TWINNING PROGRAM WITH GEORGIA, ROMANIA, AND UKRAINE

Gordon Medaris, Jr. spent two weeks during fall 1999 in Romania with his colleague Viorica Iancu at the Geological Institute of Romania in Bucharest. This project includes field research on eclogites in the South Carpathians, so the timing of his initial visit was dictated by the optimum season for collecting samples. During his visit to Romania, Medaris consulted with Dr. Udabasa, Director of the Geological Institute of Romania, and Dr. Sabau, a young petrologist on the institute staff. Medaris’ time in Romania allowed him to present a paper on the initial results of their research at the 5th Symposium on Mineralogy in Bucharest. Field excursions in Romania resulted in the collection of nearly seventy samples of eclogites and related rock. Medaris and Iancu were accompanied on the first three days of their excursion by Mihai Ducea, a Romanian who recently completed his Ph.D. and has taken a tenure-track position at the University of Arizona. Iancu has been preparing and examining these samples in Romania. More recently, she traveled to Madison for a month beginning in January 2000. During her visit, Iancu analyzed in detail twenty of the most important samples using the electron microprobe. Medaris is scheduled to visit Romania again in August 2000, and Iancu will return to the U.S. sometime in the autumn of 2000.

Update--2000

Unfortunately, a severe financial crisis at the Geological Institute of Romania resulted in the cancellation of Medaris' planned field expedition in August 2000. However, the two partners continued their project in October 2000 when Iancu arrived in Madison for a one-month visit. She brought with her additional samples, which were subjected to electron microprobe and x-ray fluorescence analysis. Thanks to this visit, Iancu not only increased her capabilities with these analytical techniques but also gained knowledge of geothermobarometric methods used in metamorphic petrology. Under a no-cost extension, Medaris and Iancu will continue their collaboration in 2001, with Iancu expected to make another month-long visit to Madison in July to continue analyzing samples and correlating results.

Summing up the benefits of his participation in the Twinning Program, Medaris states: "This program has made possible an extension of my research on high-pressure metamorphism in the Variscan belt of Europe, which otherwise could not have been undertaken. Such research is important because it provides insight in to a little known segment of the Variscan belt, yielding a better understanding of the evolution of this major Paleozoic mountain belt, in particular, and the characteristics of high-pressure metamorphism, in general." He intends to seek longer-term support from NSF and other sources to continue working with Iancu and the other Romanian specialists he met through the program.

Update--2001

Dr. Iancu returned to Madison for her third and final visit for the month of July 2001, when she and Medaris completed analytical and imaging acquisition with the electron microprobe, performed the final calculations for the project, and wrote the first draft of a manuscript for publication. Results of this work were combined with those of all of the collaborative research visits and were compiled into a major paper on Variscan high-pressure metamorphism in the South Carpathians of Romania. This paper represents a significant contribution to an improved understanding of the Variscan belt in Europe, which is one of the three major Phanerozoic orogens in that continent.

Summarizing the benefits of this program, Medaris states: "This program permitted me to investigate high-pressure metamorphic rocks in a part of Europe that otherwise would have been impossible. The project has allowed us to establish the characteristics and geologic evolution of a little known segment of the Variscan belt, yielding a better understanding of the evolution of this major Paleozoic mountain belt, in particular, and the nature of the high-pressure metamorphism, in general." The collaboration also offered unique opportunities for Iancu, including the acquisition of expertise in modern petrological techniques unavailable to her in Bucharest. She has begun to utilize such training in her research, and her future endeavors will undoubtedly be greatly enhanced. Although the two scientists hope for further collaboration to build on the basis formed with the Twinning Program, specific plans beyond investigations on samples in hand is uncertain.