Forrest Horton
Assistant Scientist II
Department of Geology & Geophysics
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
About
I study how Earth's crust and mantle evolve over time using a variety of quantitative geochemical and geochronologic techniques. My research interests include chemical exchange across the core-mantle boundary, probing the origins of enigmatic carbon-rich magmas, forecasting hazardous volcanic eruptions with gas geochemistry, and extreme heating in continental crust.
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Contact me if you are interested in research opportunities or collaboration. I am enthusiastic about working with scientists at all levels!
News and Highlights
Twenty oceans worth of hydrogen (H) might exist in Earth's core! Does H exchange across the core-mantle boundary influence water abundance near the surface?
See our paper in Science Advances to learn about the isotopic evidence of core-mantle H transfer.
How does mantle magma supply drive volcanic eruptions?
Check out our paper in EOS about community-driven research on magma supply.
Our paper in Nature reports the highest magmatic 3He/4He yet found in terrestrial rocks. Find out why we think that helium in Baffin Island lavas and elsewhere might be coming from Earth's core.
Are high 3He/4He ratios in intraplate lavas derived from solar nebula preserved in Earth's core?
We are assessing helium isotope variability in recent volcanic eruptions to determine whether helium might inform volcanic hazard forecasts. See this Oceanus article for details.
In collaboration with Pete Barry and Marc-Antoine Longpré.
Can helium isotopes in lavas inform volcanic hazard forecasts?
Deeply subducted seafloor sediments of the Indus Fan melted, ascended as magmas, and erupted in southern Afghanistan.
See my paper in Nature Geoscience about the discovery of the first subduction zone carbonatite volcano. Seafloor sediments that are carbon-rich can subduct into Earth's mantle and then return to the surface to form volcanoes formed primarily of carbonate minerals. See Nature Reviews Earth & Environment for a research highlight.
CONTACT
Department of Geology & Geophysics
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
360 Woods Hole Rd, MS #08
Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
+1-508-289-2776