GEOMAR  Anderson, Melissa

Melissa O. Anderson

Research Division 4: Dynamics of the Ocean Floor
Research Unit: Magmatic and Hydrothermal Systems
Marine Mineral Resources (MMR)

Office:

Room: 8A-111
Phone: +49 431 600-1427
E-Mail: manderson(at)geomar.de

Address:

GEOMAR | Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Gebäude 8, Ostufer
Wischhofstr. 1-3
24148 Kiel

 

[English only]

Research Interests

Hydrothermal "black smoker" vent

My research examines hydrothermal vent sites on the seafloor, known as seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits. I focus on regional metallogenic studies that explore the relationships between tectonics, volcanism, and hydrothermal activity in order to understand the fundamental geological controls on the size, location, and composition of SMS deposits. My work includes:

  • Field studies of active vent sites and volcanoes on the ocean floor
  • Seafloor geological mapping at deposit-scales (1:500), basin-scales (1:100,000–1:300,000), and regional-scales (1:500,000–1:1,000,000)
  • Structural interpretations and lineament analyses
  • Examination of ore mineralology, mineral textures, trace element distributions, and mineral precipitation processes
  • Alteration studies, including mineralogy, geochemistry, and isotope systematics
  • Comparisons of modern and ancient deposits to better understand ore-forming processes through time

  

Working Areas and Research Expeditions

  • Jean Charcot Troughs - northern New Hebrides back-arc (Vanuatu and Solomon Islands), SW Pacific
  • Coriolis Troughs - southern New Hebrides back-arc (Vanuatu), SW Pacific: SO-229 cruise aboard the R/V Sonne, July, 2013
  • Southern and central Mariana back-arc, W Pacific: FK151121 cruise aboard the R/V Falkor, December, 2015
  • El Hierro, Canary Islands: POS-494 cruise aboard the R/V Poseidon, February, 2016
  • NE Lau Basin: TONGARIFT cruise aboard the R/V Sonne, June, 2018 (scheduled), and ARCHIMEDES cruise aboard the R/V Sonne, December, 2018 (scheduled)
On board the Sonne SO-229 Expedition, Vanuatu (2013)
Control room on board the R/V Falkor during the Hydrothermal Hunt in the Mariana Backarc (2015)
Mapping lava flows in El Hierro during the POS-494 Expedition, Canary Islands (2016)
On board the R/V Poseidon during the POS-494 Expedition to El Hierro, Canary Islands (2016)

  

Education

Ph.D., Earth Sciences - University of Ottawa, Canada, 2018

  • Specialization: Economic geology and marine geology
  • Dissertation: "Relationships between tectonics, volcanism, and hydrothermal venting in the New Hebrides and Mariana back-arcs, western Pacific"; supervised by Prof. Mark Hannington
  • Funding by NSERC; collaboration with GEOMAR, NOAA-PMEL, and Neptune Minerals Inc.

M.Sc., Geology - University of New Brunswick, Canada, 2012 

  • Specialization: Economic geology and igneous petrology
  • Thesis: "Evolution and mineralization of the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, Northwest Territories, Canada"; supervised by Profs. David Lentz and Chris McFarlane
  • Funding by NSERC; collaboration with the NTGO, International Lithium Corp., Aurora Geosciences

B.Sc. (Hon), Geology (major) and Physics (minor) - Brandon University, Canada, 2010

  • Graduated with Great Distinction
  • Honours Thesis: "Metal distribution and siting within epithermal minerals of the Silver King deposit, Nelson, British Columbia; supervised by Profs. A. Hamid Mumin and Danielle Huminicki
  • Collaboration with Excalibur Resources Ltd.

Teaching Experience

University of Ottawa, Canada, and GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany, 2013–2017

  • Co-supervisor of M.Sc. thesis on fluid inclusions in the footwall of an actively-forming SMS deposit
  • Co-supervisor of B.Sc. thesis on multiple sulphur isotopes in an SMS deposit
  • Co-supervisor of B.Sc. thesis on geochemistry and genesis of low-temperature hydrothermal iron oxyhydroxide deposits
  • Supervisor of a senior chemistry project on trace metals in ore minerals from SMS deposits
  • Supervisor of >10 high school and undergraduate student interns (1–12 week terms)
  • Assistant Instructor for the Helmholtz ROBEX Alliance field course to Volcano, Italy, 2017
  • Instructor for the GEOMAR Summer School for high school students, 2015

