Professor
Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences
3450 University St.
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3A 0E8
Courses (past and present)
EPSC 210
Introductory Mineralogy
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Earth & Planetary Sciences: Elementary crystallography, chemistry and identification of the principal rock-forming and ore minerals, in hand specimens and using optical microscopy. Demonstrations of other techniques applied to the identification of minerals and to the analysis of their composition and structure. Optional 2-day field trip.
Offered by: Earth & Planetary Sciences
- Fall
- 2 hours lectures, 3 hours laboratory
- Prerequisite(s): CHEM 110 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
- A nominal fee is charged to cover expenses of materials and supplies for identification kits (pen magnet, streak plate, hand lens and acid bottle) used to identify minerals during laboratory exercises.
- Des frais seront prelevés pour couvrir l'usage des collections d'enseignement et les accessoires (loupe, aimant, bouteille d'acide chlorhydrique dilué, plaque de porcelaine) essentiels à l'identification des minéraux pendant les travaux pratiques.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
EPSC 220
Principles of Geochemistry
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Earth & Planetary Sciences: Basic concepts in geochemistry and the application of geochemical principles of chemistry to geological subdisciplines. Particular emphasis on origin of elements, controls on their distribution in Earth and cosmos, isotopes, organic geochemistry and water chemistry. Application of phase diagrams to geology.
Offered by: Earth & Planetary Sciences
- Fall
- 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
EPSC 547
Modeling Geochemical Processes
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Earth & Planetary Sciences: Advanced thermodynamics and kinetics will be applied to construct models that quantitatively investigate geochemical processes. Topics include, but are not restricted to: activity-composition relationships in solids, liquids and fluids, crystallization and melting, precipitation and dissolution, rates of geochemical processes, interaction of geological liquids and fluids with rocks and minerals.
Offered by: Earth & Planetary Sciences
- Fall
- 3 hours lectures
- Prerequisites: EPSC 220, MATH 222, or permission of instructor.
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
EPSC 548
Igneous Petrogen. Mechanisms
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Earth & Planetary Sciences: Investigation of the primary mechanisms causing the diversity of igneous rock compositions on the Earth, other planets, asteroids, and meteorite parent bodies.
Offered by: Earth & Planetary Sciences
- Winter
- 2 hours lectures, 1 hour seminar
- Prerequisite: EPSC 423
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the 2024 academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024 academic year
Subjects of special interest in my teaching include cosmochemistry, high-termperature geochemistry, introductory geochemistry, magmatic processes of igneous rocks and geochemical modelling.
Research
Investigates igneous processes through experimental geochemistry in laboratory. Goal is to understand the structure, thermodynamics, and transport properties (diffusion and viscosity) of silicate melts and to apply this knowledge in the investigation of igneous petrogenesis. Together with his students, Dr. Baker is studying the thermodynamics of silicate melts at pressures to 2.0 GPa, the partitioning of trace elements between amphibole and melt, the structure of halogen-bearing silicate melts, the effects of melt composition on zirconosilicate crystallization, the effects of volatiles on granitic melt viscosities, the controls and effects of magnetite crystallization in basaltic compositions, and gold solubility in melts and its partitioning between silicate melts and sulfides. Future projects include studies of diffusion in silicate melts at high pressure, in situ spectroscopic studies of melts at high temperatures and pressures, and determination of partitioning water between silicate melts and nominally anhydrous crystals.
Recent Publications
Baker, D.R., Sirbescu, M.-L., Maneta, V., Webber, K.L, and Simmons, W.B. , (2018). Quantitative analysis of natural and experimental graphic textures. The Canadian Mineralogist, 56, 625-643, doi:10.3749/canmin.1700084.
Kudrna Prašek, M., Pistone, M., Baker, D.R., Sodini, N., Marinoni, N., Lanzafame, G. and Mancini, L., (2018). A compact and flexible induction furnace for in-situ X-ray microradiograhy and computed microtomography at Elettra: design, characterisation and first tests. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 25, doi:10.1107/S1600577518005970.
Pleše, P., Higgins, M.D., Mancini L., Lanzafame, G., Brun, F., Fife, J.L., Casselman, J., and Baker D.R., (2018). Dynamic observations of vesiculation reveal the role of silicate crystals in bubble nucleation and growth in andesitic magmas. Lithos, 296-299, 532-546.
Webster, J.D., Aiuppa, A., and Baker, D.R., (2018). Halogens in Mafic and Intermediate-Silica Content Magmas. In: The Role of Halogens in Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Geochemical Processes, D. Harlov, L. Aranovich (eds.), Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61667-4.
Complete list