Michael Cosca
Michael Cosca is a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who combines 40Ar/39Ar geochronology with mineralogy, petrology, and field geology to understand igneous, metamorphic, and tectonic processes at the regional, local, and sub-grain scale.
Mike received his undergraduate degree in geology from the University of California, Berkeley (1981) and M.Sc. (1985) and Ph.D. (1989) in geology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After completing his Ph.D., he moved to Switzerland and for nearly 19 years conducted scientific research at the University of Lausanne. During this time he constructed a 40Ar/39Ar research laboratory and obtained research funding that supported 4 Ph.D. students, 2 M.Sc. students and 2 post-doctoral scholars and worked closely with colleagues from Lausanne. This research was funded primarily with grants he obtained from the Swiss National Science Foundation with additional support from the University of Lausanne.
Mike joined the U.S Geological Survey in 2008 and supervises the 40Ar/39Ar geochronology laboratory in Denver. His research is broadly focused on understanding the geochronology of ore deposits, mountain building, volcanic stratigraphy, landscape formation, near-surface faulting, physical and chemical controls of argon distribution in minerals and rocks, and developing novel methods for 40Ar/39Ar analysis. Much of his research involves collaborations with USGS scientists from the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center and the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center. Current research projects include the Cenozoic landscape evolution of the Southern Rocky Mountains, igneous activity related to mineralization in the Basin and Range province, and the timing of fluid flow and mineralization in the Proterozoic mid continent rift of North America.
Science and Products
Igneous activity, metamorphism, and deformation in the Mount Rogers area of SW Virginia and NW North Carolina: A geologic record of Precambrian tectonic evolution of the southern Blue Ridge Province
Geophysical expression of elements of the Rio Grande rift in the northeast Tusas Mountains - Preliminary interpretations
40Ar∗ loss in experimentally deformed muscovite and biotite with implications for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of naturally deformed rocks
Lifetime of an ocean island volcano feeder zone: Constraints from U-Pb dating on coexisting zircon and baddeleyite, and 40Ar/39Ar age determinations, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
40Ar* loss in experimentally deformed muscovite and biotite with implications for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of naturally deformed rocks
Exhumation history of the NW Indian Himalaya revealed by fission track and 40Ar/39Ar ages
Vertical movements of ocean island volcanoes: Insights from a stationary plate environment
Episodic swell growth inferred from variable uplift of the Cape Verde hotspot islands
Thermochronology and tectonics of the Leeward Antilles: Evolution of the southern Caribbean Plate boundary zone
Beyond Colorado's Front Range - A new look at Laramide basin subsidence, sedimentation, and deformation in north-central Colorado
The timing of eclogite facies metamorphism and migmatization in the Orlica–Śnieżnik complex, Bohemian Massif: Constraints from a multimethod geochronological study
A preliminary study of older hot spring alteration in Sevenmile Hole, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Igneous activity, metamorphism, and deformation in the Mount Rogers area of SW Virginia and NW North Carolina: A geologic record of Precambrian tectonic evolution of the southern Blue Ridge Province
Geophysical expression of elements of the Rio Grande rift in the northeast Tusas Mountains - Preliminary interpretations
40Ar∗ loss in experimentally deformed muscovite and biotite with implications for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of naturally deformed rocks
Lifetime of an ocean island volcano feeder zone: Constraints from U-Pb dating on coexisting zircon and baddeleyite, and 40Ar/39Ar age determinations, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
40Ar* loss in experimentally deformed muscovite and biotite with implications for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of naturally deformed rocks
Exhumation history of the NW Indian Himalaya revealed by fission track and 40Ar/39Ar ages
Vertical movements of ocean island volcanoes: Insights from a stationary plate environment
Episodic swell growth inferred from variable uplift of the Cape Verde hotspot islands
Thermochronology and tectonics of the Leeward Antilles: Evolution of the southern Caribbean Plate boundary zone
Beyond Colorado's Front Range - A new look at Laramide basin subsidence, sedimentation, and deformation in north-central Colorado
The timing of eclogite facies metamorphism and migmatization in the Orlica–Śnieżnik complex, Bohemian Massif: Constraints from a multimethod geochronological study
A preliminary study of older hot spring alteration in Sevenmile Hole, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.