Lake Sunapee from near the summit of Mount
Sunapee. Photo by Destiny Saxon.
I have diverse research interests ranging from "hard-rock" geology to hydrology, and more. Much of my work involves the application of geochemistry and/or geophysics. I co-direct the KSC Center for Environmental BioGeoChemistry, which includes laboratory facilities and instrumentation for elemental and stable isotopic analyses or a wide range of sample types
In Fall 2005, I will be working with James Stemp, from KSC's Anthropology Department, to determine the trace element composition of ancient Mayan obsidian artifacts, in order to determine the source of origin of these materials. That information will help improve understanding of economic systems and relationships in this ancient civilization.
Joe Pyle, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has funding from the NSF to study the "Thermal structure of the central New England Acadian-to-Alleghenian metamorphic high, through regional correlation of accessory-phase paragenesis." I am supplyling samples for his work, and may collaborate further as things develop.
Some water supply wells in the Lake Sunapee area have been found to have very high levels of Uranium. Some rocks in the area are known for secondary Uranium mineralization, but where did this Uranium come from and how is it getting into these water supply wells? Recent geological mapping by my students and I suggests that the Uranium Mineralization might be related to previously un-recognized Mesozoic normal faults.
I am working with Melinda Treadwell, from KSC's Safety Studies Department, helping her to analyze the chemical composition, metal species in particular, of fine airborne particulate matter. We are trying to determine how the composition of fine particulate matter varies from locale to locale (i.e. at rural, urban, and source-specific monitoring sites).
I am working with Rosalind Renfrew of the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences to investigate the use of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to obtain trace element analyses from bird feathers, and assess the usefulness of the data so obtained in discriminating between populations of Neotropical migrant birds. Dr. Renfrew will also be doing stable isotope analyses of these same bird feathers.
My students and I have found elevated levels of Lead, Copper and other toxic elements in sediments of the Ashuelot River in Keene. We are now mapping out the extent and distribution of contamination at selected sites.
I have been working with students on a detailed geologic mapping project in the vicinity of Lake Sunapee in West-Central New Hampshire to elucidate the structural and geologic relations between and among the Mount Clough, Cardigan, and Sunapee Plutons, as well as the intervening septum of metasediments and smaller satellite plutons. This mapping has identified some important "horst-and-graben" fault structures in the area. The uranium mineralization in the area could be related to these faults, and I am hoping to evaluate offset on one of the faults by comparison of metamorphic histories.
Lake Sunapee from near the summit of Mount Sunapee. Photo by Destiny Saxon.
Brian Fowler, Thom Davis, Dyk Eusden, Woody Thompson, John Creasy and I are planning to write a book for the interested public about the Geology of the White Mountains, following the success of a field trip we all co-led through the area in 2001.From 1990-1992, I studied migmatites in Pinkham Notch and the Wildcat-Carter-Moriah mountains to the east, and still have some interest in furthering understanding of these rocks.
There are still some interesting un-resolved questions regarding some problematic monazite age data that Harold Smith and I obtained from metamorphic rocks I collected along the Braldu River in the Karakorum Mountains of northern Pakistan back in 1987 and 1988.
Tonga Sohka Lumba, from the Braldu River, Baltistan, Northern Pakistan.
My students and I have undertaken a variety of projects to assess the dynamics of the hydrologic cylce, particularly as they relate to groundwater recharge mechanisms and rates. A compilation of undergraduate research projects in this area was presented in a poster session in 1998.
Timothy Thorpe Allen, Ph.D.
Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies
Keene State College, Keene, NH, USA.
Courses
