peter zeitler

Research Interests

Most recently my research has focused on regional-scale tectonics and geodynamics: I am particularly interested in the influence surface processes can have on tectonic processes and evolution. By training I am a geochronologist, and the lab we maintain here at Lehigh focuses on noble-gas geochronology (U-Th/He and Ar-Ar). Although we conduct studies using the full range of these techniques, we have particular expertise in the application of lower-temperature thermochronology to tectonics. As such, another interest of mine is refinement of the techniques of thermochronology.

Student Opportunities

I'm always on the lookout for students interested in tectonics, geodynamics, or applications of geochronology and thermochronology to tectonics. I feel strongly that student training should include a blend of field work, applied studies that use modern techniques to solve geological problems, and laboratory experiments that help us better understand the tools we use. I also feel strongly that graduate training should be broad, aimed at developing skills like critical thinking and synthesis of data. Last but not least, I am supportive of students who seek training across earth systems and beyond, and wish to pay some attention to career development and polishing professional skills.

Intellectual life in the EES department is diverse and broad, as you'll see if you browse through our course offerings and research portfolio. But if you're interested in joining us to work in tectonics, you might be wondering what relevant grad-accessible courses we offer:

EES 301. Seismology: Images and Dynamics of the Earth's Interior (3) (Meltzer)
EES 316 (CEE 316). Hydrogeology (3) (Peters)
EES 325. Remote Sensing of Terrestrial and Aquatic Environments (3) (Ramage)
EES 334. Geosphere Structure and Evolution (3) (Bebout, Kodama)
EES 405. Paleo- and Environmental Magnetism (3) (Kodama)
EES 407. Seismology (3) (Meltzer)
EES 412. Advanced Fluvial and Tectonic Geomorphology (3) (Pazzaglia)
EES 426. Tectonic Processes (3) (Meltzer, Zeitler)
EES 427. Orogenic Belts (3) (Anastasio)
EES 428. Stress and Strain in Rocks (3) (Anastasio)
EES 429. Methods and Applications of Geochronology (3) (Zeitler)
EES 438. Petrogenetic Processes (3) (Bebout)
EES 457. Advanced Remote Sensing of the Environment (3) (Ramage)
EES 471. Stable Isotope Chemistry - Theory, Techniques, and Applications in the Earth and Environmental Sciences (3) (Bebout)
EES 473. Aqueous Geochemistry (3) (Peters)

It's also worth knowing, especially from the perspective of broader career development, that courses in departments like Civil & Environmental Engineering and Materials Science are available to you, and under our new Environmental Initiative we are developing courses and programs in areas like policy and risk perception.

Recent and Ongoing Projects.

U-Th/He Dating and Topographic Evolution of the Appalachians: This long-running project is an investigation of the post-orogenic erosion and topographic history of the Appalachians, using U-Th/He dating of apatite, in collaboration with Frank Pazzaglia and Bruce Idleman at Lehigh. Funded by NSF-Tectonics.
Geodynamics of Indentor Corners: Focused on the eastern end of the Himalaya-Tibet collision zone, this large multidisciplinary study has been looking at the complex 4D deformation near a plate edge during collision, at all scales: locally, to see if the metamorphic massif and mountain Namche Barwa is an erosionally induced "tectonic aneurysm" as we have proposed for Nanga Parbat; regionally, to look at the importance of erosional mass removal in the accommodation of collisional convergence; and margin-wide, to understand the reponse of the entire lithosphere to plate-edge dynamics. Based at Lehigh and also involving Anne Meltzer and her seismology research group, the project includes investigators from a number of universities. Funded by NSF-Continental Dynamics.
STEEP - St. Elias Erosion and Tectonics Project: This large multi-investigator project is using the St. Elias range in Alaska to investigate the role of glacial erosion in shaping the tectonics of an active orogenic belt, and also what other driving forces and boundary conditions are causing deformation in the region. Lehigh personnel (me, and my postdoc Eva Enkelmann) are involved as part of a team of geochronologists working to document the cooling and erosion history of the orogen.

Impacts of Fission-Track Damage on Helium Diffusion Kinetics in Apatite and Zircon

Interest in (U-Th)/He dating has blossomed due to the low-temperature sensitivity of helium diffusion in apatite and other accessory minerals like zircon. However, recently reported experimental results along with artifacts seen in field studies suggest that helium diffusion may be complicated by accumulation of radiation damage: damage zones appear to act as internal traps for helium, having the net effect of increasing helium retentivity. This introduces another variable to helium-diffusion kinetics that would be most significant for samples undergoing slow cooling or in particular, partial reheating. Contrary to the common assumption that alpha-recoil damage is responsible for this phenomenon, we hypothesize that the much more rare fission-track damage is in fact the controlling factor due to the greater thermal stability of fission tracks. Eva Enkelmann and I are testing this idea through a series of diffusion experiments in samples in which alpha damage has been annealed and varying levels of fission-track damage have been artificially induced. These experiments will allow us to build refined conceptual and quantitative models for helium diffusion. Supported by the Petroleum Research Fund.

