The Mesoproterozoic (1.4-0.9 Ga) Grenville Orogeny led to the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia. One unique characteristic of the Grenville Orogeny is that it produced a volumetrically significant amount of zirconium- (Zr) enriched granitoids, evidently more than any period both prior to and after the Grenville. To investigate this further, Mesoproterozoic basement rocks were sampled along the axis of the current Appalachian Mountains from western North Carolina north to southern New York, as well as from the northern Andes in southern Colombia. Zircon was extracted from these rocks to exploit its propensity to incorporate several isotopic tracers useful in determining age, petrogenesis, and thermal conditions during crystallization. These include Uranium-Lead (U-Pb), Hafnium (Hf), the rare earth elements (REE), stable isotopes of Oxygen (O), and Titanium (Ti). Using these isotope systems together, the main goal of the research presented here is to better our understanding of the tectonic history of southeastern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic (Chapter 1), to investigate the potential link between Laurentia and Amazonia during the formation of Rodinia (Chapter 2), and to elucidate the tectonic processes responsible for creating Zr-enriched magmas (Chapter 3).
","abstract_html":"<p>The Mesoproterozoic (1.4-0.9 Ga) Grenville Orogeny led to the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia. One unique characteristic of the Grenville Orogeny is that it produced a volumetrically significant amount of zirconium- (Zr) enriched granitoids, evidently more than any period both prior to and after the Grenville. To investigate this further, Mesoproterozoic basement rocks were sampled along the axis of the current Appalachian Mountains from western North Carolina north to southern New York, as well as from the northern Andes in southern Colombia. Zircon was extracted from these rocks to exploit its propensity to incorporate several isotopic tracers useful in determining age, petrogenesis, and thermal conditions during crystallization. These include Uranium-Lead (U-Pb), Hafnium (Hf), the rare earth elements (REE), stable isotopes of Oxygen (O), and Titanium (Ti). Using these isotope systems together, the main goal of the research presented here is to better our understanding of the tectonic history of southeastern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic (Chapter 1), to investigate the potential link between Laurentia and Amazonia during the formation of Rodinia (Chapter 2), and to elucidate the tectonic processes responsible for creating Zr-enriched magmas (Chapter 3).</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Makovsky, Kyle"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Earth Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Samson, Scott D"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-05-23T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-05-23T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:56:04Z","subjects":["Grenville","Hf","O","Ti-in-zircon","U-Pb","Zircon","Earth Sciences","Geochemistry","Geology","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1400","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Samson, Scott D"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Makovsky, Kyle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Earth Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Grenville","Hf","O","Ti-in-zircon","U-Pb","Zircon","Earth Sciences","Geochemistry","Geology","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1400"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Mesoproterozoic (1.4-0.9 Ga) Grenville Orogeny led to the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia. One unique characteristic of the Grenville Orogeny is that it produced a volumetrically significant amount of zirconium- (Zr) enriched granitoids, evidently more than any period both prior to and after the Grenville. To investigate this further, Mesoproterozoic basement rocks were sampled along the axis of the current Appalachian Mountains from western North Carolina north to southern New York, as well as from the northern Andes in southern Colombia. Zircon was extracted from these rocks to exploit its propensity to incorporate several isotopic tracers useful in determining age, petrogenesis, and thermal conditions during crystallization. These include Uranium-Lead (U-Pb), Hafnium (Hf), the rare earth elements (REE), stable isotopes of Oxygen (O), and Titanium (Ti). Using these isotope systems together, the main goal of the research presented here is to better our understanding of the tectonic history of southeastern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic (Chapter 1), to investigate the potential link between Laurentia and Amazonia during the formation of Rodinia (Chapter 2), and to elucidate the tectonic processes responsible for creating Zr-enriched magmas (Chapter 3).
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Mesoproterozoic Basement From the Central and Southern Appalachians Reveal High-temperature Magmatic Conditions and Non-laurentian origin of Earth's Most Zircon Fertile Magmas"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Samson, Scott D"],"dc:creator":["Makovsky, Kyle"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Mesoproterozoic (1.4-0.9 Ga) Grenville Orogeny led to the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia. One unique characteristic of the Grenville Orogeny is that it produced a volumetrically significant amount of zirconium- (Zr) enriched granitoids, evidently more than any period both prior to and after the Grenville. To investigate this further, Mesoproterozoic basement rocks were sampled along the axis of the current Appalachian Mountains from western North Carolina north to southern New York, as well as from the northern Andes in southern Colombia. Zircon was extracted from these rocks to exploit its propensity to incorporate several isotopic tracers useful in determining age, petrogenesis, and thermal conditions during crystallization. These include Uranium-Lead (U-Pb), Hafnium (Hf), the rare earth elements (REE), stable isotopes of Oxygen (O), and Titanium (Ti). Using these isotope systems together, the main goal of the research presented here is to better our understanding of the tectonic history of southeastern Laurentia during the Mesoproterozoic (Chapter 1), to investigate the potential link between Laurentia and Amazonia during the formation of Rodinia (Chapter 2), and to elucidate the tectonic processes responsible for creating Zr-enriched magmas (Chapter 3).
"],"dc:identifier":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1400"],"dc:subject":["Grenville","Hf","O","Ti-in-zircon","U-Pb","Zircon","Earth Sciences","Geochemistry","Geology","Physical Sciences and Mathematics"],"dc:title":["Mesoproterozoic Basement From the Central and Southern Appalachians Reveal High-temperature Magmatic Conditions and Non-laurentian origin of Earth's Most Zircon Fertile Magmas"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Earth Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:56:04Z"}