About

Donna L. Whitney is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Her research focuses on metamorphic geology, utilizing metamorphic rocks to reconstruct the chemical and physical processes that drive metamorphism in continental and oceanic crust, and understanding how these rocks are returned to the Earth’s surface. She is actively involved in collaborative projects, including studies on the dynamics of partially molten crust and the mantle-to-surface processes during tectonic development, such as her large multidisciplinary research project in Turkey investigating tectonic escape systems. Whitney's interests extend to metamorphic textures, microstructures in garnet, and the interaction of deformation and metamorphism across various tectonic settings, with field sites in North America, Turkey, France, and Norway. She is engaged in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in projects related to metamorphic petrology, mineralogy, structural geology, and tectonics. Her contributions to the field have been recognized through numerous awards and honors, including her election as a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America and the Geological Society of America, and her appointment as a Distinguished McKnight University Professor.

Research topics

• Geology
• Paleontology
• Geochemistry
• Petrology
• Materials science
• Metallurgy
• Mineralogy
• Seismology

Selected publications

• How detachments connect shallow and deep crust during mass redistribution in orogens

  2026-03-14

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The thermal, physical, and chemical processes of detachment faults profoundly influence the dynamics of continental lithosphere far beyond the fault zones. The conditions and timing of deformation in detachment fault zones are therefore important to investigate in order to evaluate how these faults are dynamically linked to tectonic processes over a wide range of spatial scales, laterally and vertically.Detachments are exhuming structures in which the amount of exhumation accommodated by a particular fault ranges from a few to tens of kilometers. This magnitude depends primarily on the total extension, its spatial distribution/localization, and the buoyancy of the exhumed crust. Exhumation-related deformation is accompanied by (hydro)thermal processes that may be recorded in the composition and zoning of minerals such as quartz and micas, particularly in lithologies such as quartzites that may preserve a diachronous record of deformation in incompletely-overprinted domains. These minerals provide pressure-temperature-time-deformation information, as well as serving as geochemical tracers of syn-tectonic fluid-rock interaction. Excellent examples are the detachment-footwall quartzites of metamorphic core complexes (mcc) in the North American Cordillera. Results of integrated microstructure, thermobarometry, geochemistry, and thermochronology studies track the conditions and timing of deformation during exhumation and cooling. In cases of detachment faults bounding exhumed deep crust, footwall rocks display a sharp metamorphic gradient caused by a combination of thinning and shearing. Metamorphic conditions and paths may reflect exhumation trajectories rather than maximum temperature/depth; this is supported by numerical models that predict that rocks from similar pre-extension depths can be exhumed during extension to create an apparent progressive metamorphic sequence from detachment faults into mcc footwalls.Integrated studies from nature and numerical experiments also give insights at a larger scale, indicating that regions of thickened continental crust flow towards regions of thinner crust, driving contraction in the latter. Formation of detachment faults may be driven actively by extension of the lithosphere and/or by gravitational crustal flow away from the orogenic core and towards the foreland, where coeval thrusting may occur. In this case also, pressure-temperature-time-deformation studies coupled with geochemistry provide insights into the mechanisms, conditions, and timing/rates of mass redistribution in orogens. The significance of this phenomenon is indicated by the prevalence in orogens of coeval domains of extension (detachment faulting / metamorphic core complexes) and contraction (fold-and-thrust belts).

  PublisherDOI

• Redox conditions in subducted oceanic crust from the Fe oxidation state of lawsonite and epidote

  European Synchrotron Radiation Facility · 2026-04-07

  datasetOpen access

  The main goal of this project is to evaluate redox conditions in the hydrous silicate minerals lawsonite and epidote because they are key components of the planetary system for (re)cycling volatiles and other elements via subduction and are sources and sinks of redox-sensitive elements involved in fluid-rock reactions. Although typically assumed to contain only Fe3+, Fe K-edge micro-XANES analyses at BM 23 in 2023 showed that lawsonite may contain substantial Fe2+. This leads to questions about what controls Fe oxidation state in lawsonite and how common Fe2+-bearing lawsonite is. This can be addressed with a suite of samples from different subduction zones that represent a range of pressure-temperature conditions and chemical environments. Further we will try to map out oxidation state changes during different crystal growth stages within one sample

