GEO 2112
Geology Building
8000 Regents Drive
College Park, MD 20742

ldpete [at] umd [dot] edu

Planetary Volcanism Laboratory

Megan Newcombe

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My research aims to characterize the volatile element contents (primarily water) of early formed planetesimals in the inner solar system. I conduct my analyses using a combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). I am also conducting experiments to constrain the partitioning behavior of water in olivine at low pressures (<200 MPa) relevant to the upper crust and small meteoritic parent bodies.

Peterson, L.D., Newcombe, M.E.,  Alexander, C.M.O'D., Wang, J., Sarafian, A.R.,  Bischoff, A.,  Nielsen, S.G. (2022) The H₂O content of the ureilite parent body. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2022.10.036

Steiner R.A., Rooney T.O., Girard G., Rogers N., Ebinger C. J., Peterson L., Phillips R.K. (2022) Initial Cenozoic magmatic activity in East Africa: new geochemical constraints on magma distribution within the Eocene continental flood basalt province. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 518 435-465. DOI: 10.1144/SP518-2020-262

Newcombe M.E., Nielsen S.G., Peterson L.D., Wang J., Alexander C.M.O., Sarafian A.R., Shimizu K., Nittler L.R., Irving A.J. (2023) Degassing of early-formed planetesimals restricted water delivery to Earth. Nature. 615 854-857. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05721-5

Peterson L.D., Newcombe M.E., Alexander C.M.O., Wang J., Klein F., Bekaert D.V., Nielsen S.G. (2023) The H content of aubrites: An evaluation of bulk versus in situ methods for quantifying water in meteorites. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 620 118341. DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118341