I obtained my BSc at the Arizona State University (2017) and MSc at the University of Texas at Dallas (2019) in Geology. I started my PhD at the University of Kiel in April 2021, focusing on the evolution of the Greater Antilles intra-oceanic convergent margin magmatism.
Title of PhD Research Proposal: "The Greater Antilles Arc of Cuba, a natural laboratory to understand the evolution of intra-oceanic convergent margin magmatism"
Abstract
Intra-oceanic convergent margins (IOCMs) represent the oceanic end members of arc-trench system where juvenile continental crust is generated by magmatic activity associated with plate tectonics (Stern, 2010). IOCMs are better places to study how the mantle generates arc magmas and continental crust than continental arcs like the Andes because IOCM magmas are not contaminated by pre-existing continental crust. IOCMs comprise about 40% of convergent plate margins, and the best-known examples include the arcs of Izu-Bonin-Mariana, Tonga-Kermadec, Vanuatu, Solomon, New Britain, the western part of the Aleutian arc, South Sandwich, and the Lesser Antilles (Leat and Larter, 2003). Understanding how arc magmas are produced and how these compositions change over the life of an arc are key scientific questions. The main difficulty to study IOCM is that they are mostly submerged below sea level, but the fossil Cuban IOCM is uplifted above sea level and ready to be studied. In this proposal, we plan geologic traverses through Central Cuba where the best-preserved sections of the Greater Antilles fossil convergent margin crop out. We aim to collect samples of volcanic and plutonic igneous rocks of the exposed arc in central Cuba to perform detailed petrographic studies, mineral geochemical and whole-rock major- and trace-element geochemical analyses as well as geochronological study, radiogenic isotope, and to better understand the magmatic evolution of the Cuban IOCM. We expect that the result of our studies will have a significant impact on future studies of the Greater Antilles IOCM global understanding of intra-oceanic convergent margin magmatism.
Contact:
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Institute of Geosciences
Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Science
Ludewig-Meyn-Straße 10, 460
24118 Kiel, Germany
E Mail: haoyu.hu@asu.edu