Caden Howlett
tectonics
research
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona studying geoscience, broadly interested in continental tectonics and the development of Cordilleran fold-thrust belts.
I am working with my advisors Barbara Carrapa and Peter DeCelles (and my field partner, Chance Ronemus) to determine the structure and kinematics of the Andean thrust belt between 32-35S.
My research interests involve integrating traditional field-based approaches (geologic mapping/structural analysis), low-T thermochronology, geochronology, and thermal history modeling. My work intends to place such constraints in a regional context that enables the testing and/or creation of tectonic and geodynamic models.
Updates
February 23: I joined the ALFA Mars team, an international group of scientists and engineers searching for life on the red planet. We are working towards a Mars analog experiment in the Arctic in the coming years. See more on the project here.
February 23: I did a Q&A with the UArizona College of Science discussing science communication and recent geoscience outreach efforts. Check it out here.
January-February 23: 6-week field season in Argentina and Chile with Mr. Ronemus. Good times!
October 22: Presented more new science from the Little Belt Mtns at the Annual GSA meeting in Denver.
doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-382668
January-March 22: 10-week field season in south-central Andes (31-36S) with Chance Ronemus. Successful summit of Cerro Mercedario (6720m; 22,050ft).
September 2021: Presented central MT Laramide work at the 17th International Conference on Thermochronology in Sante Fe, NM. doi.org/10.1002/essoar.10508006.1
New Publication (August 2021): New paper in Tectonics with Aislin Reynolds and Drew Laskowski. We present geologic mapping, igneous zircon U-Pb geochronology, zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology, and Lu-Hf isotopes from the Anaconda metamorphic core complex in western Montana. doi.org/10.1029/2020TC006431
June-July 2021: Field season in Little Belt Mountains, central Montana, USA
April 2021: Presented preliminary low-T thermochronology results from Little Belt Mountains at 49th Annual UA GeoDaze research symposium. Best graduate talk award
New Publication (December 2020): My MSc advisor Drew Laskowski and I published a paper in Geosphere. We present new DZ U-Pb and Lu-Hf data from the Flint Creek Basin in western Montana and test the utility of these techniques for tracing the source of placer gold. doi.org/10.1130/GES02226.1
August 2020: Began PhD in Geosciences Department at the University of Arizona.
July-August 2020: Field season in northern Laramide of Wyoming and Montana.
New Publication (May 2020): New 1:24,000 scale geologic map across the Anaconda detachment fault, presented as a USGS/MBMG EDMAP sheet.
March 2020: Defended my MSc thesis at Montana State University, titled: Syn-orogenic magmatism, mid-crust exhumation, and placer gold deposition: The Anaconda metamorphic core complex of western Montana.
July-August 2019: Field season in south-central Tibet with Andrew Laskowski, Kurt Sundell, and Aislin Reynolds.
