MSG RiP Report 2023

The main activity by MSG was to host the annual ‘Research in Progress’ meeting, which was held at the University of Oxford on 4–5^th April, with an ice-breaker event on the 3^rd April. The meeting was held as a hybrid event, and well attended, with 69 people in person, and 20 people joining online. In total, 16 countries were represented.

Forty-one talks were given across the two days, covering a range of topics including kinetics, petrochronology, and traditional regional studies of metamorphic terranes. Keynote talks were given by Donna Whitney (University of Minnesota, USA) and Iwona Klonowska (AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland), with Frank Spear (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA) giving the Barrow award winner’s talk. All keynote and award winner presenters attended the event in person. Maria Margarita Ariza-Acero (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) was awarded the student talk prize. A poster session was also held on the final evening, comprising sixteen posters. Omar Droubi (Penn State, USA) was awarded the student poster prize. The international nature of all keynotes and student prizes speaks to the increasing international profile that MSG has received following successful online conferences during COVID.

Thanks to Zeiss for sponsoring the ice-breaker event and the student poster prize. Thanks also to Richard Palin (University of Oxford) for being the lead organiser. Freya George has offered to host MSG at Bristol University in 2024; this will be discussed at our next committee meeting on 10^th May 2024.

We also held an AGM at the RiP meeting. The only change to the committee was that Nicholas Lucas (University of Cambridge) replaced Isabel Carter (AGH-UST, Poland) as student representative and webmaster. 

MSG 2023 RiP conference, St Anne’s College, Oxford

Announcement of the Barrow Award 2023

If is with great pleasure that we announce that the winner of the 2023 Barrow Award is Prof. Frank Spear.

Frank is a Professor of Geology and Head of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, where he has been based since 1985. Frank completed his BA at Amherst College, Massachusetts, in 1971, and his PhD on ‘Phase equilibria and mineral chemistry of a hydrothermally synthesized amphibolite’ at the University of California in Los Angeles in 1976.

Frank is widely known for his classic ‘big-blue’ textbook “Metamorphic phase equilibria and pressure-temperature-time paths”, which galvanized the field in the mid-1990s, as well as for his pioneering contributions across multiple aspects of metamorphic petrology. At the time Frank started his research, quantitative metamorphic petrology was in its infancy. The first thermometers had only just been proposed, with little direct experimental support, and most research relied on broad categories of conditions—greenschist facies, amphibolite facies, etc.—for ‘quantification’. Together with his students, Frank has been one of the most influential scientists in the field of quantitative metamorphic petrology, with major contributions including: major and trace element thermobarometry; metamorphic phase equilibria of major and trace phases; inversion of chemical zoning to determine pressure-temperature paths; use of trace element zoning to infer reactions, and help put the ‘t’ in P-T-t paths; calculation of cooling rates from diffusion profiles; identification of potentially significant overstepping (using QuiG barometry); development of sophisticated thermodynamic modelling software (especially “Program Gibbs” and “Thermobarometry”); and, development of tectonic interpretations of collisions and core complexes.

It is difficult to conceive how one individual could have such an impact on so many fundamental and current research areas in metamorphic petrology. Therefore, the Barrow Award, which recognises “a scientist that has made outstanding contribution to metamorphic studies”, is clearly a most fitting and deserved recognition for Frank.

The Barrow Award 2023 was judged by Lorraine Tual, Mahyra Tedeschi and Victor Guevera. Frank was nominated for the award by Matt Kohn and David Pattison, with supporting letters from Philip England and Jane Selverstone. The citation above was written by the Metamorphic Studies Group committee, using text from the application package.

MSG RiP 2023 – University of Oxford

We are pleased to announce that the 2023 Metamorphic Studies Group research in progress (RiP) meeting will be held in Oxford, UK, on April 4-5^th, 2023. There will be an icebreaker held in the Department of Earth Sciences on the evening of April 3^rd and two days of hybrid talks and posters held in St Anne’s College. We will also have keynote talks from Donna Whitney (University of Minnesota, USA), Iwona Klonowska (AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków, Poland) and 2023 Barrow Award winner Frank Spear (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).

