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Alan E. Boudreau

Professor Emeritus of Geology
Earth and Climate Sciences
Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708
9 Circuit Drive, 3101 Grainger Hall, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Boudreau's expertise lies in origins of igneous layering: Numerical modeling of postcumulus processes such as crystal aging and compaction and how they can give rise to the variety of features observed in igneous layering. Petrogenesis of platinum-group element (PGE) deposits in layered intrusions and associated work on degassing of crystal assemblages and evidence for the mixing of igneous fluids with liquid + crystal assemblages.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor Emeritus of Geology · 2021 - Present Earth and Climate Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment

In the News


Published September 3, 2014
Ginny Isava: Undergraduate Rocks Environmental Research

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Recent Publications


Petrogenesis of the Merensky Reef: The hydromagmatic (“Uppers”) model

Journal Article South African Journal of Geology · September 1, 2025 This work presents a review of the evidence for volatile fluids and models that illustrate how such fluid can give rise to the Merensky Reef and associated stratigraphic features. The unusually Cl-rich nature of the rocks below the Merensky are consistent ... Full text Cite

A Comment on ‘Postcumulus Processes Recorded in Whole Rock Geochemistry: A Case Study from the Mirabela Layered Intrusion, Brazil’ by S.J. Barnes and M. Williams

Journal Article Journal of Petrology · April 1, 2025 In their analysis of whole-rock data from the ultramafic section of the Mirabela Layered Intrusion, Barnes and Williams suggest that the rocks formed as a closed system of crystals + trapped liquid and that compaction played essentially no role in the form ... Full text Cite

The role of hydrothermal processes and the formation of the J-M reef and associated rocks of olivine-bearing zone I of the Stillwater Complex, Montana

Journal Article Mineralium Deposita · March 1, 2025 Several lines of evidence, including hydrous melt inclusions and unusually Cl-rich apatite, have been used to suggest that the reappearance of olivine and PGE-sulfide of the J-M Reef in the Stillwater Complex, Montana, is due to fluid infiltration and hydr ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Layered Instrusion-Footwall Hydrothermal Interactions - An Analog For Subduction Zone Hydrothermal Systems

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2018 - 2022

Upgrade of the Duke University Electron Microprobe

EquipmentPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2011 - 2011

Upgrade of the Duke University Electron Microprobe

EquipmentPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2008 - 2008

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Washington · 1986 Ph.D.
University of Oregon · 1982 M.S.
University of California, Berkeley · 1976 A.B.

External Links


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