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of variation in the vertical distribution of crustal radioactivity in metamorphic core complex development (Menderes Massif, Türkiye)

  2025-03-15

  preprintOpen accessCorresponding

  The Menderes Massif in western Anatolia is a large metamorphic core complex that formed in the back arc of the Aegean subduction zone. Geological and geodetic studies show that extension has occurred almost uniformly since the cessation of continental collision at c. 30 Ma. In this study, we used 2D numerical modeling informed by measurements of abundances of radioactive heat producing elements in exhumed Menderes metamorphic rocks (gneiss, schist, migmatite, granite) to investigate the effect of variation in vertical distribution of crustal radioactivity on the style of extensional deformation during core complex evolution. We assumed four different scenarios with the same total crustal radioactive heat production but fractionated differently between the upper and lower crust: 0%, 25%, 50%, and 62.5% of the total crustal radioactivity located within the thickened lower crust. Our numerical experiments reveal that lower crustal radioactivity has a major effect on the temperature (T) of the lower crust and hence its geodynamic evolution. We observed significant partial melting and core complex development only in the scenarios with fractions of 50% or more. The results are nearly independent of upper crustal radioactivity. The elevated radioactivity levels and therefore T of the lower crust drives partial melting, which in turn results in lower viscosity and enhanced crustal flow. According to these results, the lower part of the thickened orogenic crust in western Anatolia must be highly radiogenic in order for the formation of the observed core complex structure.

  PublisherDOI

• Escape tectonics

  Tectonophysics · 2025-11-28 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Fe ³⁺ ∕ΣFe variation in lawsonite and epidote in subducted oceanic crust

  European Journal of Mineralogy · 2025-03-07

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract. The hydrous Ca–Al silicates lawsonite and epidote group minerals (EGMs) are key phases in subduction-zone H2O and element cycling. In high-pressure–low-temperature metamorphic rocks, Fe in both minerals is typically assumed to be entirely Fe3+, which substitutes for Al in octahedral sites as a major component in most EGMs and as a minor component in lawsonite and zoisite. New Fe micro-X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (μ-XANES) analyses show substantial Fe2+ in lawsonite in blueschist from New Caledonia and zoisite from an unknown locality. Analysed Fe-rich EGMs (epidote, clinozoisite) contain primarily Fe3+. Lawsonite and some EGMs in subducted oceanic crust may contain more Fe2+ than is currently known, with possible implications for understanding subduction redox processes and conditions and why they vary in different subduction zones.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Lithospheric-scale Structural Controls on the Evolution of the East Anatolian Fault Zone

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Permian fluid circulation and deformation along a crustal-scale shear zone in the Montagne Noire gneiss dome (southern French Massif Central)

  Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access

  U-Th-Pb LA-ICPMS (Laser Ablation − Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) has the power to elucidate the timing of metamorphism, deformation, migmatization, and plutonism. The Montagne Noire Variscan gneiss dome (southern French Massif Central) has been extensively studied, but interpretations of geochronology data remain highly debated. In tribute to Jean-Louis Paquette’s work, we first present the results of the last 10 yr of reflection on our knowledge of the Montagne Noire dome, highlighting the various contributions of LA-ICPMS U-Th-Pb geochronology. Then, based on new structural, petrological and U-Th-Pb data obtained in the southeastern part of the Montagne Noire Axial Zone (MNAZ), in “Les Gorges d’Héric” valley, we provide new insight into the structure and strain partitioning in this region and propose the existence of a crustal-scale dextral shear zone that we name the “Gorges d’Héric Shear Zone” (GHSZ). The LA-ICPMS U-Th-Pb age on monazite, obtained on a pegmatite cross-cutting vertical structures on the southern margin of the GHSZ, constrains the end of ductile deformation at ca. 295 Ma in that part of the shear zone. Further north, a localized deformation corridor is accompanied by significant fluid circulation recorded in retrogressed metamafic lenses. Petrographic observations reveal a complex mineralogical evolution characterised by the formation of garnet, amphibole, orthopyroxene, and secondary spinel, interpreted as the product of fluid-driven mineral reactions. Potassium metasomatism is responsible for the development of syn-kinematic biotite. The final retrograde stage is marked by the development of amphibole + chlorite assemblages and late serpentinization reactions. U-Th-Pb results obtained on zircon grains highlight a long and complex geological history. Three age populations have been identified and associated with: (1) the magmatic protolith emplacement likely to be linked to early Paleozoic event(s), (2) the existence of a ca. 315 Ma event interpreted as a high-grade metamorphic imprint and (3) a last corresponding to most of the zircon U-Pb data gives a concordia age of 280.6 ± 2.5 Ma, interpreted as the age of zircon (re)crystallization during localized deformation and aqueous fluid circulation along the GHSZ, probably related to the well-known early Permian regional volcanic episode. Within the GHSZ, the geochronological dataset spans the period from 320 Ma to 280 Ma, suggesting that this is a significant structure.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tracking Progressive Crustal Thickening from Orogen Core to Margins (French Massif Central)