Registration is now possible through the following website, which has been set up by the Mineralogical Society: https://www.minersoc.org/msg-rip-2023.html

Abstract submission is also solicited for those that want to present. You can choose to talk either in-person or over Zoom, or present a poster (only in person). We welcome presentations on anything related to metamorphic geology in the broadest sense! This could be focused on field studies, laboratory work, or modelling. Please complete the abstract template (link) and submit through the same portal you use for registration (https://www.minersoc.org/msg-rip-2023.html). Abstracts must be submitted before March 1^st, 2023.

The website contains a lot of useful information, including the fee structure for in-person and virtual attendance, helpful tips on traveling to Oxford, and suggestions of places to stay. Researchers from Research4Life countries (https://www.research4life.org/) can register for free. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the organiser Richard Palin (richard.palin@earth.ox.ac.uk) about the meeting or Kevin Murphy (Kevin@minersoc.org) for any questions or issues related to the website.

We look forward to seeing you in Oxford for what will certainly be a vigorous and exciting meeting!

MSG Research in Progress 2022 and NE Scotland Field Trip

The Metamorphic Studies Group (MSG) Research in Progress (RiP) conference 2022 was organised by Dick White (University of St Andrews) and was held as a hybrid conference on 11th – 14th April 2022, in person at the University of St Andrews and online through Teams.

The conference was opened by Dick White followed by the presentation of the Barrow Award to Prof. Katy Evans (Curtin University) by outgoing MSG Chair Catherine Mottram. There were 18 high quality presentations across four sessions including keynote talks from Chris Yakmychuk (Queens University), ‘Accessory to mischief: reflections on a decade of modelling accessory minerals in metamorphic system’ and Dave Pattison (University of Calgary) ‘Polymetamorphism in the Buchan type-area, NE Scotland’. The conference spanned a huge breadth of topics, from classic Scottish Barrovian and Buchan metamorphic zones to exploring the thermal evolution of mountain belts, petrochronology, fluid behaviour and geodynamics. Many of the talks highlighted state of the art approaches and analytical techniques used to investigate metamorphic processes today! Recordings of oral presentations will be added to the MSG Youtube channel, so please keep an eye on our social media for confirmation of when they are posted.

Beatriz Benetti (PhD student, University of Turin) won the best student talk prize for her presentation ‘Heat-sources and exhumation of deep crust: evidence from the Pouso Alto Nappe HP-UHT granulite, Southern Brasilia Orogen, SE Brazil’. Joe Benson (Masters student, University of Cambridge) won the prize for the best student poster presentation for his poster ‘How hot was Scotland? Decoding the ultrahigh temperature metamorphism of the South Harris Granulite Belt’. Student prizes and attendance was kindly sponsored by Zeiss.

We also announced the winners of our first ever video competition: ‘metamorphic ROCKS!’. The metamorphic community was invited to make up to 90 second videos explaining why metamorphic rocks are the best! First prize went to Gautier Nicoli and Capucine Albert (https://youtu.be/gzj_RmffuU0), and second prize went to Prachi Patel, Grace Watterson and Ariana Wang (https://youtu.be/bJ1xjvgAp2M). An introductory video was also commissioned from Stacy Philips: https://youtu.be/3QIQf5EA-bw. We hope that these videos can be a useful resource for outreach in the future.  

Overall, the meeting was a great success and a fantastic way to celebrate being able to see each other again after two years of pandemic. We hope to see you at our 2023 RiP in Oxford, whether in person or online!

(Most!) of the attendees of MSG RiP 2022

The meeting was followed by a two-day field trip to the NE coast of Scotland near Banff, visiting localities such as Portsoy, Fraserburgh, and Inzie Head. The trip was led and organised by Dick White with geological expertise from Dave Patterson, and was attended by an international group of almost 30 academics and students.

We met early Tuesday morning for two days of looking at the classic Buchan zone sequence in the Dalradian. The outcrops visited ranged from biotite-grade metapelites to orthopyroxene-bearing migmatites, all around ~470 Ma in age. We started the trip at Tarlair analysing some biotite-grade metasedimentary rocks, which retain some lovely sedimentary structures, even if the overcast sky made picking up the biotite porphyroblasts quite challenging! Much to the excitement of many a metamorphic geologist we soon entered the cordierite zone. This transition was evidenced by the appearance of “rain drops” of cordierites within the rocks. Further NW along the coast we started to see much larger cordierites, prior to seeing some staurolite, which is thought to have formed during an earlier phase of metamorphism before being overprinted by the Buchan sequence. Day 1 ended with looking at some excellent sillimanite-grade migmatites at Links Bay, Portsoy.  We were excited to see plenty of in-situ melting with some outstanding folding persevered in the migmatites. The day finished with looking at some small diffuse granitic pegmatites, followed by fantastic BBQ (in the Scottish drizzle!) by Dick White and plenty of beer and wine.

