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What is the context of this research?

In Sri Lanka, at least four serpentine bodies have already been discovered and their locations have been documented (Vithanage et. al., 2014) . The serpentine bodies are found along the boundary of two major rock bodies in Sri Lanka that were pushed together 600 million years ago (Mathavan et. al., 1999). However, the history of the serpentine bodies and their relationship to the surrounding rocks remains poorly known. In addition, the soils that develop from these rocks are a hazard, containing high concentrations of heavy metals that can contaminate groundwater and inhibit plant growth. With our work, we hope to contribute to our understanding of the fundamental geology of the region, and provide more data and observations to help quantify the threat posed by these soils.

What is the significance of this project?

Greater characterization of these serpentinite bodies will shed light on how Sri Lanka fit into the Gondwana supercontinent assembly ~600 million years ago. While small, Sri Lanka likely fit between the larger portions of the Gondwana assembly, and can inform the arrangement of the other continents (Mathavan et. al.,1999). Furthermore, the soils on these bodies are a present concern for local populations (Vithanage et. al., 2014), and characterization of soil compositions provides more data to aid local planning and management strategies. An additional interest for our group is providing greater context on the serpentine bodies seen on Mars by expanding our understanding of terrestrial serpentine bodies.

What are the goals of the project?

The primary goal for our project is to characterize Sri Lankan serpentinites in order to understand their history and relationship to surrounding rocks. To do this we will collect samples of rocks and soil from these serpentine bodies. In addition, we will also map their apparent exposure on the ground for comparison with satellite images. Upon return from Sri Lanka, microscopic (petrographic and cathodoluminescence) and geochemical (XRF, EMP, XRD ) observations will be combined to texturally, chemically, and mineralogically characterize Sri Lankan serpentines and learn about their history. Our field mapping will be compared with visible and infrared images of the bodies to characterize their spectral signature, and look for undiscovered outcrops.