Jessica Warren joined DTM as a Carnegie Fellow this January. She earned her Ph.D. in geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering in August 2007. In her thesis, she investigated compositional and rheological constraints on the dynamics of the oceanic upper mantle. From detailed isotopic and chemical analyses of abyssal peridotites, she demonstrated that the mantle is compositionally heterogeneous at all length scales. Using the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique, Warren examined the relationship between olivine orientation and shear strain in order to improve the framework for interpretation of seismic anisotropy.

At DTM, Warren plans to investigate the composition of sulfides in peridotites from the Gakkel and Southwest Indian Ridges, in order to gain insights into the temporal and spatial evolution of mantle composition. Warren also plans to look at sulfide mineraology, planetinum-group element patterns, and Os and Pb isotopic compositions. In addition, she hopes to address the relationship between sulfides and silicates in peridotites and basalts.