Isotope geochemistry, metamorphic petrology

• B. S. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 1965-1969
• M. S. The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1969-1971
• Ph. D. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1972-1978

My primary research interests center on fluid-rock interactions and the mechanisms and rates of reaction during metamorphism of crustal rocks.  I am also interested in applications of geothermobarometry in metamorphic systems.  More recently, in collaboration with colleagues here at Utah and other institutions, I have gotten interested in the utility of accessory phases such as zircon as monitors of the thermal and compositional evolution of crust over time, and in the mechanisms and timescales of assembly of igneous intrusions.  My approach to research is multi-disciplinary, combining field observations, petrography, chemical and stable isotope analysis (mass spectrometry, electron microprobe), thermodynamic calculations and heat/mass transport modeling.  These approaches have been amplified recently with quantitative textural analyses including measurements of crystal size distributions (CSD) and spatial dispositions, and ion microprobe (SIMS) analyses of isotopes (U, Pb, O) and trace elements (Ti, REE).

Current Research Projects

Characterization of the mechanisms, processes, and rates involving infiltration-driven metamorphism of carbonate and calc-silicate rocks in the Alta stock contact aureole, Alta, Utah.

Evaluation of the mechanisms and rates of crystal nucleation and growth during reaction of carbonate rocks in the Alta aureole.

Quantitative characterization of the isotopic (Pb, O) and trace element chemical (U, Ti, REE) behavior of zircon during granulite facies metamorphism, Kapuskasing Uplift, Ontario, Canada (in collaboration with Desmond Moser, University of Western Ontario).

Characterization of the processes and mechanisms associated with the onset of contact metamorphism: Quantitative characterization of the outer aureole (talc zone), Alta aureole.  This project involves detailed mapping of the occurrences of reactant and product mineral assemblages, calculation of reaction progress on the outcrop scale, determination of mineral and whole-rock chemistry, measurement of stable isotope compositions, and fluid inclusion microthermometry.

Evaluation of thermal constraints on the mechanisms and timescales of assembly of igneous intrusions (in collaboration with John Bartley, University of Utah). We will be using the Alta stock and aureole as natural laboratory to investigate the assembly of an igneous intrusion.  My approach will be to look for petrologic and chemical (including isotopic) signals within both the contact aureole and the intrusion to constrain the thermal evolution of the Alta stock.  Based on mine and my students’ previous studies, the Alta aureole is one of the best documented contact aureoles on Earth.  The thermal structure of this aureole in theory records heat and mass transfer from the adjacent Alta stock.  This record, if amplified with high precision age information, in turn constrains the thermal evolution of the stock, an important constraint on how, and on how long it took, for the stock to form.

Temperature-time evolution, fluid infiltration, and processes of schist-to-gneiss transformation in the low P/high T Chugach Metamorphic Complex, southern Alaska (in collaboration with Virginia Sisson and Terry Pavlis).

Bowman, J. R., 1998, Stable Isotope Systematics, In: Mineralized Intrusion-Related Skarn Systems, D. Lentz (ed), Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course, v. 26, p. 99-146, Quebec City, Quebec, May, 1998.

Bowman, J. R., 1998, Phase Equilibria, In: Mineralized Intrusion-Related Skarn Systems, D. Lentz (ed), Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course, v. 26, p. 1-50, Quebec City, Quebec, May, 1998.

Bowman, J. R., Sisson, V. B., Valley, J.W., and Pavlis, T. L., 2003, Oxygen isotope constraints on fluid infiltration associated with high temperature--low pressure metamorphism (Chugach Metamorphic Complex) within the Eocene southern Alaska fore-arc, in Sisson, V. B., Roeske, S. M., Pavlis, T. P., editors, Geological consequences of ridge-trench interactions in the northern Pacific, Geological Society of America Special Paper 371, p. 237-252.

Bowman, J.R., Valley, J.W., and Kita, N., 2006, Oxygen isotope and microtextural evidence for fluctuations in fluid pressure (Pfl) dduring contact metamorphism, Alta Aureole, Utah, USA (abst): American Geophysical Union Mtg, Dec 11-15, San Fransisco, CA.

Cook, S. J. and Bowman, J. R., 2000, Contact metamorphism surrounding the Alta stock--Fluid-rock interaction accompanying metamorphism of siliceous dolomites: Journal of Petrology, v. 41, p. 739-757.

Cook S. J., Bowman, J. R., and Forster, C. B., 1997, Contact metamorphism surrounding the Alta Stock: Finite element model simulation of heat- and 18O/16O mass-transport during prograde metamorphism: American Journal of Science, v. 297 p. 1-55.

Huang, S., Bowman, J. R., and Roselle, G.T., in press, Modeling the effects of reaction kinetics, diffusion, and fluid infiltration on mixed-volatile metamorphic reactions: Journal of Metamorphic Geology.

Moser, D.E., Bowman, J.R., Wooden, J., Valley, J.W., Mazdab, F., and Kita, N., 2006, An Archean Wilson cycle recorded by slow-growth zircon in the Kapsukasing Uplift, Ontario, Canada (abst): American Geophysical Union Mtg, Dec 11-15, San Fransisco, CA.

Roselle, G.M., Bowman, J.R., and Forster, C.B., 2003, Development and stability of multiple groundwater flow systems near cooling plutons; Jour. Geophysical Research, v. 108, No. B1, p. 1-13.

Bowman, J. R., Willett, S. D., and Cook, S. J., 1994, Oxygen isotopic transport and exchange during fluid flow: One-dimensional models and applications: American Journal of Science, v. 294, p. 1-55.

Bowman, J.R., Valley, J.W., and Kita, N., 2006, Oxygen isotope and microtextural evidence for fluctuations in fluid pressure (Pfl) dduring contact metamorphism, Alta Aureole, Utah, USA (abst): American Geophysical Union Mtg, Dec 11-15, San Fransisco, CA.

Cook, S. J. and Bowman, J. R., 1994, Contact metamorphism surrounding the Alta Stock: thermal constraints and evidence of advective heat transport from calcite-dolomite geothermometry: American Mineralogist, v. 79, p. 513-525.