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K-State Today

October 7, 2020

Geologist receives three-year National Science Foundation grant

Submitted by Office of the Vice President for Research

Matthew Brueseke, professor and director of graduate studies in the geology department, has been awarded a $240,000 National Science Foundation grant for his project "Investigating out-of-sequence magmatism and mantle plume-lithosphere interactions adjacent to the Snake River plain."

Brueseke will investigate small-volume volcanoes to provide an analog, which will better identify hotspots in the geological record. The research will also show new limitations on how the Yellowstone hotspot interacts with North America. This data will be used to help refine models for the origin and eruptive history of volcanism associated with the hotspot.

The project will include field mapping focused on the relations between structures and igneous activity, geochronology and geochemistry. This multidisciplinary approach will be used to unravel the spatial-temporal magmatic history adjacent to the youngest part of the Snake River Plain-Yellowstone hotspot track.

"This grant demonstrates that NSF supports our cutting-edge petrology-tectonics research here in the department," Brueseke said.

The grant will support research by K-State undergraduate and graduate students over the next three years. The grant will prepare students for future geoscience careers by offering both field and laboratory work.