Day 2 started nice and early, unfortunately in the rain although that did not dampen our spirits! We visited a staurolite-kyanite schist at Portsoy, which contained some really fantastic kyanite pseudomorphs – described by some as the best outcrop so far, despite the rain! This locality is close to the tidal pool just west of the Portsoy serpentinite. We then travelled to Fraserburgh, to look at incipient melting in some highly deformed corundum-bearing calc silicate rocks. The rain this made traversing the coastal exposures very challenging but that did not take away from the happy faces of geologists seeing such fantastic rocks. Much discussion was had by Dick White, Dave Pattison and others as to whether the leucosomes were actually leucosomes or fracture veins.

The second half of day 2 focused on some higher temperature metamorphism. Close to St Coombs we looked at some beach exposures with some garnet-cordierite migmatites, where many of the garnets had cordierite rims. There was also a small granitic pegmatite that sharply cross-cuts the migmatites. Moving west to Inzie Head, despite the overcast and chilly day there was much excitement as we entered the orthopyroxene zone, heralding the onset of the granulite facies. Care had to be taken as there were dolerite intrusions at the start of the exposures, but there were some small granitic pegmatite intrusions which sparked a lot of interest from many of the geologists. After a short walk along the beautiful beach we finished with looking at some migmatites; orthopyroxene was hard to find as it has mostly been replaced, but once pointed out we were all very happy to see them.

Overall, the two days were an excellent tribute to classic Scottish geology – a huge thank you goes to Dick White and Dave Pattison for running such a great field trip!

Conference report and photos by Catherine Mottram, field trip report by Tim Webster, edited by Isabel Carter and Owen Weller.

Tarlair Swimming Pools, Macduff: Biotite grade turbidite deposits with MSG attendees for scale

Dick White and Dave Pattison giving an introduction to the geology at Tarlair.

West Boyndie Bay: Cordierites and cross-cutting relationships

Examining migmatites at Fraserburgh

Walking towards the orthopyroxene zone at Inzie Head

Announcement of the Barrow Award 2022

The Metamorphic Studies Group are pleased to announce the winner of the 2022 Barrow Award to

Prof. Katy Evans

Curtin University

The Barrow Award is awarded annually to a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to metamorphic studies. Publications, teaching, outreach and other activities leading to the promotion of metamorphic geology, in the broadest sense, are taken into account in making the award.

Katy is a Professor in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin University, where she has been based since 2007 as a Research and Teaching fellow, ARC Future fellow and Professor. Katy completed her undergraduate studies and PhD at the University of Cambridge, completing her PhD on ‘Acadian Metamorphic Fluid Flow in East Central Vermont’.

Katy is an influential scientist who has conducted high-impact research and made fundamental contributions not only to the field of metamorphic geology but also crossing disciplinary boundaries into economic geology building on her thermodynamic work into sulphide minerals. She has written several important, highly-cited process-oriented papers on the role of fluids in orogenic systems, the redox budgets, and sulfide minerals that are of importance for our understanding of orogenic (subduction) processes as well as (gold) mineralisation. The most important fundamental contribution that Katy has made to the field of metamorphic geology has been in creating a foundation for our understanding of how metamorphic fluids control redox changes in the deep Earth. Katy has also become a world-leading expert on unravelling the complexities of serpentinization and deserpentinization through a long-running collaboration with Ron Frost. Due to her work on redox budgets, element cycles and serpentinites, Katy has become recognised as a world leader in the role of redox processes and fluids in metamorphic systems. This recognition has led to many keynote and invited presentations, and particularly to invited papers and book chapters as well as winning competitive research fellowships in Australia.

Katy has provided outstanding support for PhD students, encouraging students and nurturing them to go onto successful careers in geoscience. Her students have gone on to leadership positions with Rio Tinto, BHP and Northern Star, and post-doctoral fellowships at CSIRO. Katy is also an excellent teacher and she coordinates and teaches on modules including field geology, Mineralogy and Geochemistry and a masters-level Mineral Deposits unit.

