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David P. West, Jr.
The photo above (I'm in the red
shirt) is from my 2000 NEIGC
field trip in east-central
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The above photo is from the edge of the Mother's Day flow on the Big
Island of Hawaii. Colleague Jeff Munroe and I taught a Winter Term class in
2003 (17 students) that included visits to three of the |
Education
B.S. (Geology) - Appalachian State University (1986)
M.S. (Geological Sciences) - University
of Maine at Orono (1988)
Ph.D. (Geological Sciences) - University
of Maine at Orono (1993)
e-mail: dwest@middlebury.edu; Tel: (802) 443-3476;
Fax: (802) 443-2072
Background and Teaching Philosophy
Prior to my arrival at Middlebury in the fall of 2001, I taught for five
years at Earlham College in east-central
Research Interests
Broadly speaking, my research interests lie in the temporal and spatial
distribution of deformational and thermal events during mountain building
processes. In laypersons terms, I study the ways in which mountain systems grow
and evolve in time and space. As one might expect, mountain belt evolution
involves a number of complexly interrelated processes and I employ a
multi-disciplinary field-based approach to studying such processes. I consider
myself to be what is often referred to in the field as a "hard-rock
geologist" and my research involves bedrock mapping, structural and microstructural analysis, igneous and metamorphic petrology
as well as thermochronology. One of the main goals of
my research has been to understand the evolution of deformational processes
with time. Because most of this deformation is occurring many kilometers
beneath active tectonic zones and is therefore inaccessible, most of my studies
have concentrated on the deeply eroded roots of an older mountain belt - the
Publications
Books Edited
West, D.P., Jr., and Bailey, R.H. (editors), 2001, Guidebook for Geological
Field Trips in New England: Geological Society of America National Meeting
Field Trip Guidebook,
Ludman, A., and West, D.P., Jr. (editors), 1999,
The Norumbega Fault System of the Northern
Appalachians: Geological Society of
Refereed Journal Articles and Book Chapters
West, D.P., Jr., Roden-Tice, M.K.,
Potter, J.K., and *Barnard, N.Q., 2008, Accessing the
role of orogen-parallel faulting in post-orogenic exhumation: Low-temperature thermochronology
across the Norumbega fault system,
West, D.P., Jr., Yates, M.G., Gerbi, C., and *Barnard, N.Q.,
2008, Metamorphosed Ordovician iron- and manganese-rich rocks in south-central
Gerbi, C., and West, D.P., Jr., 2007, Use of U-Pb geochronology to identify successive,
spatially-overlapping tectonic episodes during Silurian-Devonian orogenesis in south-central
West, D.P., Jr., Tomascak, P.B., Coish, R.A., Yates, M.G., and *Reilly,
M.J., 2007, Petrogenesis of the Lincoln Syenite,
West, D.P., Jr., Coish, R.A., and Tomascak, P.B., 2004, Tectonic setting and
regional correlation of Ordovician metavolcanic rocks
of the Casco Bay Group,
West, D.P., Jr., *Beal, H.M., and Grover, T.W., 2003, Silurian deformation
and metamorphism of Ordovician arc rocks of the Casco Bay Group, south-central
West, D.P., Jr., and Roden-Tice, M.K., 2003, Late Cretaceous reactivation of
the Norumbega fault zone,
West, D.P., Jr., 1999, The timing of displacements
along the Norumbega fault system, south-central and
south-coastal
Ludman, A., and West, D.P., Jr., 1999, Preface, Norumbega fault system of the
West, D.P., Jr., and Hubbard, M.S., 1997,
Progressive localization of deformation during exhumation of a major
strike-slip shear zone: Norumbega fault zone,
West, D.P., Jr., Guidotti, C.V., and Lux, D.R., 1995, Silurian orogenesis in the Western Penobscot Bay region, Maine: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 32, p. 1845-1858.
Hubbard, M.S., West, D.P., Jr., Ludman, A., and Guidotti, C.V., 1995, The Norumbega
fault zone,
Hubbard, M.S., Spencer, D.A., and West, D.P., Jr., 1995, Tectonic exhumation
of the Nanga Parbat massif, northern
West, D.P., Jr., Lux, D.R., and Hussey, A.M., II, 1993, Contrasting thermal histories across the Flying Point fault, southwestern Maine: Evidence for Mesozoic displacement: Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 105, p. 1478-1490.
West, D.P., Jr. and Lux, D.R., 1993, Direct dating
of mylonitization by the 40Ar/39Ar method: An example
from the Norumbega fault zone,
Marchant, D.R., Swisher, C.C., III, Lux, D.R.,
West, D.P., Jr., and Denton, G.H., 1993, Pliocene paleoclimate
and East Antarctic Ice Sheet history from surficial
ash deposits and geomorphological studies of southern
Victoria Land: Science, vol. 260, p. 667-670.
West, D.P., Jr., Ludman, A., and Lux, D.R., 1992,
Silurian age for the Pocomoonshine Gabbro-Diorite, southeastern Maine and its regional
tectonic implications: American Journal of Science, vol. 292, p.
253-273.
Crelling, J.C., Hippo, E.J., Woener, B.A., and West, D.P., Jr., 1992, Combustion characteristics of selected whole coals and macerals: Fuel, vol. 71, p. 151-158.
West, D.P., Jr., Lux, D.R., and Hussey, A.M., II, 1988, 40Ar/39Ar hornblende
ages from southwestern
Field Trip Guidebook Chapters
West, D.P., Jr., Hussey, A.M., II, Berry, H.N., IV, and *Cubley, J.F., 2006, Bedrock geology of the Falmouth-Brunswick and central Maine sequences, Bowdoinham quadrangle, southern Maine, in D.G. Gibson, J. Daly, and D. Reusch, editors, 98th New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Guidebook, p. 43-56.
