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Ben D. Stanley

B.A., 2005, Oberlin College
Major: Geology
Minor: Physics

Ph.D., 2012, UMN

Lab: 261 Kolthoff Hall

Email: stan0525 at umn.edu

Download a PDF version
of my CV here

Connect with me on Academia.edu



Research Interests

My dissertation research focused on the role of volatiles in martian magmatic processes with a view towards understanding how the early martian atmosphere may have developed. My first paper was a study of CO2 solubility in martian basalts as a function of pressure and temperature in order to determine the possible thickness of the initial martian atmosphere. Thermodynamic calculations published by Hirschmann and Withers (2008) indicate that CO2 degassing from a graphite-bearing, reduced mantle is slow and could not lead to an atmosphere capable of sustaining liquid water on the surface. These data create questions regarding the current formation models of the martian atmosphere. However, these calculations were found experimentally from terrestrial basalts and so my work focused on calibrating these calculations on martian basaltic compositions.

Mars


Subsequent work has focused on the compositional dependence of CO2 solubility by utilizing a more primitive martian composition based on the olivine-pyric shergottite Yamato 980459. My dissertation research was wrapped up with a study on the solubility of C-O-H volatiles in graphite-saturated martian basalts, as my two previous studies were based on models of such systems and experiments were still required to validate the assumptions. I have shifted topics since defending my dissertation and will be focusing on the variables involved in melting of peridotite in the terrestrial mantle.

All of my experiments are analyzed using the JEOL JXA-8900 electron microprobe at UMN. Volatile abundances are determined using the Bruker FTIR in our Experimental Petrology Group and the SIMS at Arizona State University.



Teaching

Laboratory courses taught in the past:




Peer-Reviewed Articles
* - undergraduate student author


Conference Presentations
* - undergraduate student author

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