Katy has made an outstanding contribution to the community though her dedication to editorial work. She has been an editor for Journal of Metamorphic Geology since 2018, and was an editor for Geology from 2016-2020, was recognised as a Geology Exceptional Reviewer in 2020. From 2017, she has been a member then Chair (2019-2020) of the Great Southern Science Council, a volunteer organisation of scientists who are passionate about connecting science and the community.

Those who have worked with Katy are all aware of her scientific insight into geological processes based on a deep understanding of thermodynamics and chemistry, a character that also clearly stands out in her published work. While Katy has won this award for her contributions thus far, many of us in the metamorphic community look forward to her future contributions to metamorphic geology with equal interest.

Katy stands out as an excellent researcher, mentor, teacher and member of the metamorphic community and we believe that the Barrow Award is a fitting recognition of Katy’s outstanding work.

The Barrow Award 2022 was judged by Clare Warren, Donna Whitney and Pavel Pitra. Katy was nominated for the award by Andrew Tomkins and her nomination was supported by Roger Powell and Mike Bickle.

Barrow Award 2022-2023

We are now accepting nominations for the next Barrow Award.

Nominees do not have to be Members of the Mineralogical Society, Fellows of the Geological Society of London or nationals of Great Britain and Ireland. The award is open to a scientist at any stage of their career (early, mid or late).

Nominations should include a statement on the merits of the candidate, a summary curriculum vitae and a list of the nominee’s more important contributions. Letters of support may be submitted from up to two additional people.

Nominations will remain on the table for three years. Previous recipients of the award, and members of the MSG Committee (at the time of nomination and adjudication) will not be eligible for the award.

Nominations for the 2022-2023 medal should be sent to the Chair of the Metamorphic Studies Group committee, to arrive not later than 31st October 2022.

For more details see: https://metamorphicstudiesgroup.wordpress.com/barrow-award/

Submissions should be compiled as a single package in pdf format, to include the nomination statement, CV of the candidate and the optional additional letters of support. The nomination package should be attached to an e-mail with a title which identifies the name of the award and the name of the nominee. The e-mail address to use is metamorphicstudiesgroup@gmail.com

MSG RiP 2022: St Andrews

The MSG-RIP “returns” to St Andrews for the first time ever, after the last minute pandemic cancellation of the 2020 meeting. The meeting will be followed by a two-day field trip to look at the low pressure sequences along the Banff coast. More details on both the meeting and the field trip here.

Announcement of the Barrow Award 2021

The Metamorphic Studies Group are pleased to announce the winner of the 2021 Barrow Award to

Prof. Roger Powell

University of Melbourne

The Barrow Award is awarded annually to a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to metamorphic studies. Publications, teaching, outreach and other activities leading to the promotion of metamorphic geology, in the broadest sense, are taken into account in making the award.

2021 is a notable year for The Metamorphic Studies Group, as it is celebrating its 40^th anniversary. Therefore, it is highly appropriate that this year’s Barrow Award goes to Prof. Roger Powell, whose work over the last ~40 years has fundamentally changed the way we do research in metamorphic petrology. In particular, Roger has been instrumental in advancing quantitative metamorphic petrology through the development of the THERMOCALC software and the use of phase petrology to understand metamorphism.

Roger is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne, where he has been based since 1984 as a lecturer, senior lecturer, reader and professorial fellow. Prior to this he was a lecturer at the University of Leeds in the UK. Roger completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Durham and was awarded his PhD from the University of Oxford in 1973. In 2015 Roger was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He has won several notable academic medals and awards including the Jaeger Medal from the Australian Academy of Science (2013) and the Bowen Award from the American Geophysical Union (2009).

Roger is perhaps best known for his thermodynamic computational program THERMOCALC. The key contribution of Roger to the metamorphic community is through his development, together with Prof. Tim Holland, of an internally consistent database of thermodynamic data for metamorphic minerals and melts, along with software to allow evaluation of metamorphic conditions in natural rocks. Through his numerous workshops around the world promoting, explaining, testing and improving the database, activity models and software, he has been instrumental in educating a whole generation of petrologists. Roger had made sure the world is aware of the tools available to understand metamorphic processes and has worked tirelessly to improve and widen the scope of the software package.