University of New Brunswick, Canada, 2010–2012

  • Teaching Assistant for: Geochemistry, Optical Mineralogy, Geological Engineering Lab, Structural Geology, and Structural Geology Field School
  • Co-supervisor of B.Sc. thesis on the mineralogy, geochemistry, and geochronology of Li-Ta pegmatites and granites in northern Canada, including in-field instruction of geological techniques and principles

 Brandon University, Canada, 2007–2010

  • Teaching Assistant for: Introduction to Earth Science, Petrology, Igneous Petrology, and Environmental Geology

  

Professional Experience

Postdoctoral Researcher - University of Ottawa, Canada, and GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany: January, 2018, onwards

Field Geologist - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd., Canada: Summer, 2012 

Field Geologist - Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, Canada: Summer, 2010, 2011 

Field Geologist - Alberta Star Development Corp., Canada: Summer, 2009 

Petroleum Geologist - Paramount Energy Trust, Canada: Summer, 2008

Geological Field Assistant - Harvest Gold Corp., Canada: Summer, 2007

  

Awards and Grants

$100,000

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral)

$10,000 to $25,000

University of Ottawa Excellence Scholarship

University of Ottawa Admission Scholarship

Deutscher Akademischer Autauschdienst (DAAD) Research Grant

NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (Master's)

$5,000 to $10,000

NSERC Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement

Society of Economic Geology (SEG) Research Grant

Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC) Graduate Scholarship

Women's Association of Mining Industry of Canada Foundation Scholarship

Glenn D. Hockley Scholarship

$1,000 to $5,000

International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) Travel Grant

Northern Scientific Training Program Research Grant

SEG Travel Grant

University of New Brunswick (UNB) Wright Graduate Scholarship

SEG Research Grant

Janet Holder and Neal Cockshutt Graduate Scholarship in Chemistry

Manitoba Prospectors & Developers Assocation Graduate Scholarship (x2)

Canadian Mineral Industry Education Foundation Scholarship

MAC Travel/Research Grant

Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Foundation Scholarship

Christopher Riley Memorial Scholarship (x2)

Other Awards

Nature Geostory Competition Winner

GAC-VIP Gelinas Award, Best M.Sc. Thesis in Igenous Petrology/Volcanology

GAC Photography Competition, 2016 and 2017

Brandon University Medal (highest departmental GPA) in Geology 

Publications and Presentations

Peer-Reviewed Journals

Baker, E.T., Walker, S.L, Resing, J.A., Chadwick, W.W. Jr., Merle, S.G., Anderson, M.O., Butterfield, D.A., Buck, N.J., and Michael, S. 2017. The effect of arc proximity on hydrothermal activity along spreading centers: New evidence from the Mariana back-arc (12.7°–18.3°N). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 18, doi:10.1002/2017GC007234.

Anderson, M.O., Chadwick, W.W. Jr., Hannington, M.D., Merle, S.G., Resing, J.A., Baker, E.T., Butterfield, D.A., Walker, S.L.,  and Augustin, N., 2017. Geological interpretation of volcanism and segmentation of the Mariana back-arc spreading center between 12.7°N and 18.3°N. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 18, 2240–2274, doi:10.1002/2017GC006813.

Schmidt, K., Garbe-Schönberg, D., Hannington, M.D., Anderson, M.O., Bühring, B., Haase, K., Haruel, C., Lupton, J., and Koschinsky, A., 2017. Boiling vapour-type fluids from the Nifonea vent field (New Hebrides backarc, Vanuatu, SW Pacific): Geochemistry of an early-stage, post-eruptive hydrothermal system. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 207, 185–209, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2017.03.016.

Anderson, M.O., Hannington, M.D., Haase, K.M., Schwarz-Schampera, U., Augustin, N., McConachy, T.F., and Allen, K., 2016. Tectonic focusing of voluminous basaltic eruptions in magma-deficient backarc rifts. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 440, 43–55, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.02.002.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., McFarlane, C., and Falck, H., 2013. A geological, geochemical and textural study of an LCT pegmatite: implications for the magmatic versus metasomatic origin of Nb-Ta mineralization in the Moose II pegmatite, Northwest Territories, Canada. Journal of Geosciences 58 (2013), p. 299–320, doi:10.3190/jgeosci.149.

