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Exhumation and Erosion history of the Intermontane Belt This project aims to investigate the erosional evolution of the southern Intermontane Belt. This area of low-relief topography is situated between the mountainous topography of the Coast Belt to the west and the Omineca Belt to the east. Kade Damant is leading this project and collected samples across the Intermontane Belt in southern B.C (2019) and south-central B.C. (2020). Together with undergraduate student Scott Tiede and Alyson McDougall he will use a multi-method approach to reveal the thermal history of rocks from 250–60 C. Funding for this project comes from NSERC (Discovery Grant to Enkelmann and graduate fellowship to Damant) and from Geoscience BC (graduate fellowship to Damant). |
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Thermal Evolution of sedimentary strata in southwestern Northwest Territories
This project investigates the thermal evolution of the Palaeozoic–Cenozoic sedimentary basins in western and southwestern Northwest Territories. The research is conducted in collaboration with the Energy Group of NWT Geological Survey that aims to develop a new basin model and evaluate the potential for geothermal energy production. In July 2019 we conducted fieldwork along the eastern front of the Mackenzie Mountains. Sample collection in 2020 and 2021 will focus in the south-western NWT. Graduate student Tais Fontes Pinto will work in this project using low-temperature thermochornology and thermal history modeling. Funding for this project comes from the Northwest Territories Geological Survey and the NSERC- Discovery Grant awarded to Enkelmann. |
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Quantifying timing and amount of faulting along the central Rocky Mountain Trench
This project is conducted in collaboration with Hersh Gilbert (University of Calgary) who is using seismic data to investigate the subsurface structure in the Valemount B.C. area. We will use low-temperature thermochronology to measure the time and amount of displacement across the rocky mountain trench. Graduate student Kelley Fraser is conducting apatite FT analysis, while undergraduate student Ryan Grieco and Kade Damant conduct apatite and zircon U-Th/He dating. Funding for this projects come from NSERC-Discovery Grant awarded to Enkelmann Publications: *Fraser, K., Enkelmann, E., Jess, S., Gilbert, H., Grieco, R., 2021. Resolving the Cenozoic History of rock Exhumation along the central Rocky Mountain Trench using apatite low-temperature thermochronology. Tectonics, 40, e2021TC006847. |
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The longevity of hot springs
This project investigates how old hot springs are. This question is important to evaluate their reliability for hydrothermal explorations. We use thermal modelling and multiple low-temperature thermochronometers to estimate the the time when thermal spring activity started. There are many hot springs found across the Canadian Cordillera that coincide with the. location of major structures such as the Rocky Mountain Trench or the Columbia River Fault. This project is conducted by Dr. Scott Jess. This research is funded by the Geological Society of London (to Dr. Jess) and NSERC-Discovery Grant (to Dr. Enkelmann) Publications: Jess, S., Enkelmann, E., Grasby, S., Fraser, K., 2021. Determining the longevity of hydrothermal systems using thermochronology and thermal modelling. JGR-Earth Surface 126, e2021JF006286. |
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Dating Appalachian uplift
This project aims to define the age of the modern Appalachian topography. We are using the newly developed laser ablation (U-Th)/He method on detrital apatite. Dr. Scott Jess collected sand from various rivers across the Appalachians. The resulting age spectra will be used to determine the timing of erosion across the region and help resolve when uplift occurred. Additionally, the detrital zircon and apatite U-Pb ages will allow us to get a better understanding of the sediment source within the catchments. This research is funded by E. Enkelmann’s startup grant and NSERC-DG. |
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This project was funded by Natural Resources Canada and NSERC- Discovery Grant awarded to Enkelmann.
This project was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Hadlari from the Geological Survey of Canada. We investigate the deformation history at the eastern margin of the Northern Canadian Cordillera. We conducted fieldwork in the Richardson Mountains in summer 2018 and used apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He analysis and thermal history modelling to quantify phases of deformation and erosion. This project was conducted by Ryan McKay as part of his master thesis project. Ryan graduate in summer 2020 and works now at the Silvertip mine in northern BC.. Publications: *McKay, R., Enkelmann, E., Hadlari, T., Matthews, W., Mouthereau, F. 2021. Cenozoic exhumation history of the eastern margin of the northern Canadian Cordillera. Tectonics, 40, e2020TC006582. |
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This project was funded by the American Chemical Society - Petroleum Research Fund (start 9/2015) and conducted in collaboration with Richard Lease (USGS Alaska).