Roger has shown an incredibly long-term vision in seeing the benefits of computational methods in petrology from as far back as the 1970s where the nucleus of THERMOCALC was first developed, through the 1990s with the emergence of calculated petrogenetic grids and calculated pseudosections, and into the 21st century and the common use of this approach and the development of geologically realistic model chemical systems. While the broader THERMOCALC endeavour has involved many people, it has been Roger that has stood at the core of this work.

Roger has done much more for the community than just his own central science: he has built a wide research network worldwide that has introduced many to the, often daunting, challenge of calculating and using quantitative phase diagrams. He has published a great number of papers including co-authors from all over the world, many of whom would visit Melbourne for research visits to learn from Roger. He has been a member of the editorial review board of the Journal of Metamorphic Geology for a record 35 years, including as editor from 2000 to 2012, and has taught numerous international short courses on many aspects of metamorphism. Importantly he has served as a supervisor or academic mentor to many, guiding and advising them on science, life and the finer aspects of wine. Many have gone on to highly successful careers and are part of the lively metamorphic community.

The 40^th anniversary Metamorphic Studies Group Barrow Award is a fitting mark of our UK recognition of the substantial, innovative and absolutely fundamental contributions that Roger has made to our science and to thank Roger for the decades of service that he has committed to the worldwide metamorphic community.

The Barrow Award 2021 was judged by Aphrodite Indares, Chunjing Wei and Paddy O’Brien. Roger was nominated for the award by Richard White and his nomination was supported by Simon Harley and Richard Palin.

Barrow Award 2021-2022

We are now accepting nominations for the next Barrow Award.

Nominees do not have to be Members of the Mineralogical Society, Fellows of the Geological Society of London or nationals of Great Britain and Ireland. The award is open to a scientist at any stage of their career (early, mid or late).

Nominations should include a statement on the merits of the candidate, a summary curriculum vitae and a list of the nominee’s more important contributions. Letters of support may be submitted from up to two additional people.

Nominations will remain on the table for three years. Previous recipients of the award, and members of the MSG Committee (at the time of nomination and adjudication) will not be eligible for the award.

Nominations for the 2021-2022 medal should be sent to the Chair of the Metamorphic Studies Group committee, to arrive not later than 31st October 2021.

For more details see: https://metamorphicstudiesgroup.wordpress.com/barrow-award/

Submissions should be compiled as a single package in pdf format, to include the nomination statement, CV of the candidate and the optional additional letters of support. The nomination package should be attached to an e-mail with a title which identifies the name of the award and the name of the nominee. The e-mail address to use is metamorphicstudiesgroup@gmail.com

EMU Lecture: Friday 29th January

The recipient of the 2019 Research Excellence Award of the European Mineralogical Union was Dr. Nadège Hilairet from CNRS and Université de Lille, France. She received the award for her outstanding contributions to understanding rock deformation and rheology as well as for her international collaborative research.

On Friday, 29th January 2021, at 11.00 am CET (10.00 am GMT), via Zoom, Dr Hilairet will deliver a lecture: Deformation and transformation of subduction zone hydrous minerals and rocks

This is free to all to attend but pre-registration is required

Head here for more information and to pre-register.

MSG RiP 2020 Report

The global pandemic is changing the way that scientists interact globally, with many international conferences moving to an online presence. On the 27–28 May 2020, the Metamorphic Studies Group (MSG) followed suit, holding our annual Research in Progress (RIP) meeting virtually for the first time. It was originally planned to host the meeting at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, but as this could not go ahead, we instead joined the brave new world of virtual conferencing, and held our meeting online using the Zoom platform.

Hosting the conference online allowed the group to broaden our audience, reaching new colleagues and new audiences from across the globe. 210 delegates registered for our event and at its peak, 170 people were in attendance. The map below shows the locations of our delegates from 25+ countries. Typically, MSG events attract ~40 delegates, so this virtual audience was a significant increase. It was fantastic to provide an international platform to showcase the highlights of metamorphic geology!

