Dear Colleagues:
Sorry for the mass email, but attached here is a short description and
call for applications for our 2-wk workshop on thermochronology and
(U-Th)/He dating for undergrads this summer. Please address any questions
to Peter Reiners or John Garver.
Thanks,
Peter

The Helium Dating Workshop at Yale (HeDWaY 2005) is a two-week workshop on
thermochronology for undergraduate geology students, aimed primarily at
students from undergraduate institutions who are working on their senior
theses (or similar final projects) in the summer of their last year. The
goals of the workshop are: 1) to provide an opportunity for students to
perform (U-Th)/He chronometric analyses on their own samples, related to
projects and/or field areas that are part of their larger research
project; and 2) to provide training and experience in the fundamentals of
geochronology/thermochronology, diffusion, and analytical techniques, as
well as an appreciation for the versatility of thermochronologic
approaches in studying a range of geologic processes.

HeDWaY 2005 will be run the first two weeks of July 2005 by Peter Reiners
and John Garver, and will accommodate 6-7 students. Room and board on
campus at Yale will be provided by HeDWaY. More information on the program
and updates can be found at: http://www.geology.yale.edu/~reiners/hedway/

This year participating students will be selected based on applications
comprising a short project proposal and a letter of recommendation from a
faculty advisor. Applications are due no later than 5 p.m. (EST), 15
February 2005. Applicants will be notified of the outcome no later than 1
March 2005.

Applications for HeDWaY 2005 should include a 2-3 page description of the
background, methods, expected results, importance, and other information
on the student's proposed thermochronometric work, and how it complements
the larger body of work that will be their senior thesis or other research
project at their own institution. In addition, applicants should have
their faculty advisor send a letter of recommendation. Applications from
students between their junior and senior years are generally preferred,
because we prefer work that will be incorporated into senior theses or
similar projects, but applications from students at other stages will also
be accepted. Send electronic materials or questions to:
[log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask]

Rationale and general description

The goal of this workshop is to introduce undergraduate geology students
to (U-Th)/He chronometry and radioisotopic dating through analysis and
interpretation of their own samples and data, in the context of their own
research projects. Through both hands-on analyses and interpretations, as
well as daily informal lectures, students will learn fundamentals of
radioisotopic dating, laboratory techniques, analytical instrumentation,
basics of heat and mass diffusion modeling, and something about each
others' research projects and the versatility of thermochronometry.

Each student's project should focus on a small set of samples to be dated
by (U-Th)/He methods. Ideally, a student's accomplishments at this
workshop should complement a larger research project such as a senior
thesis or other type of independent research supervised by the student's
faculty advisor at his or her home institution. Examples of potential
workshop projects include apatite or zircon He dating of a small group of
samples (5 to 10) intended to: [a] elucidate spatial and temporal patterns
of erosion or tectonic exhumation in a regional tectonic or geomorphologic
study; [b] date detrital crystals in a sedimentary basin to constrain
provenance or depositional age; [c] date an impact site, volcanic unit, or
other thermal event. Creative and experimental applications are also
encouraged; e.g., attempts to measure helium ages on phases not typically
analyzed, such as pseudotachylite, glass, uraninite, magnetite, etc., or
attempts to constrain timing and intensity of hydrothermal heating, or
measurements of He contents in air.

Important Practical Issues

[1] Students must arrive with mineral separates already prepared and ready
to pick under the microscope. We will not perform mineral separations
here, so please insure that good clean mineral separates are completed and
available well before the workshop starts.

[2] Students (and their faculty advisors) should be prepared for the
possibility that their chosen samples/field area may not have useable
material for (U-Th)/He dating. This is especially important for apatite He
dating, as the method has stringent requirements of crystal morphology and
purity. Please have a backup plan.

[3] There is no requirement for direct faculty involvement in the
workshop, beyond general supervision of student research and help with
data interpretation at the student's home institution. If faculty would
like to attend and participate in the workshop however, they are certainly
more than welcome at any point, to learn about the technique and to
facilitate future use of the lab by other students or themselves.

Accommodations, food, other logistics

We are working on the final arrangements for room and board, but will
likely be similar to those in HeDWaY 2004 (see
http://www.geology.yale.edu/~reiners/hedway/). Room and board will be
provided, but in general students or their home institutions or
departments must pay for travel to Yale. Exceptions to this can be
considered for special cases.

Tentative schedule

The general daily routine will be a combination of laboratory work and one
or two one-hour lectures, broken up by lunch. There will be one day of a
local field trip, and one day off.

After a day of orientation, lab safety training, and some general
introductory stuff, we will start with sample preparation. This mostly
involves sample picking under the microscopes for the first few days.
Because we only have three picking microscopes, and also because no one
can or wants to pick for more than a few hours at a time, students will
take turns picking, and doing some library research in the first few days.
As samples become ready, students will process them on the He line. This
means running the laser to extract He, and operating the programs that
spike, purify, and measure the gas.

Students will then perform wet chemistry involved with spiking,
dissolution, and measurement of U, Th, and Sm on the high-resolution
ICP-MS. After calculating ages from their measured data, and making
corrections for alpha ejection, students will learn how to interpret He
ages, in terms of forward and inverse thermal models, complexities that
arise from topography, non-constant geothermal gradients, and other
factors.

Finally, students will compile and synthesize their data and relate them
to their larger project, and prepare a short (20 minute) presentation for
the group on their results.  Presentation at a national or regional
meeting will then be encouraged.

HeDWaY is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Yale Dept. of
Geology and Geophysics.
_________________________________________

Peter W. Reiners
[log in to unmask]
http://www.geology.yale.edu/~reiners/
Phone: 203-432-3761
Fax: 203-432-3134

Geology & Geophysics Department
Yale University
P.O. Box 208109
New Haven, CT 06520-8109

Street address:
Kline Geology Laboratory
210 Whitney Ave.
New Haven, CT 06511
__________________________________________