Petrogenesis of migmatites and granites in the Sierra de Quilmes, NW Argentina: Insights into crustal melting and the thermal history of the Famatinian Orogen

My thesis focused on understanding the processes that produced a chemically diverse suite of granitic rocks during melting within a mountain belt, and how this affects the distribution of elements in the continental crust. The multidisciplinary approach I employed, integrating observational, chemical, and isotopic analyses, allowed me to construct a detailed thermal history of the 70 million-year-long mountain-building event, where sustained high temperatures in the middle and lower crust were punctuated by periodic melting every 10-15 million years. These findings may have important implications for the thermal evolution of subduction zones, where new continental crust is formed.