There were 29 high-quality presentations, many from people who hadn’t attend our meetings before. Thematically, the RiP meeting covered a broad range of topics. Studies from both classic metamorphic terranes and lesser known and somewhat unusual places were presented. New and intriguing research about the Lewisian of Scotland, Norway’s Western Gneiss Region and the Himalaya were interspersed with studies on metamorphic rocks in the Polar Urals, Mexico, Ecuador and even the Moon, highlighting the global (and even extraterrestrial) abundance of highly interesting occurrences of metamorphic rocks! The metamorphic rock record helps us to understand fundamental processes in the Earth’s past and present, as well as to decipher regional and local aspects of the geological history. Presenters also gave amazing insights into the variety of methodological approaches used to tackle questions in metamorphic geology. These included phase equilibrium modelling, petrochronology of major and accessory minerals, microstructural observations and geochemical analyses of trace elements. Unsurprisingly, garnet was a favourite mineral in many investigations, thanks to its unrivalled ability to record different stages of a rock’s metamorphic evolution, although it was also pointed out that inclusions in garnet are not always a faithful recorder of its history! With many presenters highlighting how studies of metamorphic rocks use analytical and modelling tools at the forefront of geoscience, the foundations in thorough field studies and petrographic observations were equally emphasised, demonstrating the versatility of approaches used in metamorphic geology. A highlight of the RiP meeting was the presentation by Dr Clare Warren, winner of the inaugural Barrow Award, who gave an overview on recent developments calculating the pressure, temperature and time of metamorphism.

The meeting was a fantastic platform for students to present their work; we had 16 student presentations, including both undergraduate and postgraduate students from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, France, Greece, Mexico, UK and USA! The best student presentation prizes went to Allie Nagurney (Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA) and Stacy Phillips (Open University, Milton Keynes, UK).

Allie’s poster presentation was entitled ‘Microstructural Controls on the Crystallization of Garnet: An Example from the Meguma Terrane, Nova Scotia’. Allie used petrographic observations, mineral chemistry, electron back scattered diffraction, X-ray computed tomography and thermodynamic modelling to develop a model of garnet nucleation. She concluded that the energetic barriers of garnet nucleation are lowered through nucleation in specific orientations in relation to chlorite and muscovite that define the foliation of the rock. Allie’s outstanding poster was very well presented, and the judges were impressed with how concise Allie was communicating her points, and how confidently she responded to questions.

Stacy’s talk, entitled ‘Not all kyanite is created equal – The petrogenesis of kyanite migmatites in Eastern Bhutan’, focused on the occurrence of different types of kyanite in migmatites from the Himalaya. Stacy investigated morphologies, cathodoluminescence patterns and trace element characteristics of kyanite grains and put her findings in context of implications for mid-crustal weakening and regional tectonics of the Himalaya. Her talk was very well presented and impressed the judges through its clarity and the thoroughness with which this mineral has been studied to reveal its petrological importance.

 

The meeting was generally very well received with 95% of people strongly agreeing (4 or 5/5) that “Virtual MSG RiP 2020 was an interesting and engaging scientific meeting” (n=43). Here are some of the feedback comments:

“I’ve wanted to attend for years and this was my first opportunity!”

“As a PhD student, I really appreciated the time more senior scientists took to comment on my online poster – their feedback was really helpful!”

“I think MSG RiP 2020 was an absolute triumph, well done to all those involved in its organisation.”

“I thank you very much for choosing a virtual meeting methodology. This allowed us to participate since it is almost impossible for us to do it physically, for various reasons but especially for the economic one. In Argentina, and I estimate that in many other places in the world, it is very difficult to pay for a trip to a congress or postgraduate course in another country, and less on another continent… The virtual modality has its disadvantages compared to the face-to-face modality, but it is an opportunity for many people, and especially students, who work in metamorphic petrology. Hopefully we can continue participating in these meetings.”

 

Here are some logistical considerations that we thought about when running the meeting:

• We decided to try to emulate the in-person event where possible so we built a programme in the usual way, with both ‘oral’ and ‘poster’ presentations and published a ‘Programme and Abstracts’ volume.
• We held the sessions from 2.00–5.30 pm (UK time) over two days (followed by a ‘virtual’ social event on both days). This allowed for greater attendance, particularly in Europe and the Americas. We even had an audience from Australia and beyond, even though the talks took place after midnight, their time locally.
• The posters were hosted on the conference webpage in the days before the meeting. Only signed-up delegates were given the password which would allow them to download the posters. They could then post comments (and the presenter could post responses). During the conference itself, we allowed those with posters to give a quick introduction and to take some questions (10 min slot, as opposed to 15 min for talks).

