Mark Barton
Professor, Geosciences
Adjunct Professor, Mining and Geological Engineering
Director, Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Mark Barton is Professor of Geology and Geochemistry at the University of Arizona and Co-Director of the UA Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. Mark grew up in the Washington DC area, graduating from high school in 1974. He earned BS and MS degrees from Virginia Tech (1977, 1978) and a PhD from the University of Chicago (1981) where he was an NSF and McCormick Fellow. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the Geophysical Laboratory (Carnegie Institution of Washington), he taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for 6 years (Asst Prof 1984-88, Assoc Prof 88-90) before joining the faculty at the University of Arizona in 1990. His research interests and span many aspects of energy and mass transfer in the Earth's lithosphere and their applications to mineral deposits. Ongoing collaborative studies involve many mining companies and the USGS and were supported by these groups, the US National Science Foundation, Science Foundation Arizona, and the Keck Foundation among others. Ore deposit studies have focused on porphyry, IOCG, sediment-hosted Cu(-Co-Ag) and U(-V), and various precious metal systems, and their broader geologic context. His interests extend to the geochemistry, petrology and dynamics of broad range of other geologic systems, including arc-related magmatism and metamorphism, subduction zone processes, extensional tectonics, and fluid processes in sedimentary basins. Mark is a fellow of and has been active in several professional societies including the Society of Economic Geologists (Life Fellow), the Geological Society of America (Fellow), the Mineralogical Society of America (Life Fellow), the Society for Geology Applied to Ore Deposits (SGA), the Society for Mining, Mineralogy and Exploration (SME), the Geochemical Society, and the Arizona Geological Society. He has received awards from several of these, among them including the Lindgren (SEG) and MSA Award (MSA). He has served in various capacities including on editorial boards, on U.S. National Research Council Committees, and in other roles for professional societies and government panels. Since joining the UA faculty he has worked actively at the local and national levels to help secure the long term vitality of economic geology research and education in the United States. After 15 years directing the geology-focused, research-oriented "Center for Mineral Resources," he helped found the "Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources" (IMR) which is a state-, industry-, and privately-funded interdisciplinary organization for research and education that spans science and engineering to public health and policy related to mineral resources. In the early 2000s, he collaborated with his former PhD students David Johnson and Eric Jensen in developing Bronco Creek Exploration (now part of EMX Royalty, as of 2010).
Research Interest
My research interests span the general areas of mass and energy transfer in the lithosphere, particularly those involving fluids be they aqueous or melts. These topics are fundamental to undertanding the nature of mineral and energy resources, and how we make the best decisions about how they might (or might not) be used. Given this breadth, my work has tended to follow the greatest demand, particularly where funding (USGS, NSF, industry) was available and driven in part by the interests / needs of my graduate students. My original focus (and continuing interest) is in the fundamental stability of minerals and fluids, beginning with their structural and thermodynamic properties, and with their phase equilbria and geochemistry. Experimental, theoretical, and observational studies have continued with a handful of students who have, for instance, worked on the crystal chemistry and petrology of the tourmaline group (Ana Collins), the geochemistry of thallium (Shelby Rader), and the geochemistry of arsenic (Jenny Dabbs). Similarly, my early (mainly at UCLA) field and petrology focus was on the evolution of magmatism and metamorphism in arcs (contact metamorphism, evolution of Cordilleran magmatism, mass transfer processes in subduction zones). A few recent students have continued with these themes (e.g., James Girardi on Mesozoic magmatism in SW N Am, and coastal Chile), however most UA grad students (and applicants, of which there have been 40-60 per year) have been keen on applications to ore deposit (ore-forming systems) and related geochemical topics. The major themes here have been multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of the geologic systems that generate ore deposits of multiple types. Among these are the evolution or arcs and magmatic hydrothermal systems (e.g., porphyry Cu/Mo/Au), brine-dominated hydrothermal systems (e.g., Fe-oxide copper-gold; sediment-hosted Cu-Co-Ag-U), and precious metal deposits (including Carlin-type Au). These topics allow combination of rigorous field-based research (which appeals to and is needed by many students) with quantitive analytical and theoretical approaches. A corollary of this observation-based approach to mineral resource topics has been the abundance of industry support – partly because they recognize the value of this "basic" research, but more importantly because they are keen to help support rigorous field-related education at the graduate level. The UA is one of very few schools world-wide that does this, and our success with industry and in attracting students reflects that.
Offering Research Opportunities
Yes
Prerequisite Courses
Physical Geology
Majors Considered
Geosciences, Chemistry, Mining Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Hydrology
Description of Opportunity
No description given
