Sulfur is a key volatile element in magmatic systems that exists in many phases (e.g. melt or gas), in multiple-oxidation states (S²⁻, S⁴⁺ and S⁶⁺), and has more than one stable isotope (e.g. ³²S and ³⁴S). Therefore, by measuring S, information regarding the conditions of a magm…
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Metal-poor stars are time capsules into the earliest epochs of the Universe. Their stellar populations, chemical abundances, and proper motions allow for insight into the nucleosynthesis paths and proto-Galactic systems which became the building blocks of the Milky Way. Through …
Planetary surfaces provide a window into the geologic past of planets and can offer clues into their history of deformation. For example, endogenic forces such as tectonic activity resulting from secular planetary cooling can produce fault-driven topography that can be investiga…
Characterizing the surface mineralogy of asteroids is critical to constraining their formation history and provides insight into the processes of planetary formation. One method of determining the surface mineralogy of asteroids is comparison of their visible to near-infrared re…
As more exoplanets were discovered, we as a community were surprised to find that most planets discovered orbit very near to their stars. To fully comprehend why our Solar System hosts life and potential predictors of life in other systems, we need to understand how those system…
Preliminary 1:1M geologic mapping of the Terra Cimmeria region of the Martian southern highlands was completed to support an eventual submission to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for publication. This research project was intended as an exploratory endeavor to identi…
Extreme ultraviolet and X-ray photons from the Sun generate a partially ionized region in the atmosphere of a planet called an ionosphere. Solar activity, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and changes in the ionizing irradiance affect planetary ionospheres on short…
Future space telescopes will provide us with the opportunity to characterize the atmospheres of terrestrial planets orbiting within the habitable zones of their stars. In the near future, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will allow us to spectrally characterize terrestrial …
Knowledge of the initial conditions present in the early solar nebula is required to understand the evolution and its current volatile content. Comets were some of the first objects to accrete in the solar nebula. They are among the most pristine (primitive) remnants of the sola…
The field of exoplanet astronomy is advancing toward the atmospheric characterization of Earth-like planets around nearby stars, with the ultimate goal of probing these exoplanets for evidence of life. Yet despite requiring the development of telescopes and measuring devices wit…
This thesis is constructed around two distinct topics. The first is the formation history of the Earth and the Moon. The hafnium/tungsten (Hf/W) isotopic system can act as a chronometer for planets forming in the early solar system. To study possible planetary formation scenario…
Water ice is a fundamental planetary building block and ubiquitous in the outer solar system. On Ocean worlds like Europa, convecting ice may transport material from a subsurface ocean (a potential habitat) to the surface, depositing ices and salts. Evaluating the habitability o…
River valleys and deposits record periods of time when Mars’ climate supported liquid water on the planet’s surface. However, the majority of geomorphic studies focus on detailed reconstructions of local or regional hydrology, thereby limiting our global understanding of Mars’ c…
Siderophile element isotopic compositions and abundances were determined for the IC and IIC iron meteorite groups to assess whether the members of each group can be related by crystal-liquid fractionation models, constrain timing of metal-silicate segregation and parent body acc…
Much of what is known about the early solar system’s history, processes, and conditions are determined through the study of airless bodies. Like their terrestrial counterparts, the geologic materials of airless bodies contain information about their formative environment; these …
Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon, has an anomalously young surface age (~40–90 million years old), and an extensively fractured surface. Conventional models for tectonic features on Europa have invoked global-scale tidal forcings (e.g., diurnal forcing, obliquity, nonsynchr…
This thesis comprises two separate but interesting projects that attempt to constrain the internal history of planetary bodies. The first set attempts to interpret the Moon's internal thermal history from the relaxation state of lunar impact basins. As the Moon cools, impact str…
The Neptune-Triton system is currently relatively unexplored, with only one flyby mission in its history. While valuable insight into the Neptune-Triton system was gained by the observations of that mission, many questions are still unanswered. This need motivates continued expl…
The petrology and mineralogy of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from CV3 carbonaceous chondrites have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The goal of this dissertation is twofold: (1) to gain new insights into the nebular processes, such as va…