I am an Assistant Professor of Economic Geology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Our research integrates bedrock and Anaconda-style mapping, microscopy and microanalysis, geochemical modelling, and experimental petrology to identify processes of crystal growth, dissolution, and deformation in ore-forming environments.

About

Lovely folds in the Fairbanks-Chena schist, mapped summer 2024 (sheath folds on the right!)

Background image is the view across the Racetrack in Death Valley, taken from the hike up to Ubehebe Peak

Team members

We are a close group consisting of myself (Marisa), graduate students, and undergrads. We are always looking for new members, so please email to inquire about current opportunities within OGRe!

Marisa D. Acosta

PhD in Earth Sciences

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Indie Talbot

M.Sci student (co-advised with Florian Hofmann) working on the Manh Choh skarn deposit

Lily Norwood

M.Sci student (co-advised with Sean Regan) working on the Tofty carbonatite

Kade Descutner

Undergraduate researcher working on silicate geochemistry in the Continental Fault shear zone, Butte, Montana

Ellie Kanz

Undergraduate researcher working on developing Raman spectrometry to quantify Al-Si site disorder in K-feldspar polymorphs

Jakob Rogers (graduated)

Undergraduate researcher working on Butte Main Stage mineral assemblages and textures

Current Research & Field Areas

Au-Bi-Te systematics in the formation of high-grade hydrothermal Au deposits: the role of polymetallic melts

The Tofty carbonatite

Skarn-forming processes in the Manh Choh Au deposit

Butte Main Stage Veins: replacement reaction sequences in polymetallic Cordilleran-style base metal mineralization

Quartz-molybdenite shear zones in the damage zone of the Continental Fault

Identifying K-feldspar polymorphs using Raman spectrometry