Maria A. Mange
Ph.D, Lorand Eotvos Science University, Budapest, Hungary (1975);
D.I.C. Imperial College, London (1979)
Research Associate

Sedimentary mineralogy and petrography, heavy mineral geochemistry, heavy mineral and tectono-stratigraphy. High-resolution heavy mineral analysis applied to sedimentary sequences to determine provenance, map the temporal and spatial evolution of ancient dispersal systems and to reconstruct the evolution and unroofing phases of orogenic regimes. Concept of research is to consider the heavy mineralogy of detrital sediments as archives, recording the nature of processes which controlled and determined their character from source to sink and beyond. Significant phases in basin evolution are also preserved in these mineralogical archives. Environmental and climatic changes are encoded in the morphology and preservation of the grains. Climatic oscillations and tectonic pulses are also reflected by fluctuating sediment flux with differing heavy mineral compositions, as a result of changing hinterland and drainage. Heavy mineral geochemistry has diverse applications and amongst others provides clues on primary source lithologies. The study of heavy minerals finds important application in reservoir characterization, zonation and correlation. Results of optical mineralogy can be integrated with magnetostratigraphy, paleontology and a variety of applied techniques. Interdisciplinary research includes geoarchaeology and forensic sciences.

mange@geology.ucdavis.edu
(530)752-5829