October 19, 2007
Contact: Emanuel Costache '09
Media Relations Intern
413/542-2321
Caroline Jenkins
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.—Peter D. Crowley, professor of geology at Amherst College, will present an original research study titled “Crystallographic Fabrics of the Martin Bridge Limestone, Wallowa Mountains: An Electron-Backscattered Diffraction Study” at the upcoming 119th annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA). More than 6,300 geoscientists are expected to attend the conference, which will take place Oct. 27 to 31 in Denver.
Crowley’s research focuses on the Wallowa Terrane, part of the Blue Mountains region of Oregon, Idaho and Washington. By studying the metamorphism and deformation of the Martin Bridge limestone in this area of the Pacific Northwest, Crowley hopes to better understand the nature of the events surrounding the amalgamation of the Blue Mountain terrain.
Research has revealed that the intrusion of magma into this limestone area changed the limestone to marble. Crowley’s studies have shown that the lattice orientation of the mineral crystals in the marble gives clues about the deformation of the limestone and whether that process occurred before or after the limestone was transformed into marble. By examining the minerals formed in such a geological event, Crowley has been able to infer the temperature and pressure that metamorphosed the limestone. In addition, he has been able to map the orientation, or the arrangement, of minerals using the electron-backscattering diffraction method and concluded that the limestone was deformed before it was transformed into marble. He will discuss this and all of his findings at the GSA meeting at the end of the month.
A member of the Amherst College faculty since 1986, Crowley regularly teaches courses in structural geology and geophysics. He was chair of the geology department from 1995 to 1998 and director of Amherst’s Museum of Natural History from 2002 to 2007.