Representative Publications.

Booth, A.L., Chamberlain, C.P., Kidd, W.S.F., Zeitler, P.K., 2009 in press. Constraints on the metamorphic evolution of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis from geochronologic and petrologic studies of Namche Barwa. Geological Society of America Bulletin. (pdf)

Cerveny, P.F., Naeser, N.D., Zeitler, P.K., Naeser, C.W. and Johnson, N.M., 1988. History of uplift and relief of the Himalaya over the past 18 Ma - Evidence from fission-track ages of detrital zircons from sandstones of the Siwalik Group, in K. Kleinspehn and C. Paola, eds., New Perspectives in Basin Analysis, Univ. Minnesota Press, p. 43-61. (pdf (10BM!))

Enkelmann, E., Zeitler, P.K., Pavlis, T.L., Garver, J.I., and Ridgway, K.D., 2009. Intense localized rock uplift and erosion in the St Elias orogen of Alaska. Nature Geoscience, v. 2, no. 5, p. 360-363. DOI: 10.1038/NGEO502. (pdf)

Finnegan, N.J., Hallet, B., Montgomery, D.R., Zeitler, P.K., Stone, J.O., Anders, A.M., and Liu Yuping, 2008. Coupling of rock uplift and river incision in the Namche Barwa-Gyala Peri massif, Tibet. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 120(1/2); p. 142-155; doi: 10.1130/B26224.1. (pdf)

Gray, M.B. and Zeitler, P.K., 1997. Comparison of clastic wedge provenance in the Appalachian foreland using U/Pb ages of detrital zircons. Tectonics, 16, 151-160.

Koons, P. O., Zeitler, P.K., Chamberlain, C.P., Craw, D., Meltzer, A.S. 2002. Mechanical links between erosion and metamorphism in Nanga Parbat, Pakistan Himalaya. American Journal of Science, 302, 749-773. (pdf)

Schneider, D.A., Edwards, M.A., Kidd, W.S.F., Khan, M.A., Seeber, L., Zeitler, P.K. Tectonics of Nanga Parbat, Western Himalaya: synkinematic plutonism within the doubly-vergent shear zones of a crustal-scale pop-up structure. Geology. 27, 999-1002. (pdf)

Stewart, R.J., Hallet, B., Zeitler, P.K., Malloy, M.A., Allen, C.M., and Trippett, D., 2008. Brahmaputra sediment flux dominated by highly localized rapid erosion from the easternmost Himalaya. Geology, v. 36, p. 711-741, doi: 10.1130/G24890A.1. (pdf)

Warnock, A.C. and Zeitler, P.K., 1998. 40Ar/39Ar thermochronometry of K-feldspar from the KTB borehole, Germany. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 158, 67-79. (pdf)

Zeitler, P.K., 1987. Argon diffusion in partially outgassed alkali-feldspars: Insights from 40Ar/39Ar analysis. Chemical Geology (Isotope Geoscience Section). 65, 167-181. (pdf)

Zeitler, P.K., Herczeg, A., McDougall, I., and Honda, M., 1987. U-Th-He dating of Durango fluorapatite: a potential thermochronometer. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 51, 2865-2868.

Zeitler, P.K., Chamberlain, C.P., and Smith, H.A., 1993. Synchronous anatexis, metamorphism, and rapid denudation at Nanga Parbat (Pakistan Himalaya), Geology, 21, 347-350. (pdf)

Zeitler, P. K., A. S. Meltzer, P. Koons, D. Craw, B. Hallet, C. P. Chamberlain, W. Kidd, S. Park, L. Seeber, M. Bishop, J. Shroder, 2001. Erosion, Himalayan geodynamics, and the geology of metamorphism. GSA Today, 11, 4-8. (pdf)

Zeitler, P.K., Koons, P.O., Bishop, M. L., Chamberlain, C.P., Craw, D., Edwards, M.A., Hamidullah, S., Jan, M.Q., Khan, M.A., Khattak, M.U.K., Kidd, W.S.F., Mackie, R.L., Meltzer, A.S., Park, S.K., Pecher, A., Poage, M.A., Sarker, G., Schneider, D.A., Seeber, L., and Shroder, J., 2001. Crustal Reworking at Nanga Parbat, Pakistan: Evidence for erosional focusing of crustal strain. Tectonics, 20, 712-728. (pdf)

Research Facilities.

Facilities for research in geochronology include systems for U-Th/He and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology (with both furnace, and UV and CO2 lasers) as well as a basic set-up for fission-track dating. Relevant supporting facilities include a stable-isotope geochemistry laboratory housed within the department, and excellent facilities for sample characterization housed in other departments on campus. Extensive computing facilities for data analysis include workstations provided in the geochronology lab and the department; GIS software is available on departmental machines and widely used.