West, D.P., Jr., *Senese, M.A., and *Sterrett, J.B., 2000, Structural geology and tectonics of Silurian- Devonian terrane accretion in south-central Maine, in Yates, M.G., Lux, D.R., and Kelley, J.T., eds., Guidebook for Field Trips in Coastal and East-Central Maine, New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Guidebook (92nd Annual Meeting), p. 107-128.
West, D.P., Jr., 1995, The Norumbega fault zone in south-central Maine: A trip through 80 million years of dextral shear deformation: in Hussey, A.M., II and Johnston, R.A., editors, Guidebook to Field Trips in Southwestern Maine and Adjacent New Hampshire, 87th New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Guidebook, p. 125-143.
Stewart, D.B., Tucker, R.D., and West, D.P., Jr., 1995, Genesis of Silurian composite terrane in northern Penobscot Bay: in Hussey, A.M., II and Johnston, R.A., editors, Guidebook to Field Trips in Southwestern Maine and Adjacent New Hampshire, 87th New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference Guidebook, p. 29-49.
Bedrock Geologic Maps and Reports
West, D.P., Jr., 2007, Bedrock Geology of the southern half of the Purgatory
7.5’ Quadrangle,
West, D.P., Jr. and *Cubley, J.F., 2006, Bedrock Geology
of the Bowdoinham 7.5' Quadrangle,
West, D.P., Jr., 2006, Bedrock Geology of the
West, D.P., Jr. and *Peterman, E.M., 2004, Bedrock
Geology of the Razorville 7.5' Quadrangle,
Recent Conference Abstracts
Johnson, S.E., Koons, P., West, D.P., Jr., and
Price, N., 2008, Rheological heterogeneity and the state of stress in the roots
of a large displacement, strike-slip, seismogenic
fault, the Norumbega fault system in
West, D.P., Jr., and Gerbi, C., 2007, Flat versus
upright structures in south-central
Gerbi, C., and West, D.P., Jr., 2007, The record of change from compressional to transpressional plate convergence in the south-central Maine Acadian hinterland: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, p. 97.
Johnson, S.E., Koons, P., and West, D.P., Jr., 2007, Stresses at the base of seismogenic faults and coupling of deformation across the frictional to viscous transition: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, p. 97-98.
West, D.P., Jr., *Barnard, N., and Gerbi, C., 2006, Metamorphosed
iron-rich rocks in south-central
West, D.P., Jr., Tomascak, P.B., and Coish, R.A., 2006, Petrogenesis
of the Lincoln Syenite
West, D.P., Jr., Roden-Tice, M., and *Barnard, N. (’06), 2006, Low
temperature thermochronology along the Norumbega fault system in southwestern and south-central
Roden-Tice, M., *Raymond, S.M., and West, D.P., Jr., 2006, Early to Late Cretaceous cooling across New Hampshire based on apatite fission track ages: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program, v. 38, p. 91-92.
West, D.P., Jr., Gerbi, C., Johnson, S.E., Aleinikoff, J., and Berry, H.N. IV, 2005, Strain partitioning and timing of high-grade Acadian metamorphism in south-central Maine: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, p. 31.
*Cubley, J.F., and West, D.P., Jr., 2005, Bedrock geology and igneous
geochemistry in the northern half of the Bowdoinham 7.5' quadrangle,
southwestern
*Potter, J.K., *Winch, J.L., Roden-Tice, M.K., Reiners, P.W., West, D.P.,
Jr., and Wintsch, R.P., 2005, Mid-Cretaceous fault reactivation in central
West, D.P., Jr. and Stewart, D.B., 2004, Geology and tectonics of peri-Gondwanan terranes in
coastal
*Peterman, E.M., and West, D.P., Jr., 2004, Deciphering
the Ordovician tectonic history of a portion of the Liberty-Orrington belt in
south-central
Roden-Tice, M.K., West, D.P., Jr., Wintsch, R.P., *Potter, J.K., and *Winch, J.L., 2004, Late Mesozoic exhumation of the northern Appalachian orogen: Information from apatite fission track ages: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, p. 75.
West, D.P., Jr., Coish, R.A., and Tomascak, P.B., 2003, Tectonic setting and
regional correlation of Ordovician metavolcanic rocks
of the Casco Bay Group, south-central
*Reilly, M.J., and West, D.P., Jr., 2003, Petrogenesis
of the Late Silurian-Early Devonian Lincoln shonkinite,
south-central
West, D.P., Jr., and Grover, T.W., 2002, Closely
spaced low-pressure isograds along the edge of the
Acadian metamorphic high in northern
Roden-Tice, M.K., West, D.P., Jr., Tice, S.J., and Reiners, P.W., 2002, Cretaceous thermochronological discontinuities along the Vermont-New Hampshire border, Norumbega fault system, Me and in the Adirondack mountains, N.Y.: Evidence for Late Mesozoic faulting and differential erosion: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 34, p. 42.
*Beal, H.M., and West, D.P., Jr., 2002, A
petrologic and microstructural study of the Scarboro Formation (Casco Bay Sequence) in south-central
Johnson, S.E., West, D.P., Jr., Guidotti, C.V.,
and Koons, P.O., 2002, Tackling the enigmatic Acadian orogen in northern New England: A multidisciplinary
approach: Geological Society of
* Denotes Student Co-Author
Major Professional Service
Geological Society of
NEGSA Theme Session Organizer: 2006, 2005, 1998
2002 GSA GeoHostel
Field Trip leader (Co-leader of a multi-day field trip along the southern
coast of
2001 Geological Society of America
Field Trip Co-Chair (involved the organization & coordination of 26
field trips associated with the 2001 GSA national meeting in
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