Overview

Suzanne Mahlburg Kay joined the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell in 1976. She is a fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), the Mineralogical Society of America, and the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), an honorary foreign member of the Geological Association of Argentina. She is a recipient of the GSA Distinguished Service Award. Among other activities, she is a former member of the GSA council and the US National Committee for Geological Sciences, former co-chair of the 2006 GSA-Asociaci?n Geol?gica Argentina "Backbone of the Americas " meeting in Argentina, and on the editorial boards of a number of journals.

Research Focus

My research concentrates on the applications of geochemistry, petrology and mineralogy to problems of the origin and evolution of the continental crust, with particular emphasis on the relation of regional tectonics to magmatic processes, arc magmatism, continental margins, the formation of the lower crust, and the evolution of ore deposits. The research couples field studies and chemical and isotopic analysis and is often integrated with geophysical and structural studies.

Instruction Focus

Igneous petrology, geochemistry, mineralogy

Additional Links

• Suzanne Mahlburg Kay

Honors, Awards and Appointments

• Geological Society of America, International Secretary - 2004-2007
• US Delegate to International Geologic Congresses in in Italy - 2004
• Geological Society of America Distinguished Service Award - 2000
• US Delegate to International Geologic Congresses in Brazil - 2000
• Miembro Correspondiente, Asociaci?n Geol?gica Argentina - 1995
• Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America -
• Fellow, Geological Society of America -

Professional Activities

• Geological Society of America Special Meeting, Backbone of the Americas, Argentina - 2006

Selected Publications

• Kay, S. M., Godoy, E., and Kurtz, A., 2005, Episodic arc migration, crustal thickening, subduction erosion, and magmatism in the south-central Andes: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 117, p. 67-88.
• Kay, S.M., C. Mpodozis, and V.A. Ramos, 2004, Andes. In Selley, R.C., Cocks, L.R., and Plimer, I.R., (eds). Encyclopedia of Geology, Elsevier publications. p. 118-131.
• Kay, S.M. and C. Mpodozis, 2002, Magmatism as a probe to the Neogene shallowing of the Nazca plate beneath the modern Chilean flatslab, Jour. South American Earth Science., 15, 39-59.
• Gorring, M. L. and Kay, S.M. 2001. Mantle processes and sources of Neogene slab-window magmas in southern Patagonia. Journal of Petrology, v. 42, 1067-1094.
• Kay, S.M., and C. Mpodozis, 2001, Central Andean ore deposits linked to evolving shallow subduction systems and thickening crust, GSAToday, v. 11, no. 3, 4-9.
• Kay, S. M., C. Mpodozis, and B. Coira, 1999, Magmatism, tectonism, and mineral deposits of the Central Andes (22?-33?S latitude). In Skinner, B. (ed.), Geology and Ore Deposits of the Central Andes, Society of Economic Geology Special Publication 7, 27-59.
• Kay, S. M. and R.W. Kay, 1994, Aleutian magmatism in space and time, in G. Plafker and H.C. Berg (eds.), The Geology of Alaska, Decade of North American Geology, Geol. Soc. Am., v. G-1, 687-722.
• Kay, S. M., B. Coira, J. Viramonte, 1994, Young mafic back-arc volcanic rocks as guides to lithospheric delamination beneath the Argentine Puna Plateau, Central Andes, J. Geophys. Res. 99, 24323-24339.
• Kay, S. M., V.A. Ramos, and M. Marques, 1993, Evidence in Cerro Pampa volcanic rocks for slab-melting prior to ridge-trench collision in southern South America, Journal of Geology 101, 703-714.
• Kay, S. M., V. Ramos, C. Mpodozis and P. Sruoga, 1989, Late Paleozoic to Jurassic silicic magmatism at the Gondwana margin: analogy to the Middle Proterozoic in North America?, Geology 17, 324-328
• Kay, S. M., V. Maksaev, C. Mpodozis, R. Moscoso and C. Nasi, 1987, Probing the evolving Andean lithosphere: middle to late Tertiary magmatic rocks in Chile over the modern zone of subhorizontal subduction (29?- 31.5?S), J. Geophys. Res. 92, 6173-6189.
• Kay, S. M., R.W. Kay and G.P. Citron, 1982, Tectonic controls of Aleutian arc tholeiitic and calc alkaline magmatism, J. Geophys. Res. 87, 4051-4072.

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