Mantle evolution of southern Patagonia
Project summary
- Focus: unravelling the evolution of southern Patagonian mantle and the continental separation of South America and Antarctica
Scientists from the Museum and the University of Cambridge are unravelling the evolution of mantle rocks in southern Patagonia to learn more about the continental separation of South America and Antarctica.
The geochemistry of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath Patagonia reflects the complex mantle evolution that occurred beneath Gondwana, an ancient supercontinent.
Our scientists are studying Patagonian mantle rocks to learn more about the break-up of Gondwana, in particular the separation of South America and Antarctica during the Late Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic orogeny.
This project focuses on the extensive and extremely valuable Museum collection of mantle xenoliths from Pali-Aike, Patagonia.
Search the mineralogy collection database
Collaborators
Dr Sally Gibson
University of Cambridge
Eve Rooks
NERC PhD student
University of Cambridge/the Natural History Museum
Related information
Origins, evolution and futures research
We study the Earth's origins, environment and the evolution of life
Mineral and planetary sciences research
Investigating the origins and evolution of Earth and our solar system
Rock collection
The Museum’s rock collection consists of approximately 123,000 samples collected from around the world