MacFarlane, Andrew
- Associate Professor, Earth and Environment , College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Overview
overview
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Dr. Macfarlane studies the processes that form metal ore deposits in the context of the geologic evolution of their regional environment. Research in Peru has centered on clarifying how Andean base and precious metal deposits form and where the ore metals come from. Radiogenic isotope studies have shown that metals in the majority of Andean deposits come mainly from associated igneous rocks. Magmatic processes thus strongly affect the metal budgets of most Andean ore systems. Stable isotope and fluid inclusion systematics have been used to study secular changes in hydrothermal fluid chemistry and temperature. Regional studies of lead isotopes have revealed four distinct lead isotopic provinces in the central Andes of Peru, eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina and Chile. These provinces appear to reflect fundamentally different magma sources in different geologic settings. With the establishment of a new mass spectrometry laboratory in the department, future research will investigate the isotopic systematics of ores and important crustal elements of the Andes, Central America and the Caribbean. These investigations constrain the ages of important geological events in the South American cordillera and the isotopic histories of basement terranes in addition to revealing the sources of elements in magmas and of metals in ores.
In parallel with studies of ore genesis and the geologic sources of ore metals, Dr. Macfarlane is conducting research into the sources of metals in pre-Colombian artifacts from the Andean Altiplano, northern Chile, southern Mexico and Ecuador. Lead isotope data on ore deposits from these regions is directly applicable to investigations of the provenance of copper and bronze artifacts, which reveal how metallurgical technology developed and spread in the Western Hemisphere.
Other research interests include studies of the geochemistry of Precambrian weathering profiles to constrain the chemistry, especially the oxygen content, of the early earth's atmosphere. Isotope geochronology and rare earth element geochemistry of these weathering profiles are used to illuminate their geologic history and the chemical environment of their formation.
research interests
- Economic Geology, processes that form metal ore deposits in the context of the geologic evolution of their regional environment, Radiogenic isotope studies, studies of ore genesis and the geologic sources of ore metals
Scholarly & Creative Works
selected publications
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Article
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2016Andean Ores, Bronze Artifacts, and Lead Isotopes: Constraints on Metal Sources in Their Geological ContextFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s10816-014-9225-8 Web of Science: 000370161600001
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2014Lead isotope studies of the Guerrero composite terrane, west-central Mexico: implications for ore genesisFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s00126-013-0477-0 Web of Science: 000330623400005
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2006Provenance of ore metals in base and precious metal deposits of central Idaho as inferred from lead isotopesFull Text via DOI: 10.2113/gsecongeo.101.5.1063 Web of Science: 000242694300009
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2000Distributions of mercury and phosphorous in Everglades soils from Water Conservation Area 3A, Florida, USAFull Text via DOI: 10.1023/A:1005214908516 Web of Science: 000087606700010
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1996Significance of rare hydrous alkaline melts in Hawaiian xenolithsFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s004100050137 Web of Science: A1996TV23800006
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1994REE CHEMISTRY AND SM-ND SYSTEMATICS OF LATE ARCHEAN WEATHERING PROFILES IN THE FORTESCUE-GROUP, WESTERN-AUSTRALIAFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/0016-7037(94)90536-3 Web of Science: A1994NF22200007
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1991THE TIMING OF ALKALI METASOMATISM IN PALEOSOLSWeb of Science: A1991HM53300024
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Conference
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2010Lead isotope variations and tectonic terranes in southern Mexico. A826-A826.Web of Science: 000283941402356
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Works By Students
chaired theses and dissertations
- Beck, Kimberly D, Investigation of the Lead Isotope Signatures of Marine Sediments in Relation to the Lead Isotope Signatures of Northern Andean Ores 2015
- Potra, Adriana, Isotopic Studies of the Guerrero Composite Terrane, West-Central Mexico: Implications for Provenance of Crustal Rocks and Genesis of Ore Metals 2011
- Arfstrom, Cleone Botelho, Areal and vertical distribution of total soil mercury and total phosphorusin the southern half of water conservation area 3-A, Everglades, Southern Florida 1995
Research
co-principal investigator on
- MRI: Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope for Geoscience, Forensic Chemistry and Science Education Research awarded by National Science Foundation 2017 - 2019
- Characterization and Identification of Source Waters Contributing to Groundwater and Surface Waters in the Vicinity of the Florida Power and Light, Turkey Point Cooling Canal System, South Miami-Dade, Florida. awarded by South Florida Water Management District 2009
Contact
full name
- Andrew MacFarlane
- Andrew Macfarlane
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publication subject areas
Citation index-derived subject areas the researcher has published in