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Crustal Overturn During Extension Drives Exhumation of Deep Orogenic Crust”.

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Magnetic and Crystallographic Fabric Analyses of Amphibolite: A Proposed Methodology Applied to a Migmatite Dome

  Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth · 2025-08-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Mafic rocks are volumetrically and rheologically significant components of the mid‐to lower continental crust, yet tools to study their fabrics have not been well developed. We examine amphibolites exhumed from mid‐to lower crustal levels in a gneiss dome (Entia dome, central Australia) that display various strengths of mineral lineation and foliation associated with different deformation geometries. Combining petrofabric analysis (electron backscatter diffraction, EBSD) with magnetic fabric analysis (Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), we quantify relationships between AMS‐derived fabrics and crystallographic‐preferred alignment of fabric‐defining amphiboles. We combine single‐crystal AMS data with EBSD data to model amphibole textures and their expected magnetic anisotropy. We formulate a new EBSD‐derived petrofabric index, CA index , and correlate it with the calculated AMS shape parameter U . CA index values can then be estimated for natural samples using measured U values, leveraging both rapid but texturally low‐resolution AMS and texturally‐resolved but time‐ and analytically‐onerous petrofabric analyses to interpret petrofabrics from magnetic fabric data. In the Entia dome, we identify amphibole c‐fibers (L‐tectonite) in the high‐strain core of the dome, which reflect constrictional strains. In contrast, a‐fibers (S‐tectonites) are dominant near the dome margins and indicate flattening strains. Fabrics measured in different structural subdomains agree well with 2D and 3D numerical models of finite strain distribution in domal structures. Combining textural modeling, AMS measurements, and EBSD analyses allows investigation of previously unexploited records of ductile deformation and flow in amphibole‐bearing rocks. These results can be applied to a wide range of field‐based studies of tectonic and magnetic processes.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Field-Based Analysis of Subduction Petrofabrics

  NSF · $220k · 2007–2011

• Textures and Tectonics of Metamorphic Crystallization

  NSF · $201k · 2005–2009

• Collaborative Research: Linking Deep and Shallow Crustal Processes in a Continental Arc, North Cascades, Washington

  NSF · $129k · 2005–2009

• COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Central Anatolian Tectonics (CD-CAT): Surface to mantle dynamics during collision to escape

  NSF · $1.2M · 2011–2019

• Lawsonite: an exceptional geochemical archive in HP/LT rocks

  NSF · $358k · 2020–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Christian Teyssier

  170 shared

• Patrice Rey

  69 shared

• C. Teyssier

  46 shared

• Michael A. Cosca

  United States Geological Survey

  35 shared

• Clémentine Hamelin

  34 shared

• Françoise Roger

  31 shared

• Stacia M. Gordon

  University of Nevada, Reno

  29 shared

• Katherine Fornash

  29 shared

Labs

• Structure Tectonics and Metamorphic Petrology Research GroupPI

Education

• AB, Geology

  Smith College

  1985

Awards & honors

• President, Mineralogical Society of America, 2024
• Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professi…
• Member, Academy of Distinguished Teachers, University of Min…
• Distinguished McKnight University Professor, awarded 2010
• Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America, elected 2005