About

Michael J. Jercinovic is an Associate Professor and Director of EMSEMF at the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on the development of Electron Microprobe methods for trace element analysis and geochronology, applied to minerals such as monazite, xenotime, thorite, uraninite, and zircon. He has been instrumental in developing new technology, including the SX-Ultrachron electron microprobe, a unique instrument optimized for trace element analysis and geochronology. This instrument has been redesigned to improve precision, spatial resolution, and detection limits, enabling investigation of trace elements and geochronology on the sub-micron scale, which provides significant insights into the timing and rates of complex tectonic processes. His collaborative research applies these advanced methods to study tectonic histories, including continental assembly in regions such as Norway, Canada, and the North American mid-continent, as well as the oldest materials on Earth in Western Australia, and various geological formations across North America and other regions. His work also involves the development and application of new microanalysis methods for optical fibers and trace elements in geologic materials, contributing to the advancement of materials microanalysis and understanding of geological processes.

Research topics

• Geochemistry
• Geology
• Mineralogy
• Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Earth science
• Materials science
• Paleontology
• Nanotechnology
• Geomorphology
• Remote sensing

Selected publications

• Petrogenesis and Provenance of Unique Amphibole-Bearing Carbonaceous Chondrite Almahata Sitta 202: Further Evidence for a Ceres-Sized, Water-Rich Parent Body

  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · 2026-02-18

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Palagonitization of deep sea dredge sample glasses

  2026-02-20 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Two compositionally distinct types of surface layers partially replace glasses dredged from the deep sea: 1) high-Fe, low-Si (FeO 27-33 wt.%, SiO2 10-23 wt.%); and 2) low-Fe, high-Si (FeO 9-26 wt.%, SiO2 23-55 wt.%). High-Fe palagonite may have formed by alteration of glass in the vicinity of deep sea metalliferous hydrothermal systems. Some degree of crystallinity in the high-Fe palagonites is revealed by analytical electron microscopy (AEM). Poorly crystalline initial precipitates apparently recrystallize to smectite fibers where the layer has continued exposure to the solution (e.g., along open channels within the rind). AEM and EMPA reveal compostional and microstructural heterogeneity in the altered layers.

  PublisherDOI

• Insights into draw-induced refractive index changes in intrinsically low nonlinearity MCVD preforms and optical fibers

  Optical Materials Express · 2025-03-05 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Power scaling of fiber lasers and amplifiers is currently limited by nonlinear optical effects, such as transverse mode instability (TMI) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). Addressing optical nonlinearities through a material approach allows for such challenges to be confronted at their source - the interaction of the light and the material, lessening the need for complex fiber designs. However, effectively mitigating these issues through compositional engineering requires considerably higher dopant concentrations than are now typical for the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) derived silicate glasses from which modern commercial laser fibers are made. Fibers doped with high concentrations of P 2 O 5 and B 2 O 3 experience additional fabrication challenges, including draw-induced refractive index changes. Reported herein are index changes of up to six milliunits from this system, compared to index changes of fractions of a milliunit common in industry-standard compositions. More specifically, a passive borophosphosilicate fiber with a core composition of approximately 10 wt.% P 2 O 5 and 15 wt.% B 2 O 3 is investigated to determine the potential sources of these index changes. These investigations include explorations of glass topology by NMR and Raman spectroscopy, as well as the first direct evidence of the formation of boron phosphate (BPO 4 ) linkages in MCVD optical fibers.

  PublisherDOI

• Finding the Hidden Orogeny—The Proterozoic Polymetamorphic History of Northern New Mexico

  Terra Nova · 2025-05-05 · 1 citations

  article

  ABSTRACT Pressure–temperature–time‐deformation histories provide key constraints on orogenic processes but can be affected by later overprinting. This is exemplified in the Proterozoic orogenic belts of southwestern Laurentia where competing tectonic models involve either a single progressive Mesoproterozoic event, the Picuris orogeny, or a polyorogenic history that also includes the ~1.65 Ga Mazatzal orogeny. We address this controversy with structural analysis and petrochronology in the type locality of the Picuris orogeny. Xenotime and monazite domains associated with the greenschist‐facies axial planar fabric of early F 1 folds yield 1644 ± 11 Ma (xenotime) and 1641 ± 15 Ma (monazite) ages and 450°C–482°C temperatures recording metamorphism and shortening associated with the Mazatzal orogeny. This Palaeoproterozoic greenschist‐facies assemblage was overprinted by higher grade, protracted (1470–1350 Ma) tectonism that included the Picuris orogeny. Our results document the complex polyphase crustal assembly of Laurentia and highlight how petrochronology can effectively see through higher grade overprints to identify a more complete orogenic evolution.

  PublisherDOI

• Alteration Mapping in Granitic Gneiss Using Handheld Geophysical and Geochemical Instruments: Implications for Iron Oxide-Apatite and Rare Earth Elements Exploration

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Controls on Weathering Zone Thickness in a Rapidly Eroding Mountain Range, Western Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana, New Zealand/Aotearoa

  Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Tectonic fracturing in uplifting mountains facilitates fluid‐rock interactions, causing downward propagation of chemical weathering fronts. In contrast, erosion in uplifting mountains removes fractured and chemically altered bedrock, thinning the weathering zone. The interplay of these processes sets weathering zone thickness, but despite the disproportionate influence of chemical weathering in mountains on global biogeochemical cycles, it is unclear where within the weathering zone those chemical reactions predominantly occur. Here we present geochemical data from a 300 m‐deep drill core and results from reactive transport modeling to assess weathering zone characteristics in the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana of New Zealand/Aotearoa. Our findings indicate that soil is thin and chemical weathering fronts are shallow, with only apatite (and likely calcite) weathering extending below the soil‐bedrock boundary. Simulations indicate that soil thickness is primarily controlled by porosity‐generating plagioclase weathering and that simulated soil thicknesses are consistent with local precipitation and denudation rates. However, simulations also show that if all 6 m of annual precipitation infiltrated bedrock, chemical weathering fronts would extend substantially deeper than observed. We infer that the porosity contrast between soil and rock limits bedrock fluid flow, slowing the propagation of chemical weathering. Erosion and limited fluid‐mineral interaction in deep fractures result in a thin weathering zone, suggesting that silicate weathering in uplifting mountains occurs primarily within soil, rather than bedrock. Our measurements suggest that oxidative weathering of petrogenic carbon has been overestimated previously, but, consistent with prior work, surface processes in the study area result in net consumption of atmospheric CO 2 .

  PublisherDOI

• Alteration mapping in granitic gneiss using handheld geophysical and geochemical instruments: Implications for iron oxide-apatite and rare earth elements exploration

  Ore and Energy Resource Geology · 2025-09-02

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Characterization of Er–Ba nanoparticle suspension-doped aluminosilicate optical fibers for 1550 nm amplification

  Optics Communications · 2025-01-24 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  In recent years, the scalability of erbium-doped fiber (EDF) towards high power (kW) lasing in amplifiers has been constrained, in part, by modern methods which insufficiently improve the solubility of Er 3+ ions in silicate glass. Without adequately declustering the ions, they are likely to interact non-radiatively with increasing concentration, resulting in lower gain and output power. Finding a new means for improving the solubility of erbium ions in silicate fiber would create opportunities to break decades-old benchmarks in fiber amplifiers and lasers. This work compares six EDFs fabricated via a novel doping method utilizing precursors that contain nanoparticles comprising Ba:Er fluorides. These fluorides oxidize during fiber fabrication, rendering a baria-rich environment in the vicinity of the erbium ions-. Through a combination of both the nanoparticles and alumina contained in the precursor, average erbia densities as high as 2 wt.% are realized. Heavily doped fibers with quantum efficiencies up to 0.76 are demonstrated. Additionally, lasing efficiencies that match and even exceed commercial EDFs with similar or lower ion densities are presented. Whether the baria affects the solubility of the erbium ions and our current understanding of the fiber due to the doping process are discussed. • Optical fibers doped with baria allow for up to 2 wt.% erbia with reduced quenching. • It is shown that alumina serves to retain baria within the core. • Retention of erbia is correlated to nanoparticle density within the core. • Quenching concentrations in these Er–Ba nanoparticle fibers is quantified. • Slope efficiency measurements are compared at different pumping wavelengths.

  PublisherDOI

• Garnet-rich Fingers in the Chipman dike Swarm, Athabasca Granulite Terrain: Implications for the evolution of hydrous mafic rocks in the lower crust.

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

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Re-evaluating the tectonic affinity of Proterozoic crustal provinces in the Southwest USA: Detrital zircon evidence for a Laurentian source for the Yavapai and Mojave Provinces

  Geological Society of America Bulletin · 2025-02-18 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Abstract Models for crustal growth commonly involve the accretion of dominantly juvenile crust to continental margins. However, tracking the provenance and tectonic affinity of dominantly juvenile crustal provinces is challenging. This difficulty is highlighted by uncertainty over whether the Yavapai and Mojave Provinces, part of the >1300-km-wide system of Proterozoic orogens in southwestern Laurentia, (1) have similar crustal and tectonic histories and (2) if they formed on or near Laurentian, Australian, or Antarctic cratons. Here, we contribute new large-n detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Sm-Nd whole-rock isotope geochemistry to help constrain the provenance of the Yavapai Province and address these broader questions. Yavapai Province metasedimentary rocks from central Colorado in the southwestern USA have abundant pre-1.80 Ga detrital zircon grains, with ca. 1.85 Ga, 2.30 Ga, and 2.50–2.70 Ga peaks, and variable amounts of 1.79–1.78 Ga grains. Evolved whole-rock Sm-Nd isotopic compositions from these rocks, including 2.36–2.08 Ga model ages, also suggest mixing between 1.79 Ga and 1.78 Ga Yavapai Province arcs and early Proterozoic to Archean sources. Nearly identical pre-1.8 Ga detrital and inherited zircon age distributions suggest that the Yavapai and Mojave Provinces formed on and/or incorporated similar material. The Trans-Hudson orogen, and to a slightly lesser extent the Penokean orogen, provide the closest matches to the pre-1.80 Ga material in the Yavapai and Mojave Provinces. This similarity, coupled with a weaker resemblance to Australian and Antarctic sources, support a Laurentian affinity for the Yavapai and Mojave Provinces. We envision Paleoproterozoic arc formation on both oceanic crust and material of Laurentian affinity and multiple phases of arc-back-arc genesis, closure, and accretionary tectonism along the long-lived margin of the supercontinent Columbia (Nuna).

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael L. Williams

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  76 shared

• M. L. Williams

  Imperial College London

  31 shared

• Kevin H. Mahan

  27 shared

• Ian Hillenbrand

  23 shared

• Sean P. Regan

  21 shared

• Gregory Dumond

  19 shared

• Philippe Gonçalves

  14 shared

• C. A. Goodrich

  Lunar and Planetary Institute

  13 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Geology

  University of New Mexico

  1988

• B.S., Geology

  University of New Mexico

  1979