Gibson Research
My students and I are part of the Petrology and Tectonics Research Group at SFU. The P-T Group undertakes research in areas ranging from structural geology and tectonics to metamorphic petrology and geochemistry. We commonly co-supervise graduate students and provide them with intensive and integrated training in petrology and tectonics. Field work forms the basis for many of our students' programs.
My Research Program:
I have a field-based research program focused on the tectonic evolution of collisional orogens, with emphasis on the Canadian Cordilllera and Canadian Shield. Typically, projects include structural, metamorphic, and U-Th-Pb geochronologic analyses of rocks exhumed from mid- to lower crustal levels that provide insight into deep-seated orogenic processes.
Field Areas for Current Research:
Harrison Lake, British Columbia
Monashee and Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia
Okanagan-Shuswap, British Columbia
Yukon Territory
Northwest Territory
Nunavut
Supervised Graduate Students:
Sarah Brown |
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Geology and geochronology of the southern Okanagan Valley shear zone, southern Canadian Cordillera, British Columbia |
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| Elizabeth Westberg MSc Graduated 2010 |
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The tectonometamorphic and structural evolution of the Yukon Tanana and Cassiar terranes in the Mendocina Creek area: Implications for the tectonic framework of south-central Yukon |
Prince Ofori Amponsah |
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Multiscale structural analysis of the Sunyani Basin, Ghana |
Ivanka Mitrovic |
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Evolution of the Coast Cascade Orogen by Tectonic Thickening and Magmatic Loading: The Cretaceous Breakenridge Complex, Southwestern British Columbia |
Reid Staples |
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Diachronous Deformation, Metamorphism and Exhumation in the Northern Canadian Cordillera: Revealed from Pressure-Temperature-Time-Deformation Paths of Former Mid-Crustal Rocks |
| Luke Bickerton MSc Graduated 2014 |
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The northern Cache Creek terrane: a record of Middle Triassic arc activity and Jurassic-Cretaceous terrane imbrication |
| Vincent Twomey MSc Graduated 2014 |
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Three dimensional strain distribution and deformation temperature interpreted from quartz microstructures and petrofabrics in the Okanagan Valley shear zone, southern Canadian Cordillera |
| Lucia Theny MSc Graduated 2016 |
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Age, formation and tectonism of the Neoproterozoic Ruddock Creek zinc-lead deposit and host Windermere Supergroup, northern Monashee Mountains, southern Canadian Cordillera |
| Andy Clark MSc Graduated 2017
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Tectonometamorphic history of mid-crustal rocks at Aishihik Lake, southwest Yukon |
| Lianna Vice MSc Graduated 2017 |
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Late Cretaceous to Paleocene evolution of the Blanchard River assemblage, southwest Yukon; implications for Mesozoic accretionary processes in the northwestern Cordillera |
| Eric Thiessen PhD Graduated 2019 |
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Paleoproterozoic Tectonometamorphic Evolution of the Southeastern Rae Craton Margin |
| Sarah Bowie MSc Graduated 2022 |
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Thermo-tectonic evolution of the Shuswap complex, southeastern Brisith Columbia |
Becca Canam |
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Paleoproterozoic structural evolution of the southwestern margin of the Rae craton, Northwest Territories |
Will McKenzie |
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The significance of the Cretaceous Kluane Schist in the Mesozoic Assembly of the North American Cordillera |
Matt Sayles |
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Deconvoluting the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic Tectonometamorphic Evolution of the Angikuni Lake Region, Nunavut; Implications for the Tectonic Framework of the Western Churchill Province |
Maria Cartyer |
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Structural evolution of the western margin of the Rae craton |
Kelsey Krossa |
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Unravelling the Tectonometamorphic Evolution of the Uvauk High-Pressure Anorthosite Complex, Nunavut: Implications for Precambrian Plate Tectonic Processes |
Gaby Jones |
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Investigating the tectonic significance of ultramafic rocks in the eastern Harrison Lake area, southwestern BC |
Eric |
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Patterns of Early Eocene Cordilleran orogenic collapse revealed by high-precision geochronology of the Challis-Kamloops belt in Southeast British Columbia and Northeast Washington |

















