Thesis
Well I made a decision on what I will be devoting the majority of my time on for hte next two plus years. It ended up being a option that was never even thought of until I sat in the office with my research advisor and went over some data. We discovered that the mafic dike swarms in the Silver City region of New Mexico were greatly understudied and it was unknown if they were a result of the Larmide Orogeny or the Rio Grande Rift. Each event produces different types of mafic rocks that can be used if aged properly to determine stress direction and thus if the intrusive activity in southwest New Mexico at the end of the Cretatous is the rest of the Larimide or if its early Tertiary and the result of the Rio Grande Rift. The problem is a big one that the answer will make a huge impact on the geologic history of not only New Mexico but North America also. Well this weekend I will be heading to Silver city to see what kind of outcroping is availible and to see how many permits I will need to apply for to do this work. Both my advisor and I are really excited on this work. I cant wait. Also I will be in Wyoming at the end of the month for the AAPG Rocky Mountain Rendevous if any of my other geology buddies are interested check it out at the AAPG website. it will be a great event.