 

In summary, although MSG did miss the opportunity to visit the Buchan zones on the planned fieldtrip to Scotland (which we will hopefully get to do in a future year!), and to get together with friends and colleagues in the metamorphism world, the virtual meeting provided different and new positive experiences. We broadened our audience, and provided an international platform for particularly students to present their work. The virtual world provides excellent opportunities for participation and learning when travel isn’t possible (as at present) or isn’t affordable (for many people, in other circumstances).

As with all new ventures, we have much to think about and learn but following the success of our event, we resolved that future meetings must, where possible, allow online participation from those who cannot, for whatever reason, make it to the meeting in person so that we can build upon the successes of our first virtual MSG RiP!

The programme and abstracts volume is available from the website.

The programme for the event was as follows:

Wednesday 27th May 2020
Oral Session

The controls on the thermal evolution of continental mountain ranges
Alex Copley and Owen Weller

How did the Archaean crust evolve? Insights from the structure and petrology of the Lewisian of Scotland
S.R. Miocevich, A. Copley, O.M. Weller

Interactions of stress and chemical processes in the Earth
John Wheeler

Pre-orogenic upper crustal softening by lower greenschist facies metamorphic reactions in crystalline basement units (example of central Pyrenees)
Laura Airaghi, Nicolas Bellahsen, Benoît Dubacq, David Chew, Claudio Rosenberg, Emilie Janots, Maxime Waldner and Valérie Magnin

Drainage of subduction interface fluids into the fore-arc mantle evidenced by a pristine jadeitite network (Polar Urals)
Samuel Angiboust, Johannes Glodny, Aitor Cambeses, Tom Raimondo, Patrick Monié, Michael Popov, Antonio Garcia-Casco

Mg X-ray map of a jadeitite sample from the Polar Urals showing how the white jadeitite (in blue here) partly re-equilibrates along cracks as omphacite. Note the presence of jadeitite clasts inside the omphacite veins. Note also the oscillatory/dendriti c pattern of the vein-filling material. Warm colors are used for relatively high concentrations and cold colors for relatively low Mg concentrations (original data in counts, acquired at the SEM)

Metamorphism on the Moon Recorded by the Granulite Suite
J. F. Pernet-Fisher and K. H Joy

Poster Session

Behaviour of critical metals in micas during metamorphism
Barbara E. Kunz, Clare J. Warren, Nigel B.W. Harris, Tom W. Argles, Frances E. Jenner

Origin of metasomatic fluids in subducted continental crust and implications for volatile recycling in subduction zones
B.J.R. Harris, J.C.M. De Hoog, S.L. Harley, R. Halama and H.-P. Schertl

From local dewatering to large-scale flushing during burial in the blueschist facies: Insights from a pervasively fractured metamorphic terrane.
Jesús Munoz-Montecinos, Samuel Angiboust, Antonio García-Casco, Johannes Glodny and Gray Bebout

On the origin and geodynamic significance of eclogite in the Brunovistulian terrane at the eastern margin of the Bohemian Massif
Stephen Collett, Pavla Štípská, Karel Schulmann, Jitka Míková and John Hora

Halogens in metasomatic garnet websterite and eclogite from the Western Gneiss Region, Norway: implications for subcontinental mantle metasomatism
R. Burgess, L. Hughes, S.J. Cuthbert, A. Quas-Cohen, A. Pawley and G.T.R. Droop

Retrograde Tectonics of the Stadlandet Peninsula, Western Gneiss Region, Norway
Isabel S. M. Carter, Phillip Gopon, David J. Waters and Andrew Parsons

Spatial variation of deformation in the Western Gneiss Region: implications on UHP exhumation
Joanna Male, Andrew Parsons, Rellie Goddard, Phillip Gopon and David J. Waters

Reflectance spectral features of Koan hornfelses, at Dikeos Massif contact metamorphic aureole, Aegean Sea
M. Kokkaliari, C. Kanellopoulos and I. Iliopoulos

Lawsonite eclogite and blue schist from Syros, Greece: Insights into the fluid pathways in subducted crust and the eclogite-blueschist transition
Thomas Lamont and Richard White

Thursday 28th May 2020
Oral Session

Not all kyanite is created equal – The petrogenesis of kyanite migmatites in Eastern Bhutan
S.E. Phillips, T.W Argles, N.B.W Harris, C.J. Warren, N.M.W. Roberts and B. Kunz

Quantitative automated mineralogy to constrain metamorphic processes using ZEISS Mineralogic
Richard J.M. Taylor

EDS maps of Fe and Ca showing chemical zoning in garnet from the Glenelg gneisses (NW Scotland) from Rich Taylor’s talk ‘Constraining metamorphic processes using ZEISS Mineralogic’.

