Research/Specialty
Igneous and Experimental Petrology, Volcanology, High temperature geochemistry
Application of mineral-melt thermometers, hygrometers, and oxybarometers to understand
crystal growth kinetics, volcanic hazards, and mantle dynamics in intraplate basaltic volcanism.
Current Research Projects
- Application of olivine-melt thermometry and hygrometry to Canary Island basalts to
evaluate mantle plume conditions and crystal growth kinetics - Acquisition of a global dataset of temperature and dissolved H 2 O contents in oceanic
plumes: Evaluation of olivine-melt hygrometry method at the liquidus compared to
direct analyses of olivine-hosted melt inclusions - Petrogenesis of explosive Canary Island Phonolites: Application of Fe-Ti oxide
thermometry and oxybarometry - Investigation into the chemical, petrologic, and structural heterogeneity within the Marcy
Anorthosite Massif, Adirondacks: A glimpse into the ancient Grenville Province - Preservation of diffusion-limited rapid growth olivine in Neoproterozoic mafic dikes of
the Adirondacks: Evaluation of temperature and dissolved water content at the liquid - Intrusion of mafic and ultramafic sills/dikes into the Trans-Adirondack Back-arc Basin:
Application of geochemical, isotopic, geochronological, and petrologic techniques - Classification and petrography of micrometeorites: Preservation of diffusion-limited
skeletal olivine - Experimental evaluation of olivine-melt equilibrium in undercooled basalts that
experience a kinetic delay to nucleation: Implications for timescales of rapid
crystallization during ascent in the Big Pine Volcanic Field, CA
Field Areas
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Adirondack Highlands
Basin and Range Province, western US
Big Pine/Long Valley, CA
Mojave, CA
Snake River Plain/Yellowstone, ID
Hawaii
Teaching Interests
Petrology (Igneous, Metamorphic, Experimental), Mineralogy, Structure, Volcanology, Natural
Disasters, Geochemistry, Tectonics, Geochronology, Technical reading/writing/comprehension
Courses taught: *Physical Geology, Mineralogy, Earth’s Fury, Volcanology, Petrology,
Natural Disasters and Climate Change, Structural Geology, Environmental Geology, Geology of
National Parks, Introduction to Geography
*At SUNY Oswego
Education
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2021
B.S. Union College, 2015
Publications
Brehm, S.K. and Lange, R.A. (Submitted July 2024) Temperature and water contents of Yellowstone and Snake River Plain basalts: Application of olivine-melt thermometry and hygrome try at the liquidus. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology.
Frey, H.M., Manon, M.R.F., Kittross, S., Pope, M.D., Brehm, S.K. (2024) Magmatic and rare Eocene to Precambrian xenocrystic zircons in Dominica reveal discrete crystallization episodes and multiple sediment sources. GSA Bulletin. 136 (7-8), 3169-3187. https://doi.org/10.1130/B37238.1
Brehm, S.K. and Lange, R.A. (2022) Origin of low Mg# hawaiites carrying peridotite xenoliths
from the Cima volcanic field, CA: Evidence of rapid magma mixing during ascent along
intersecting fractures. GSA Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1130/B36390.1
Brehm, S.K. and Lange, R.A., (2020) Evidence of rapid phenocryst growth of olivine during
ascent in basalts from the Big Pine volcanic field: Application of olivine-melt
thermometry and hygrometry at the liquidus. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems v.
21, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GC009264
Frey, H.M., Manon, M.R.F., Brehm, S.K., Babiak, R.N., (2018) Episodic crystallization in
young explosive eruptions in Dominica, Lesser Antilles, Revealed by U-Th dating of
zircons. Geology v. 46, 887-890. https://doi.org/10.1130/G45217.1