The University of British Columbia

My main interests revolve around U-Pb geochronology applied specifically to large layered intrusions, with my main focus on two of the most famous layered intrusions in the world, the Stillwater Complex in Montana and the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. It has been known for a long time that layered intrusions form by multiple pulses of magma but lack of concrete evidence for this, especially in the realm of isotopes. With new zircon pre-treatment techniques (i.e. chemical abrasion (Mattinson, 2005)) have allowed for the elimination of Pb-loss and reduction of Pb-blanks has allowed for more precise ages (uncertainty <0.1%). This increase in precision may allow for the recognition of distinct magma pulses at the timescale of <1 million years. Other isotopic systems such as Lu-Hf and Oxygen are very robust systems in zircon and can be applied to layered intrusions to compliment U-Pb geochronology when determining the magmatic history. I have also been involved in the EARTHTIME project which is a NSF funded group aimed at sequencing Earth history through the integration of high-precision geochronology and quantitative chronostratigraphy with. The main goal of EARTHTIME is the development of the geochronological techniques necessary to produce temporal constraints with uncertainties approaching 0.1 percent of the radioisotopic ages.

Conference Presentations:

Scoates, J.S., Wall, C.J., Friedman, R.M., Chamberlain, K.R. (2011) Revisiting the Merensky Reef, Bushveld Complex, upcoming presentation at 2011 Goldschmidt conference.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S. (2011) Crystal Size Distribution Across the Merensky Reef Package of the Bushveld Complex, upcoming presentation at 2011 GAC-MAC.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Friedman (2011) High-Precision Uranium-Lead Geochronology of Mafic-Ultramafic Intrusions Associated with Magmatic Cr-Ni-Cu-PGE Mineralization, presented at the 2011 Cordilleran Roundup conference.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Friedman, R.M., Weis, D., Meurer, W.P. (2010) Baddeleyite-zircon relationships in cumulates of the Archean Stillwater Complex: evidence from U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope systematics, Abstract V31A-2309 presented at 2010 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, Calif., 13-17 Dec.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Friedman, R.M., Meurer, W.P. (2010) Refining the precise age and duration of magmatism related to the Stillwater Complex, Ontario Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Release–Data 269, 4 pages.

Scoates, J.S., Wall, C.J., Friedman, R.M., Booth, K., Scoates, R.F.J., Coueslan, C., Macek, J. (2010) Recent Progress in Determining the Precise Age of Ultramafic Sills and Mafic Dikes Associated with Mineralization in the Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba, Canada, Ontario Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Release–Data 269, 4 pages.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Friedman, R.M., Meurer, W.P. (2010) High-Precision U-Pb Geochronology of the Platiniferous J-M Reef and Associated Cumulate Rocks from Banded Series of the Stillwater Complex (Montana, USA), presented at the 2010 Cordilleran Roundup conference.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Friedman, R.M., Meurer, W.P. (2009) Revisiting the age of the Stillwater Complex, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V21A-1959.

Friedman, R.M., Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Meurer, W.P. (2009) U-Pb systematics in coexisting zircon, rutile, and titanite from granophyres in the Archean Stillwater Complex: metamictization and the fate of radiogenic Pb, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V33B-2037.

Wall, C.J., Scoates, J.S., Friedman, R.M, Meurer, W.P. (2009) U-Pb geochronology of granophyres from the Stillwater Complex, Montana (USA): zircon characterization and preliminary results, GSA regional meeting, Kelowna.

Awards:

NSERC PGS-D3 - 2011-2014
NSERC CGS-M - 2010
UBC Graduate Entrance Scholarship - 2009
NSERC USRA - 2009
APEG Gold Medal in Geoscience -2009
Aaron Craig Nicholls Memorial Award - 2009
Aaro E. Aho Award - 2008
George E Lovesmith Award - 2008
GAC Student Prize Winner – 2008
Teck Scholarship - 2008
DuMoulin Black Award in Geological Sciences - 2008
Dr A C Skerl Memorial Scholarship in Geology - 2008
Aaron Craig Nicholls Memorial Award – 2008
Barrick Gold Achievement Award – 2008
Shell Award for one of the top Geoscience Students at U.B.C. 3 ^rd year field school -2008
Aaron Craig Nicholls Memorial Award – 2007
Thomas and Marguerite MacKay Memorial Scholarship - 2007
Shell Award for one of the top Geoscience Students at U.B.C. 2 ^nd year field school - 2007
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Award for top Geoscience Student at U.B.C. - 2007
Dr. Aaro E. Aho Foundation Scholarship in Geological Sciences - 2006