her uncanny sense of optimism. I would also like to thank Michael Williams for his incredibly useful comments and suggestions as well as Michael Jercinovic for being immensely helpful with the microprobe. A special thanks to David Snoeyenbos for his thin sections and help with the microprobe, also Claire Pless for additional help with the microprobe and Marissa Minch for introducing me to the rock lab and thin section preparation. Thank you to Mike Rhodes for helping with the trace element analysis. I wish to express my gratitude to the UMass Geosciences Department and Alumni for funding the research and covering travel expenses for the presentation of this project at the GSA meeting in California. Last, but not least, a very heartfelt thanks to my grandfather, Kris and Alicia for encouragement and support. And my Aunt Janice who helped fund a lot of my education and travels-I cannot thank you enough.
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