 

Technical Reports

Hannington, M.D., and Shipboard Scientific Party, 2017. R/V Poseidon POS-494-2 Cruise Report: Assessment of the Ongoing Magmatic-Hydrothermal Discharge of the El Hierro Submarine Volcano, Canary Islands by the Submersible JAGO, pp. 88, doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.1009.8162.

Resing, J., and Shipboard Scientific Party, 2015. R/V Falkor FK151121 Cruise Report: Hydrothermal Hunt in the Mariana Back-Arc, pp. 103, doi:10.7284/906519.

Haase, K., and Shipboard Scientific Party, 2014. R/V Sonne SO-229 Final Report: Volcanism, Hydrothermal Activity, and Vent Biology in the Coriolis Troughs, New Hebrides Island Arc, pp. 42, doi:10.2314/GBV:869412450.

Haase, K., and Shipboard Scientific Party, 2013. R/V Sonne SO-229 Cruise Report: Volcanism, Hydrothermal Activity, and Vent Biology in the Coriolis Troughs, New Hebrides Island Arc, pp. 244, doi:10.2314/GBV:83337866X.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., McFarlane, C., and Falck, H., 2012. Preliminary geology and geochemistry of the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, Northwest Territories. Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, NWT Open Report 2012-006, pp. 55.

 

Conference Presentations - Oral

Anderson, M.O., 2018. Relationships between tectonics, volcanism, and hydrothermal venting in the New Hebrides and Mariana back-arc basins, western Pacific. Second Annual Symposium on Massive Sulfide and Manganese Nodule Exploration, 3 May, 2018, Hanover, Germany. *Invited

Anderson, M.O., Hannington, M.D., McConachy, T.F., and Jamieson, J.W., 2018. Integrating geophysical and geochemical data to understand the relationships between geodynamics, volcanism, and massive sulfide formation in back-arc basins. SEG Meeting, 22–25 Sept, 2018, Keystone, CO (Submitted).

Anderson, M.O., 2018. Geodynamic controls on volcanism and massive sulfide formation in the New Hebrides back-arc. Vanuatu Workshop, 29–30 March, 2018, Geoazur, France. *Invited

Baker, E.T., Walker, S.L, Resing, J.A., Chadwick, W.W. Jr., Anderson, M.O., Merle, S.G., and Butterfield, D.A., 2017. Hydrothermal activity along back-arc spreading centers: the importance of arc proximity. Ocean Sciences Meeting, 11–16 Feb., 2018, Portland, OR.

Anderson, M.O., Chadwick, W.W. Jr., Merle, S.G., Resing, J.A., Baker, E.T., Walker, S.L., Hannington, M.D., Augustin, N., 2017. Relationship between tectonism, volcanism, and hydrothermal venting along the Mariana back-arc spreading center between 12.7°N and 18.3°N. AGU Chapman Conference on Submarine Volcanism, 29 Jan. – 3 Feb., 2017, Hobart, Australia.

Baker, E.T., Walker, S.L., Resing, J., Chadwick, W.W. Jr., Merle, S.G., Anderson, M.O., 2016. Hydrothermal plume surveys of the Mariana backarc (12.7°-18.3°N) by surface-ship and AUV find unexpectedly high spatial frequency of vent sites. AGU Annual Fall Meeting, 12–16 December, 2016, San Francisco, CA.

Anderson, M.O., Hannington, M.D., McConachy, T.F., 2015. Massive sulfide accumulation along a submarine scoria cone row at the Tinakula Deposit, New Hebrides Arc, Solomon Islands. GeoBerlin Annual Conference, 4–7 October, 2015, Berlin, Germany.

Anderson, M.O., Hannington, M.D., Haase, K.M., Schwarz-Schampera, U., 2015. Geological controls on hydrothermal venting at the Nifonea Volcano, Vate Trough, Vanuatu. SGA Biennial Meeting, 24–27 August, 2015, Nancy, France.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., McFarlane C., and Falck, H., 2013. Trace-element geochemistry of muscovite as petrogenetic indications of pegmatite evolution in the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, Northwest Territories, Canada. GAC-MAC Annual Meeting, 22–24 May, 2013, Winnipeg MB, Abstracts Volume 35, p. 62.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., and Falck, H. (Fischer, B.J. and Watson, D.M., Compilers), 2011. Geology, geochemistry, and geochronology of the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, NWT. 39th Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts: Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, 15–17 November, Yellowknife NT, YKGSF Abstracts Volume 2011, p. 19.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., McFarlane, C., and Falck, H., 2011. Trace element geochemistry of micas by laser ablation ICP-MS in the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, NWT. Goldschmidt Conference, 17–19 August, 2011, Prague, Czech Republic, Special Edition Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Mineralogical Magazine, Volume 75 (3), p. 436.

