Craig Robert Martin

I am a PhD student at the MIT department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). I use a combination of paleomagnetism, geochronology, and structural geology to study the tectonic evolution of the Himalayas. Each summer I spend two months doing fieldwork in NW India collecting samples, making geological maps and making measurements of geological structures. I use the decay of radiogenic isotopes (U-Pb in zircon crystals) to measure the ages of rocks, and I also use the record of Earth's ancient magnetic field which is preserved preserved in rocks to reconstruct the tectonic motion of continents and terranes millions of years ago.