Thomas Stachel

Email

tstachel@ualberta.ca

Phone

(780) 492-0865

Address

1-14 Earth Sciences Building

11223 Saskatchewan Drive NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2E3

Research area

Diamond Geology

Research interest

Thomas Stachel’s main research area is diamond geology. By studying the chemical and physical properties of diamonds (stable isotope composition, nitrogen contents and aggregation levels) and the geochemistry of their mineral inclusions, he seeks to define the conditions under which diamonds are formed and stored within the Earth’s mantle. Because diamonds form over a large depth interval extending from the deep lithosphere (>140 km depth) into the lower mantle (beneath the 660 km discontinuity), they provide a unique means of obtaining direct information on this otherwise inaccessible region of our planet

Research opportunity

PhD and MSc projects are currently available in the following fields

• Systematic studies on diamonds and their mineral inclusions from mines in Canada and worldwide
• The evolution of cratonic roots (the origin of cratonic peridotites, eclogites, and pyroxenites).
• The mineralogy and geochemistry of the deep mantle (asthenosphere, transition zone and lower mantle)