Kip's research includes both earth and space science foci. In the earth science, he specializes in continental tectonics (particularly in the Himalayan-Tibetan orogenic system), and development and application of new strategies in isotopic thermochronogy. In the space sciences, he specializes in the chronology of major meteorite impact structures in the inner Solar System and the development of new, mixed human and robotic strategies for planetary field science.
15015 AND 15465. H. Wang, S. Mighani, B. P. Weiss, D. L. Shuster, K. V. Hodges, Department of Ear... more 15015 AND 15465. H. Wang, S. Mighani, B. P. Weiss, D. L. Shuster, K. V. Hodges, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA (huapei@mit.edu), Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. *These authors contributed equally to this study.
The extensional Bitterroot mylonite zone defines the eastern and southern border of the Bitterroo... more The extensional Bitterroot mylonite zone defines the eastern and southern border of the Bitterroot metamorphic core complex and is generally interpreted to be the major structure which accommodated unroofing of the metamorphic core. The most commonly cited evidence for the age of mylonitization are [sup 40]Ar/[sup 39]Ar ages for hornblend, muscovite, biotite, and potassium feldspar from the southern Bitterroot mylonite
River incision is one of the most dramatic landscape responses to the growth of orogenic plateaus... more River incision is one of the most dramatic landscape responses to the growth of orogenic plateaus. However, using incision as a proxy for surface uplift is fraught with problems. Few methods exist that record long-term incision directly, and it is often difficult to quantify the lag time that may exist between surface uplift and the onset of incision, particularly in
North-dipping, low-angle normal faults of the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS) can be trace... more North-dipping, low-angle normal faults of the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS) can be traced for a distance of more than 2000 km along strike and represent an important tectonic characteristic of the Miocene Himalayan-Tibetan orogenic system. Nowhere is the STDS better exposed than the N-S–trending Rongbuk Valley in southern Tibet, where it can be traced down dip from the summit of Everest for a distance of over 30 km before disappearing beneath the valley floor. This places a minimum constraint on Miocene displacement on the feature in this area, but some research groups have suggested ~200 km of displacement based on the difference in metamorphic pressures across the STDS and the very low (< 15˚) primary dip of the structure. We are exploring this issue further using developing (U-Th)/He and 40Ar/39Ar datasets from deformed footwall sillimanite gneisses and leucogranites. Data obtained thus far indicate relatively rapid cooling of the footwall after the intrusion of defor...
A persistent concern in detrital mineral geochronology is the need to obtain a representative sam... more A persistent concern in detrital mineral geochronology is the need to obtain a representative sampling of crystallization or cooling ages in the source region. Methods with high throughput --- e.g., laser microprobe 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of muscovite and U-Pb thermochronology of zircon --- have a distinct advantage in this regard. Both techniques have advanced to the point that the dozens of
The Jomolhari region of NW Bhutan contains one of the largest and most accessible continuous expo... more The Jomolhari region of NW Bhutan contains one of the largest and most accessible continuous exposures of the South Tibetan Fault System in the Himalaya. Lying immediately southeast of the Yadong Graben (Mount Jomolhari is part of the eastern rift flank uplift), the geology of this area is dominated by banded orthogneiss and paragneiss of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS),
15015 AND 15465. H. Wang, S. Mighani, B. P. Weiss, D. L. Shuster, K. V. Hodges, Department of Ear... more 15015 AND 15465. H. Wang, S. Mighani, B. P. Weiss, D. L. Shuster, K. V. Hodges, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA (huapei@mit.edu), Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. *These authors contributed equally to this study.
The extensional Bitterroot mylonite zone defines the eastern and southern border of the Bitterroo... more The extensional Bitterroot mylonite zone defines the eastern and southern border of the Bitterroot metamorphic core complex and is generally interpreted to be the major structure which accommodated unroofing of the metamorphic core. The most commonly cited evidence for the age of mylonitization are [sup 40]Ar/[sup 39]Ar ages for hornblend, muscovite, biotite, and potassium feldspar from the southern Bitterroot mylonite
River incision is one of the most dramatic landscape responses to the growth of orogenic plateaus... more River incision is one of the most dramatic landscape responses to the growth of orogenic plateaus. However, using incision as a proxy for surface uplift is fraught with problems. Few methods exist that record long-term incision directly, and it is often difficult to quantify the lag time that may exist between surface uplift and the onset of incision, particularly in
North-dipping, low-angle normal faults of the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS) can be trace... more North-dipping, low-angle normal faults of the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS) can be traced for a distance of more than 2000 km along strike and represent an important tectonic characteristic of the Miocene Himalayan-Tibetan orogenic system. Nowhere is the STDS better exposed than the N-S–trending Rongbuk Valley in southern Tibet, where it can be traced down dip from the summit of Everest for a distance of over 30 km before disappearing beneath the valley floor. This places a minimum constraint on Miocene displacement on the feature in this area, but some research groups have suggested ~200 km of displacement based on the difference in metamorphic pressures across the STDS and the very low (< 15˚) primary dip of the structure. We are exploring this issue further using developing (U-Th)/He and 40Ar/39Ar datasets from deformed footwall sillimanite gneisses and leucogranites. Data obtained thus far indicate relatively rapid cooling of the footwall after the intrusion of defor...
A persistent concern in detrital mineral geochronology is the need to obtain a representative sam... more A persistent concern in detrital mineral geochronology is the need to obtain a representative sampling of crystallization or cooling ages in the source region. Methods with high throughput --- e.g., laser microprobe 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of muscovite and U-Pb thermochronology of zircon --- have a distinct advantage in this regard. Both techniques have advanced to the point that the dozens of
The Jomolhari region of NW Bhutan contains one of the largest and most accessible continuous expo... more The Jomolhari region of NW Bhutan contains one of the largest and most accessible continuous exposures of the South Tibetan Fault System in the Himalaya. Lying immediately southeast of the Yadong Graben (Mount Jomolhari is part of the eastern rift flank uplift), the geology of this area is dominated by banded orthogneiss and paragneiss of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS),
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