Reaction Affinity Patterns in Rocks with Porphyroblasts
C. T. (Tom) Foster, Jr.

LA-ICP-MS mapping of granulite-facies monazite: textural insights and implications for petrochronology
Owen Weller, Simon Jackson, William Miller, Marc St-Onge and Nicole Rayner

Microtectonic analysis of the Teziutlan metamorphic complex, Puebla State, Mexico: Mylonitic deformation in the late Paleozoic
Luis Javier Gutiérrez-Trejo, Mario A. Ramos-Arias, Edgar Ángeles-Moreno, José Martín Yáñez-Limón, Adair Jiménez-Nieto and Teresa Pi-Puig

Barrow Award Winner 2020: Dating metamorphism and other stories: Travels through PTt space
C. Warren

Poster Session

Microstructural Controls on the Crystallization of Garnet: An Example from the Meguma Terrane, Nova Scotia
Allie Nagurney  and Mark Caddick

P-T path determination using phase equilibria modelling with multiple fractionation of garnet in a metapelite
Carlos Iván Lembo Wuest, Samanta Serra-Varela, Sebastián O. Verdecchia, Juan A. Murra, Manuela E. Benitez, Gladis Palacio Balderramo

Post-kinematic and matrix-dependent garnet nucleation and growth in the inverted Barrovian metamorphic sequence of the Sikkim Himalaya
Freya R. George and Fred Gaidies

Prograde UHP metamorphism in felsic and mafic lithologies and clues to pre-Himalayan metamorphism in the Tso Morari dome, Ladakh, Himalaya
A.K. Bidgood, D.J. Waters and M.P. Searle

Leucogranites in the Garhwal Himalaya: The story according to zircon
Charlie J. Oldman, Clare J. Warren, Christopher J. Spencer, Tom W. Argles

Provenance and geochemistry of metasedimentary rocks in the basement of the Sierra Madre terrane, Mexico: Implications of deposition along the western margin of Pangea
Sonia Alejandra Torres Sánchez, Carita Augustsson, Uwe Jenchen, José Rafael Barboza Gudiño, Andreas Gärtner, Mandy Hofmann, Ulf Linnemann, Carlos Mario Morales Bautista

Juxtaposed high- and low-pressure metamorphic field gradients rocks and its tectonic implications, a study case of Turvo-Cajati Formation, Ribeira Belt, Brazil
B.S. Ricardo, R. Moraes, F. M. Faleiros, O. Siga Júnior, G. Campanha, C.M. Mottram

A detailed petrological study of the metamorphic retrogression textures of the granulitic Oaxacan Complex, México
M.M. Almazán-López, F. Ortega-Gutiérrez and V. Colás

The Raspas Complex (Ecuador): A fragment of a J-K melange belt in the NW corner of the South American plate
M.C. Arrieta-Prieto, C.A. Zuluaga-Castrillón, O.M. Castellanos-Alarcón and J.D. Hernández-Montenegro

The MSG is grateful to Catherine Mottram, Barbara Kunz, Owen Weller, Ralf Halama, Rich Palin, Sophie Miocevich and Kevin Murphy for their efforts in putting the meeting together. Even Clarence the cat enjoyed it…..

Many thanks also to Dick White of St Andrews who had organised a great meeting back in March of this year but which had to be postponed (probably until 2022).

2021 meeting

The 2021 meeting will see the MSG celebrate its 40^th anniversary. This meeting will be held at the University of Cambridge from 29–31 March 2021, with the first two days consisting of a conference, followed by a one-day workshop on ‘Phase Equilibria Modelling’.

Details available at: https://www.minersoc.org/msg-rip-2021.html

We as the Metamorphic Studies Group stand in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and with our Black colleagues.

In our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity statement we write that we aim to create a ‘supportive environment where all in the community are welcome and valued’.

Yet we know that this is not always the case and words are not enough. We must listen and learn about our biases and structural hindrances that exist within our community, which prevent people from feeling welcome and/or valued. As they say, it takes a village, and while we are only a small organization, each and every one of us can make a difference by challenging ourselves and others to actively make changes towards building a fairer and inclusive academic community.