Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Jeffrey Amato
CIRES Visiting Fellow
2012-2013

Sabbatical
Ph.D., Stanford University

Project: Using Hf isotopes and U-Pb ages of detrital zircons to characterize the provenance of Cambrian and Grenville-age sandstones in the Cordillera

Jeffrey Amato is a professor at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. His main research interests are structural geology, tectonics, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry.

While at CIRES, Amato is working with Lang Farmer to use the age and isotopic composition of zircons (a type of mineral) to match sediment to its source region. “If we can determine the source areas of sediment, it will significantly improve our understanding of the paleogeography during the early Paleozoic,” he says. “One possible implication of the work is that we may be able to improve our ability to determine the transportation directions of ancient rivers, as well as evaluate longshore drift directions on the coastline 500 million years ago.” Amato is also studying the origin of the distinctive 1080 Ma (mega-years) and 510 Ma igneous rocks in the western U.S.

Over the past 20-plus years, Amato has conducted research in such remote mountainous areas as Alaska, central Siberia, and islands in the Bering Sea. “Doing field work with students is the one of the most rewarding aspects of my research projects,” he says. “I try to let my students see that sometimes I am just as confused as they are when we start a field study. It’s great when we reach a point where the pieces begin to fit together.”

While in Colorado, he is looking forward to climbing in Eldorado Canyon as well as “seeing live music and playing golf, though not at the same time,” he says.

Sponsor: Lang Farmer