Glen R. Himmelberg
Professor
education: University of Minnesota, 1965
interest: Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology

email: HimmelbergG@missouri.edu
office:101 Geological Sciences Bldg.
phone: 573-882-3751
fax: 573-882-5458

Research

Glen Himmelberg's research is currently focused on understanding the thermal and structural evolution of the earth's crust through studies of the metamorphism of orogenic belts. This is accomplished through integrated field, laboratory and theoretical studies. Studies include

• geologic mapping of protoliths and metamorphic mineral assemblages of the metamorphic belts
• application of phase equilibria to the determination of metamorphic P-T conditions and P-T paths
• application of thermal modeling to the evolution of metamorphic terranes
• structural geology studies with respect to the kinematics of rock bodies and
• a knowledge of geochronologic crystallization and closure ages of various radiometric systems.

Current studies are concentrated in the Cordilleran orogen in southeastern Alaska, which includes 14 distinct metamorphic belts that make up three major metamorphic complexes (Brew and others, 1992). Each of these complexes is related to a major subduction event. Detailed investigations are underway in the Western and Central metamorphic belts of the Coast Mountains Complex, the Admiralty Island metamorphic belt and the Baranof Island metamorphic belt.

The Western and Central metamorphic belts exhibit multiple deformational, metamorphic, and plutonic events that span the interval of about 120 to 50 Ma. Detailed studies of the Western metamorphic belt near Juneau have been published (Himmelberg and others, 1991; 1995) and investigations of the belt to the south are underway. Little detailed petrology has been published on the Central metamorphic belt which consists of amphibolite facies pelitic schists, gneiss, migmatite, marble and metaperidotite.

The Admiralty Island metamorphic belt consists of sub-belts of subgreenschist to amphibolite facies rocks that were produced during Triassic and post-Late Triassic regional metamorphism and deformation. The Baranof Island metamorphic belt consists of regionally thermally metamorphosed rocks exposed over at least 1200 km2, making it one of the largest such regions reported to date. These rocks were metamorphosed to albite-epidote hornfels, hornblende hornfels, and amphibolite facies assemblages by granitic plutons 47 to 42 Ma. Emplacement of the plutons and the associated thermal metamorphism were superposed on regional subgreenschist to country rocks of the greenschist facies.
 

Selected Publications

Himmelberg, G. R., Haeussler, P. J., and Brew, D. A., 2004, Emplacement, rapid burial, and exhumation of 90-Ma plutons in southeastern Alaska. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 41, p. 87-102.

Zumsteg, C. L., Himmelberg, G. R., Karl, S. M., and Haeussler, P. J., 2003, Metamorphism within the Chugach accretionary complex on southern Baranof Island, southeastern Alaska, in Sisson, V.B., Roeske, S.M., and Pavlis, T.L., eds., Geology of a transpressional orogen developed during ridge-trench interaction along the North Pacific margin. Geological Society of America Special Paper 371, p. 253-267.

Himmelberg, G.R., Brew, D.A., and Ford, A.B., 1995, Low-grade, M1 metamorphism of the Douglas Island Volcanics, western metamorphic belt near Juneau, Alaska, in Schiffman, Peter and Day, Howard W. (eds.), Low-grade metamorphism of mafic rocks: GSA Sp. Paper 296.

Brew, D.A., Himmelberg, G.R., Loney, R.A., and Ford, A.B., 1992, Distribution and characteristics of metamorphic belts in the south-eastern Alaskan part of the North American Cordillera: J. Met. Geol. v. 10, p. 465-482.

Himmelberg, G.R., Brew, D.A., and Ford, A.B., 1991, Development of inverted metamorphic isograds in the western metamorphic belt, Juneau, Alaska: J. of Met. Geol., v. 9, p. 165-180.

Brew, D.A., Ford, A.B., and Himmelberg, G.R., 1989, Evloution of the western part of the coast plutonic-metamorphic complex, south-eastern Alaskan, USA: a summary in Daly, J.S., Cliff, R.A., and Yardley, B.W.D. (eds.), Evolution of metamorphic belts: Geol. Soc. Sp. Publ. , v. 43, p. 447-452.

Last Modified: winter 2008