Department of Geosciences Dr. Kristin T. Huysken

Dr. Kristin T. Huysken  Assistant Professor  Marram 236  Phone: (219) 980-6739  FAX: (219) 980-6673  email: khuysken@iun.edu

EDUCATION:

Ph.D. Michigan State University, 1996 Igneous Petrology and Volcanology
M.S. Michigan State University, 1993
B.S. Central Michigan University, 1990

COURSES TAUGHT:

• G101 Introduction to Earth Science
• G107 Environmental Geology
• G221 Introductory Mineralogy
• G222 Introduction to Petrology
• G323 Structural Geology
• Cenozoic Volcanism in the Western U.S. G490

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Magmatic evolution of silicic systems
Rates of magmatic processes
Age and Volcanic history of the Southwest Nevada Volcanic Field

1200 km3 ash-flow sheet and  underlying tephra sequence,  SW  Nevada.	Very large lithic fragment entrained  in a mass-flow unit,  SW Nevada.
Stratified pumice- and ash-fall deposits,  SW Nevada.

Ash-flow eruptions provide us with instantaneous samples of the magma bodies from which they erupt. In southwestern Nevada, Late Cenozoic eruptions produced a series of very large volume (up to 1200 km3), chemically zoned, ash-flow sheets associated with Basin and Range extension. Many of these voluminous magmas shared the same plumbing system, forming nested calderas upon eruption. Recent effort has focused on determining the relationship among these magmas, however, questions as to the origin and evolution of these magmas still persist.

I have been working with Michigan State University and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, in an effort to decipher the magmatic history of this region. We have found that smaller-volume tephra deposits occurring stratigraphically between the voluminous ash-flow sheets, record chemical changes that took place in these large magmatic systems between major eruptive events. My research focuses on using these deposits to decipher the magmatic processes that account for the variation both within and among major ash-flow units. We are also using 40Ar/39Ar radiometric ages of individual tephra layers within these sequences to determine the time scales over which compositional changes take place. This is done in an effort to directly measure the rates at which magmatic processes occur.

Recent publications:

• Huysken, K.T., T.A. Vogel, and P.W. Layer, 1994, Incremental growth of a large volume, chemically zoned magma body: A study of the Tephra Sequence beneath the Rainier Mesa Ash-flow Sheet of the Timber Mountain Tuff, Bull. Volc., v.56, p. 377-385.
• Huysken, K.T., R. Wicander, and F.R. Ettensohn, 1992, Palynology and biostratigraphy of selected Middle and Upper Devonian Black-shale sections in Kentucky, Michigan Academician, v. 24, p. 355-368.
• Matty, D.J., K.T. Huysken, S.D. Stahl, and A. Heft, 1991, Development of the Peavy Pond Complex, Iron County, Michigan. Geology of Michigan and its Geological Resources Symposium II, Michigan Department of Natural Resources/ Geological Survey Division, p.12-14.
• Matty, D.J., S.D. Stahl, A. Heft, and K.T. Huysken, 1990, Petrologic and geochemical evolution of the Peavy Pond Complex, Iron County, Michigan, Institute on Lake Superior Geology Proceedings, v. 36, p. 40-42.

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