We aimed to investigate the 7 Myr long offshore sedimentary record of the Gulf of Alaska to investigate the changes in rock exhumation in southeast Alaska. We used geo- and thermochronology methods (zircon U-Pb and fission track dating) on industry borehole samples as well as bedrock dating of the coastal mountains in the Yakutat Bay Area. Publications: *Schartman, A., Enkelmann, E., Garver, J.I., Davidson, C. 2019. Lithosphere. https://doi.org/10.1130/L1011.1 *Bootes, N., Enkelmann, E.,Lease, R., 2019. Tectonics doi: 10.1029/2019TC005497 |
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The ultimate goal of this research is to better understand the dynamics of the upper plate as a result of flat-slab subduction along convergent margins, including the magmatic, topographic, erosional, and depositional response to this process. We investigate the Late Cretaceous – Cenozoic sedimentary deposits of the Cook Inlet basin in southcentral Alaska, which constitute a complete sedimentary record of forearc basin strata deposited during subduction of normal oceanic crust, flat-slab subduction of a spreading ridge, and by subduction of an oceanic plateau. This 3 year project is funded by the National Science Foundation - Tectonics (start 9/2014) and a collaboration with Emily Finzel (University of Iowa)
Publications: Enkelmann, E., *Sanchez Lohff, SK., Finzel, FS 2019. GSA Bulletin Reid, MR, Finzel, E, Enkelmann, E., McClelland, WC., 2018. GSA Special Volume Finzel, E. & Enkelmann, E., 2017. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 18, 1739– 1760. Finzel, E., Enkelmann, E., *Falkowski, S., Hedeen, T., 2016. Tectonics, 35, 7, 1735-1759. |
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In this project we investigated the exhumation history of the St. Elias Syntaxis region. This project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG grant EN341/1-2, 2011-2015)
Publications: Enkelmann, E & Falkowski, S., 2021 Geosphere 17. Enkelmann, Piestrzeniewicz, A., Falkowski, S., et al., 2017. EPSL 457, 348–358. *Falkowski, S. & Enkelmann, E. 2016. Lithosphere, 8, 359–378. *Falkowski, S., Enkelmann, E. Drost, K., et al., 2016. Tectonics, 35, 447-468. Enkelmann, E., Koons, P.O., Pavlis, T.L., et al., 2015. Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 5838–5846. Enkelmann, E., Valla, P.G., Champagnac, J.-D., 2015. Quaternary Science Review, 113, 23–38. *Falkowski, S., Enkelmann, E., Ehlers, T.A. 2014. Tectonics 33, 597–616. *Grabowski, D., Enkelmann, E., Ehlers, T.A. 2013. JGR-Earth Surface, 118, 1-18. |
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In this project we used detrital apatite and zircon dating (fission track and U-Th/He dating) derived from IODP Expedition 341 borehole material to investigate the sediment transport from the St. Elias to the Gulf of Alaska. This 2 year project was funded by the National Science Foundation - Ocean Drilling Program and conducted in collaboration with Ken Ridgway (Purdue), John Jaeger (U. Florida), Sean Gulick (U. Texas), Robert Reece (Texas A&M) and Ellen Cowan (Appalachian State University).
Publications: *Dunn, C.A., Enkelmann, E., Ridgway, K.D., Allen, W.K., 2017. Source to sink evaluation of sediment routing in the Gulf of Alaska and Southeast Alaska: a thermochronometric perspective. JGR-Earth Surface, 122, 711-734. |
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The Cenozoic evolution of the Mackenzie Mountains has not been investigated because fundamental field-based observations and analytical data that can address those questions are lacking. We conducted a reconnaissance trip in July–August 2014 to the Mackenzie Mountains with the goal to collect field observations including structural and geomorphologic data, and to collect samples for various dating techniques that allow quantification of the rates and timing of surface uplift and erosion over thousand and million-year time scales. This expedition was funded by the National Geographics Society – Explorer Fund (2014).
Publications: Enkelmann, E., Finzel, E., Arkle, J. 2019. Deformation at the eastern margin of the Northern Canadian Cordillera: potentially related to opening of the North Atlantic. Terra Nova 31, 3. |
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