, N., Elliott, T., Blichert-Toft, J., Blusztajn, J., Devey, C., Mertz, M., Murrell, M., Schilling, J.-G., in prep., Melt generation beneath the slow-spreading Kolbeinsey Ridge from 238U, 230Th, and 231Pa excesses, for submission to Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.
Elkins, L.J., Gaetani, G.A., Sims., K.W.W., 2008, Partitioning of U and Th during garnet pyroxenite partial melting: Constraints on the source of alkaline ocean island basalts, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 265, 270-286.
Selected Presentations:
Elkins, L.J., Sims, K.W.W., Prytulak, J., Blichert-Toft, J., Mattielli, N., Elliott, T., Devey, C., Mertz, D., Kelemen, P., Murrell, M., Schilling, J.-G., 2009, (234U/238U) and (230Th/238U) disequilibria in fresh and altered Kolbeinsey Ridge basalts, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, Goldschmidt Suppl., 73 (13), Suppl. 1, A325.
Elkins, L.J., Sims, K.W.W., Prytulak, J., Mattielli, N., Elliott, T., Blichert-Toft, J., Devey, C., Fretzdorff, S., Mertz, D., Kelement, P., Murrell, M. Schilling, J.-G., Humphris, S., 2008, Insights into melting processes on slow-spreading ridges north of Iceland from U, Th, Ra, and Pa isotopes, IAVCEI 2008 General Assembly, 1c/1e P05.
Elkins, L.J., Sims, K.W.W., Prytulak, J., Mattielli, N., Elliott, T., Kelemen, P., Mertz, D., Devey, C., Blichert- Toft, J., Schilling, J.-G., 2007, Constraints on Melting Beneath the Slow-Spreading Kolbeinsey Ridge from 238U, 230Th, and 231Pa Excesses, EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meeting Suppl., V21B-0607.
Elkins, L.J., Gaetani, G.A., Sims, K.W.W., 2006, Mineral/melt partitioning of U and Th during partial melting of garnet pyroxenite, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, Goldschmidt Suppl., 70 (18) 159.