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Contact Information:
Stephen J. Mojzsis
Associate Professor of Geology
University of Colorado at Boulder
Benson Earth Sciences
2200 Colorado Avenue
Boulder, Co. 80309
office: 303-492-5014
lab: 303-735-5021
fax: (303) 492-2606
Now recruiting Ph.D. graduate students for Fall 2008 - please send me an email
Recent Research (2005-2007):
- Pre-3.75 billion-year-old sedimentary rocks in northern Quebec
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, geologists discovered the pre-3.7 billion-year-old Akilia association and Isua supracrustal
belt rocks in West Greenland. These discoveries forever changed our views of the establishment of the habitable Earth, but were
nevertheless confined to parts of Greenland and coastal Labrador. In 2001, Canadian geologists discovered rocks as old as 3.8
billion years in northern Quebec. We have provided detailed documentation of the geology of a small part of this "new" old
terrane. Work in the coming years with our Canadian and other colleagues will further bring to light the ages and origins of
these rocks. It may now be possible to test global models for chemical change in the early Archean.
- Widespread supracrustal rocks in southern West Greenland
We explore the oldest geological records that provide hints about the nature of the
surface environment of Earth in the first billion years. Every year more and more pre-3.6 billion year old
rocks of sedimentary origin are discovered. This means that our understanding of this pivotal time period
will surely continue to grow.
- Geology, age & origin of the oldest known sediments
All rocks older than ~3.5 Ga have been severely metamorphosed. The oldest rocks of probable marine
sedimentary origin that we know of are on Akilia (island) in West Greenland. We and our collaborators
have explored these in great detail.
- Multiple sulfur isotope analysis of Paleoproterozoic sulfur
How did the surface redox state of the Earth change in the Paleoproterozoic in response to changes
in oxygen concentration in the atmosphere that in turn drove changes in metabolic styles of life.
- Hadean zircons and the extent of continental crust on the earliest Earth
The dominant paradigm has been that the Hadean-Eoarchean Earth was either Moon-like, or covered in oceans.
Instead, research with our colleagues has shown that the weight of the evidence seems to favor extensive
continental crust on Earth since 4.4-4.5.
Some of Our Collaborating Laboratories:
- Australian National University, Research School of Earth Sciences
- Center for Applied Geoscience, University of Tuebingen
- Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques
- UCLA Ion Microprobe Facility
- Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, RPI
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, McGill University
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago
- Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute
- Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Courses Offered:
GEOL 1020: Introduction to Geology 1 (offered Summer session 2007)
GEOL 1020: Introduction to Geology 2 (next offered Spring 2008)
GEOL 3300: ET life
GEOL 4500: Critical Thinking in Earth Sciences: Origin of Life (alternate years)
GEOL 4700/5700: Archean and Proterozoic Geology (alternate years)
GEOL 5700: Cosmochemistry (next offered Fall 2008)
GEOL 5700-006: Planetary Field Geology (Fall 2006)
ASTR/GEOL 5835: Planetary Habitability Seminar (Spring 2006)
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Graduate Program in Planetary Sciences
University of Colorado at Boulder
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado
The Center for Astrobiology at the University of Colorado
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado
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