Dr. Julie Newman

Research

My research is in the fields of structural geology and tectonics. My students and I carry out field, microstructural and experimental studies of crustal and upper mantle rocks to investigate the rheology, or strength and behavior, of the earth’s lithospheric layers. Currently, we are working on ultramafic rocks from mantle massifs in western Washington and New Zealand, and low-temperature thrust faults from the foreland of the southern Appalachians. We are also carrying out a combined experimental and field study of dolomite, comparing experimentally deformed dolomite with naturally deformed dolomite shear zones.
When studying rocks from different crustal and upper mantle environments, we investigate deformation processes, such as mechanisms of strain localization, the influence of fluid-rock interactions on deformation, and interactions between deformation and metamorphism. By combining field data and deformation microstructures with the geochemistry of deformed rocks, we can determine the conditions of deformation, including pressures, temperatures, stresses and strain-rates.
Some of the tools we use to carry out this work include fieldwork, optical microscopy and electron microscopy, including the electron microprobe and the scanning electron microscope with electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD).

We are currently looking for graduate students interested in carrying out research on experimental and/or natural deformation of carbonate rocks. Please contact me if you would like to learn more about this project, or other research opportunities!

Recent Publications

• Davis, N.E., J. Newman, P. Wheelock, A.K. Kronenberg (in review) Grain growth kinetics of dolomite and magnesite. Submitted to Physics and Chemistry of Minerals.
• Webber, C., J. Newman, C. Holyoke, T. Little, B. Tikoff (in review) Fabric development in cm-scale shear zones in ultramafic rocks, Red Hills, New Zealand. Submitted to Tectonophysics.
• Toy, V., J. Newman, W.M. Lamb, B. Tikoff (in press) Ultramafic ultramylonite resulting from a two-stage process of shear localization. Journal of Petrology.
• Carlson, R.L., D.J. Miller, J. Newman (2009) The olivine enigma: Why olivine content does not affect the seismic properties of oceanic gabbros. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 10, Q03O16, doi:10.1029/2008GC002263.
• Webber, C., T. Little, J. Newman, B. Tikoff (2008) Fabric superposition in upper mantle peridotite, Red Hills, New Zealand, Journal of Structural Geology, 30, 1412–1428.
• Davis, N.E., A.K. Kronenberg, and J. Newman (2008) Plasticity and diffusion creep of dolomite, Tectonophysics, 456, 127-146, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2008.02.002.
• Dijkstra, A.H., M.R. Drury, J. Newman, H. van Roermund, R.L.M. Vissers, (2004) Development of shear zones in mantle rocks: Evidence from alpine and ophiolitic peridotite massifs. In: (ed. Alsop, G, Holdsworth, R., McCaffrey, K and Handy, M.) Geological Society of London, Special Publication 224. Flow Processes in Faults and Shear Zones.

Funded Projects

• NSF-EAR-0911586, Experimental and Natural Deformation of Magnesian Carbonates, June 23, 2009 - June 22, 2012, $399,744, Co-PIs Dr. A.K. Kronenberg, Dr. C. Holyoke.
• NSF-EAR-0409567, Collaborative Research: Determining mantle rheology from field and microstructural observations of naturally-deformed peridotites, July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2009, $89,000 (TAMU budget), collaborative with Dr. B. Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• NSF-OCE-0221250, Collaborative Research: Seismic Petrology of the Lower Oceanic Crust: A Proposal to Investigate the Relationships between Seismic Velocity, Modal Mineralogy and Water Content in Diabase and Gabbro Samples from ODP Holes 504B, 735B, 894G and 923A, May 1, 2003 – April 30, 2007, $262,836 (TAMU budget), Co-PI’s Dr. R.L. Carlson, Dr. D.J. Miller (TAMU), collaborative with Dr. J.M. Brown, University of Washington.
• NSF-EAR-0107078, Experimental Deformation of Dolomite and Mechanisms of Flow in the Calcium-Magnesium Carbonate System, June 1, 2001-May 31, 2004, $145,430, Co-PI Dr. A.K. Kronenberg.

Links

• Center for Tectonophysics, TAMU
• Microscopy and Imaging Center, TAMU
• Geological Society of America
• American Geophysical Union
• Association of Women Geoscientists