 

Conference Presentations - Posters

Chadwick, W.W. Jr., Merle, S.G., Kaiser, C.L., Baker, E.T., Walker, S.L., Resing, J.A., Butterfield, D.A., Baumberger, T., Anderson, M.O., Shore, P., Wiens, D.A., Rubin, K.H., 2017. A recent volcanic eruption discovered on the central Mariana back-arc spreading center. IAVCEI Scientific Assembly, 14–18 Aug, 2017, Portland, OR.

Anderson, M.O., Hannington, M.D., Haase, K., Schwartz-Shampera, U., and McConachy, T., 2014. Insights into magmatic-hydrothermal processes in the newly-discovered seafloor massive sulfide deposits of the New Hebrides arc-backarc, SW Pacific. AGU Annual Fall Meeting, 12–19 December, 2014, San Francisco, CA.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., and Falck, H., 2011. Evolution and mineralization of the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, Northwest Territories, Canada. SEG-SGP Annual Conference, 23–26 September, 2012, Lima, Peru.

Boyé, S., Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., and Falck, H. (Fischer, B.J. and Watson, D.M., Compilers), 2011. Petrology, geochemistry, and U-Pb geochronology of Archean fertile granitic plutons and associated pegmatites in the Slave Province, NWT: Preliminary results. 39th Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts: Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, 15–17 November, 2011, Yellowknife, NT, YKGSF Abstracts Volume 2011, p. 94.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., and Falck, H., 2011. Petrology and geochemistry of the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit, NWT. GAC-MAC Annual Meeting, 25–27 May, Ottawa, ON, Abstracts Volume 2011, p. 4.

Anderson, M.O., and Lentz, D., 2011. Trace-element geochemistry of muscovite as an exploration tool for rare-element granitic pegmatites: A review. CIM Conference and Exhibition, 22-25 May, Montréal, QC, Abstracts Volume 2011, p. 78–79.

Anderson, M.O., Lentz, D., Falck, H., and Mumford, T.M. (Palmer, E., Compiler), 2010. Trace-element geochemistry of muscovite in the Moose II lithium-tantalum pegmatite deposit and associated Faulkner Lake pegmatite field, NWT. 38th Annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum Abstracts: Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, 16–19 November, Yellowknife, NT, YKGSF Abstracts Volume 2010, p. 72.

 

Theses

Anderson, M.O., Relationships between tectonism, volcanism, and hydrothermal venting in the New Hebrides and Mariana back-arc basins, western Pacific (Ph.D. dissertation), University of Ottawa, Canada, pp. 366.

Anderson, M.O., 2013. Evolution and Mineralization of the Moose II Lithium-Tantalum Pegmatite Deposit, Northwest Territories, Canada (Master's thesis), University of New Brunswick, Canada, pp. 359.

Anderson, M.O., 2010. Metal distribution and siting within epithermal minerals of the Silver King deposit, Nelson, British Columbia (Bachelor's honours thesis), Brandon University, Canada, pp. 85.

 

Geoscience Leadership

  • APGO Geoscientist in Training (GIT) 
  • Outreach Coordinator and Student Councilor,  Geological Association of Canada - Volcanology and Igenous Petrology Division (GAC-VIP), 2016–Present
  • Member: Graduate Earth Science Student Association (uOttawa), OCUSEG Student Chapter, Geological Association of Canada, Mineralogical Association of Canada, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, Society of Economic Geologists, Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits
  • Volunteer Booth Representative: Responsible Exploration "E3-Plus" Program, Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention, 2010–2014
  • Convenor, Atlantic Universities Geological Conference (AUGC), October 2014
  • Vice-president, Association of Graduate Earth Scientists, University of New Brunswick, 2010–12
  • President, Brandon University Geology Club, 2009–2010
  • President, Association of Petroleum Geologists Student Chapter, 2008–2010
  • Treasurer, Brandon University Geology Club, 2007–2009
  • Volunteer Demonstrator, hands-on exhibits for elementary students at the Manitoba Mining and Minerals Convention, 2008–2010