I am a geochemist interested in the broad processes occurring within and between the Earth’s crust, mantle, and surface. An interest in unraveling the history of the Earth, as well as predicting certain aspects of its future, is at the heart of much of the research going on in my group. By studying the vast geological record, we interpret the chemistry of diverse Earth materials (rocks, minerals, sediments, and more) to elucidate the timescales, rates, and mechanisms of broad and interdependent geological processes such as tectonics, metamorphism, subduction, global geochemical cycles, lithosphere-hydrosphere-atmosphere interactions. My research brings together approaches including isotope geochemistry, geochronology, field geology, petrology & mineralogy, thermodynamics, and numerical modeling. My research has taken my students and me to field areas including Austria, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, the Greek Isles, China, Ontario, California, and throughout New England.
Current Graduate Students and Projects:
- Adriana Morales (MS): Garnet chronology and chemistry in skarns
- Alexya Lee (PhD): Garnet chronology and chemistry in peraluminous granites
- Kyra Schroeder (PhD): Timescales of metamorphism and fluid flow in modern and ancient orogens
Recent Alumni and Projects:
- Dylan Seal (PhD, 2026): Applications of Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd Isotope Geochemistry to Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Planetary Systems
- Charlotte Lorthioir (MS 2023): Timescales of Oceanic Lithosphere Hydration: Constraints from Rodingites, Apennines, Italy
- Skylar Goliber (MS 2022): Iron and zinc isotopes reveal redox reactions associated with fluid flow in subduction zones
- Alex Leich (MS 2020): Geochronology and petrogenesis of REE ore mineralization in Quebec
- Thomas Farrell (MS 2019): Dating tectonic evolution of the Iberian Peninsula using microstructures preserved in garnet
- Anna Gerrits (MS 2018): Assessing redox change due to subduction zone dehydration using Fe-isotope and chemical zonation in garnet
Recent Publications ( * = Baxter student coauthor; † = TIMS Facility user/collaborator)
- *†Seal, DM, *†Chen, MZ, †Nicklas, RW, Baxter, EF, Day, JMD, Rider-Stokes, BG, Love, AB, Malley, J 2026. Implications for martian mantle reservoirs from petrogenesis of the 1.27 Ga olivine-phyric shergottite Northwest Africa 13441. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 426, 40-55, doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2026.06.035
- *†Seal, DM, Baxter, EF, Snyder, NP, Cook, TL 2025. Rb-Sr isochron method of sediment source fingerprinting reveals fundamental shift in erosion in response to anthropogenic land use. GSA Bulletin, 137, p. 1717-1730, https://doi.org/10.1130/B37641.1
- *†Farrell, T, Aerden, D, Baxter, EF, *†Starr, PG, Williams ML, 2024. Rapid development of spiral garnets during subduction zone metamorphism revealed from high-resolution Sm-Nd garnet geochronology. Geology, https://doi.org/10.1130/G51882.1
- †Sjöqvist, A.S.L., Zack, T., †Honn, D.K., Baxter, E.F., 2020. Modification of a rare-earth element deposit by low-temperature partial melting during metamorphic overprinting: Norra Kärr alkaline complex, southern Sweden. Chemical Geology, 545, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2020.119640
- *†Gerrits, A.R., Inglis, E., *†Starr, P.G., Dragovic, B., Baxter, E.F., Burton, K. (2019) Release of oxidizing fluids in subduction zones recorded by iron isotope zonation in garnet. Nature Geoscience. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0471-y
