RESEARCH INTERESTS
My current work focuses on the geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). I study the chemical variability of dikes and lavas collected from tectonic windows, escarpments where vertical sections of the ocean crust have been exposed. Such windows provide insights into the processes of oceanic crustal accretion unmatched by other approaches. By examining MORB composition in terms of their petrogenesis, I investigate the interaction of magmatic and tectonic processes in the generation the ocean crust. These unique exposures make it possible to examine temporal and spatial relationships in the composition of dikes and lavas, which constrain the physical processes affecting the growth and evolution of the ocean crust over time.

In the summer of 2007, I expanded my research to Iceland. Iceland has been used as a natural laboratory to examine processes that occur along mid-ocean ridges. The accessible and extensive exposures in Iceland allow us to examine the upper crust at a fine-scale resolution that is impossible to attain in marine studies. Although Iceland is a volcanic island situated along the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the geometry of the crustal exposures suggests that Iceland may be an analogue for fast-spreading centers. In particular, Icelandic flexure zones, which are essentially large-scale folds in which the crust dips toward a magmatic center, show an internal architecture that is remarkably similar to exposures of in situ oceanic crust. The purpose of this study is to perform a detailed investigation of an Icelandic flexure zone in order to better understand the processes by which oceanic crust forms and evolves at fast-spreading mid-ocean ridges. This study uses a geochemical and petrological approach, which complements on-going structural and paleomagnetic investigations. Such a comprehensive and detailed study of an Icelandic flexure zone is unprecedented and offers an opportunity to significantly advance our understanding of how the oceanic crust is constructed.

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
Pollock, M.A., E.M. Klein, J.A. Karson, and D.S. Coleman, Compositions of dikes and lavas from the Pito Deep Rift: Implications for crustal accretion at superfast spreading centers, submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research.

Heft, K.L., K.M. Gillis, M.A. Pollock, J.A. Karson, E.M. Klein, (2008). Role of upwelling hydrothermal fluids in the development of alteration patterns at fast spreading ridges: Evidence from the sheeted dike complex at Pito Deep, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 9, 5, doi:10.1029/2007GC001926.

Pollock, M.A., E.M. Klein, J.A. Karson, and M.A. Tivey, (2005). Temporal and spatial variability in the composition of lavas exposed along the Western Blanco Transform Fault, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 11, 6, doi:10.1029/2005GC001026.

Bokuniewicz, H., M. Pollock, J. Blum, and R. Wilson, (2004). Submarine ground water discharge and salt penetration across the sea floor, Groundwater, 42, 983-989.

RECENT PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS
Pollock, M., (2008). Portfolios as a learning and assessment tool in an undergraduate Mineralogy/Petrology course, Geological Society of America Annual Joint Meeting, Abstract #308-4.

Pollock, M.A., E.M. Klein, J.A. Karson, and N.W. Hayman (2006). Geochemistry of dike and lavas in ocean crust: Implications for dike intrusion and eruption at fast to superfast spreading centers, EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Supple, Abstract T41B-1571.

Pollock, M., H. Balven, T. Gerber, J. Palter, H. Jenkins, and L. Morgan, (2006). Experiencing Geoscience: Enabling critical thinking through undergraduate research, GSA Abstracts with Programs, 38, 7.

Pollock, M., E. Klein, J. Karson, and Pito Deep 2005 Scientific Party, (2005). Geochemical variability of dikes and lavas exposed in the Pito Deep, EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T33D-0585.

Pollock, M.A., E.M. Klein, J.A. Karson, and M.A. Tivey, (2004). Spatial and geochemical variations of lavas exposed along a crustal section in the Blanco Transform: Insights into accretion of the upper oceanic crust at the Southern Juan de Fuca Ridge. EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T13B-1360.

Palter, J.B., A.P. Balantyne, T.P. Gerber, M.L. Kirwan, J. Nielsen, M.A. Pollock, M.W. Strudley, and L.M. Valvo, (2004). Experiencing geoscience: A unique graduate student role in undergraduate education. EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED43B-0275.

INVITED SEMINARS
2007, School of Mathematics and Science, Community College of Baltimore County, MD
       How Marine Geologists Do Marine Geology

2005, Department of Geology, Guildford College, Greensboro, NC
       Mid-Ocean Ridges and Ocean Crust: Exploring Ocean Basins

GRANTS
ROA Supplement to NSF - OCE 701422 - [Dr. J.A. Karson (Syracuse) and Dr. R. Varga (Whitman College) co-PIs)] Collaborative Research: Iceland Flexure Zones: Analogs for Mid-Ocean Ridge Spreading Centers, Support for 2 Wooster students for field research in Iceland and geochemical analyses, 1/19/07- 7/31/08.

Scholarly Project Grant - [Dickinson College] Preliminary Petrographic and Geochemical Analysis of Icelandic Crust, Support for ICP-MS analyses of Icelandic basalts, 2007-2008.

Dana Research Assistant Fuding – [Dickinson College] Dana Assistantship to Support a Petrographic and Geochemical Study of Icelandic Crust, Support for an undergraduate research assistant to perform geochemical and petrologic analyses of Icelandic basalts, 2007-2008.

SELECTED ACTIVITIES
Member, American Geophysical Union and Geological Society of America, 1999-Present.
Participant, Cutting Edge Workshop for Early Career Faculty, 2007.
Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Fellow, 2005-2006.
Reviewer, Lithos, 2006