The White Rock Pluton in the Elk Mountains of Colorado presents an example of fluid-induced contact metamorphism due to the intrusion of the Tertiary White Rock Pluton into the Pennsylvanian-Permian-aged Maroon Formation. My thesis focuses on fluid inclusion analysis to determine the temperature and compositions of the fluids in the White Rock Pluton contact aureole. Contact metamorphism causes rock alteration through thermal and fluid-driven processes. When hot magma intrudes, the high temperatures and resultant fluid flow can lead to significant mineral changes. Fluids facilitate mass and heat transfer in the system. These fluids can contain dissolved ions, contributing to mineralization. Furthermore, rock deformation is impacted by fluids, as it reduces the strength of rocks and enables deformation in high-pressure and high-temperature environments.

Fluid inclusion are tiny pockets of liquid trapped inside minerals that act like time capsules and give us insight on the pressure-temperature environment at which they were formed. Previous studies of White Rock contact aureole suggest high-salinity fluids were present during the metamorphism, which resulted in metasomatism and the replacement of feldspars by scapolite and albite, localized sodic-calcic mineral alteration, and skarn development.

Analysis of fluid inclusions will be done using polarized light microscopy to identify the inclusions and determine the crystallization sequence of minerals, and I will conduct fluid inclusion microthermometry to determine temperatures of these events. By analyzing the fluid inclusions and minerals present, it will provide insight into the dynamic processes of contact metamorphism and metasomatism in the White Rock Pluton contact aureole.