Benjamin Hallett PhD

Research

Teaching Assistant Professor, Department of Geology

& STEM Student Success Coordinator, College of Letters and Sciences

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

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My research seeks to understand the tectonic processes that create, reconfigure, and attenuate continental mountain belts. I am particularly interested in the metamorphic conditions and chemical reactions that cause partial melt to form in the thickened crust, and in how partially molten rocks (migmatites) may change their overall strength to affect the exhumation of the roots of mountain belts. I use a multi-faceted approach to study metamorphic and melting processes through time and space. Metamorphic mineral zoning patterns (growth and diffusional) provide powerful information on the pressure and temperature conditions experienced by a particular rock. I apply U/Th–Pb dating techniques to determine the metamorphic and melting history of migmatites, in order to put the conditions of melting and melt crystallization into a tectonic context. My research advances the understanding of metamorphic and geochemical evolution and the means to reconstruct the histories of compressional (and extensional) metamorphic terranes. By studying metamorphism and partial melted rocks in the field, my work sheds light on the processes that act to differentiate the earth’s crust, concentrate elements of economic interest, and contribute to the arrangement of crustal blocks now exposed at the surface.


See below for links to Ben’s research projects...

Benjamin Hallett's Research

(projects and links)


  1. • Proterozoic tectonics of northern New Mexico



  1. • Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range, Nevada



  1. • New England Appalachians



  1. • MetPetDB - The Database for Metamorphic Petrology



  1. • Valhalla Complex, British Columbia



  1. • North-East Greenland Eclogite Province



  1. • Bedrock Geologic Mapping for New Mexico Bureau of

     Geology and Mineral Resources (2005-2007)


As part of Sacramento Mountains Hyrdrogeology Study,

Solo mapper for quads (1:24,000):

  1. • Cloudcroft (Sacramento Mts.)

  2. • Mayhill (Sacramento Mts.)

  3. • Harvey Ranch (Sacramento Mts.)

  4. • Bluff Springs (Sacramento Mts.)

  5. • Rogers Ruins (Sacramento Mts.)


As part of the STATEMAP program,

Collaborator for quads (1:24,000):

  1. • Tres Ritos (Sangre de Cristo Mts.)

  2. • El Valle (Sangre de Cristo Mts.)

  3. • Alamogordo North (Sacramento Mts.)



  1. • Avalonian bedrock beneath Cape Cod (USGS)



  1. • Rincon Range, New Mexico (undergrad research)

Research tools:

  1. • Electron Microprobe / SEM

  2. • Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP-RG)

  3. • Laser Ablation ICP-MS

  4. • Laser Raman Microscopy

  5. • Cathodoluminescence Imaging

  6. • Thermodynamic Modeling

  7. • 2D Thermal Modeling

  8. • Medenbach Microdrill