Prof Adrian Finch
Professor
Research areas
I am Professor of Geology at the University of St Andrews, specialising in the mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry of rift-related magmas and focussing particularly on the metal resources that can be found within them. My research focusses on describing the mineral deposits which form in rift environments, which include rare earths, niobium and tantalum. I work by explaining the shape and grade of the deposit and by developing models of how they formed. I have worked on alkaline rocks from all over the world (Mongolia to Malawi to Greenland) with a particular reputation for fieldwork in the Arctic.
I have been an advisor to decision makers, including, for example, the Government Office in Science at Westminster (GOScience) on resource issues and member of the University advisory panel on Sustainability. I am a member of the St Andrews Centre for Energy Ethics. I consult to exploration companies and my geochemical work is underpinned by access to some of the best analytical facilities available worldwide.
I have a BSc degree from University of Durham and a PhD in mineralogy and petrology from the University of Edinburgh. I was awarded a personal fellowship from the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2000. I am a Fellow of the Geological Society, the Society of Economic Geologists and a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society.
PhD supervision
- Anna Szreter
Selected publications
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Open access
A phlogopite-bearing lithospheric mantle source for Europe's largest REE-HFSE belt: Gardar Rift, SW Greenland
Beard, C. D., Finch, A. A., Borst, A. M., Goodenough, K. M., Hutchison, W., Millar, I. L., Andersen, T., Williams, H. M. & Weller, O. M., 15 Aug 2024, In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 640, 118780.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
B(OH)4- and CO32- do not compete for incorporation into aragonite in synthetic precipitations at pHtotal 8.20 and 8.41 but do compete at pHtotal 8.59
Castillo Alvarez, M. C., Penkman, K., Kroger, R., Finch, A. A., Clog, M., Hathorne, E. & Allison, N., 15 Aug 2024, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 379, p. 39-52Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Contrasting the effects of aspartic acid and glycine in free amino acid and peptide form on the growth rate, morphology, composition and structure of synthetic aragonites
Gardella, G., Castillo Alvarez, M. C., Presslee, S., Finch, A. A., Penkman, K., Kroger, R., Clog, M. & Allison, N., 3 Nov 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Crystal Growth & Design. ASAP, 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Insights into the response of coral biomineralisation to environmental change from aragonite precipitations in vitro
Castillo Alvarez, M. C., Penkman, K., Kröger, R., Finch, A. A., Clog, M., Brasier, A., Still, J. & Allison, N., 1 Jan 2024, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 364, p. 184-194 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Luminescence applications in geology
Finch, A. A., Dumańska-Słowik, M., González-Acebrón, L. & Schertl, H.-P., 1 Oct 2024, In: Elements. 20, 5, p. 305-311Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Magmatic-hydrothermal evolution and rare metal enrichment of the Huoshibulake B-rich rare metal granite in the Southern Tianshan: Insights from texture, geochemistry, and Hf-O isotopes of zircon
Wu, H., Huang, H., Zhang, Z., Pan, B., Li, H., Gao, Y., Gardiner, N. J. & Finch, A. A., Oct 2024, In: Lithos. 482-483, 107705.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The influence of seawater pCO2 and temperature on the amino acid composition and aragonite CO3 disorder of coral skeletons
Allison, N., Ross, P., Castillo Alvarez, C., Penkman, K., Kröger, R., Kellock, C., Cole, C., Clog, M., Evans, D., Hintz, C., Hintz, K. & Finch, A. A., 14 Aug 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Coral Reefs. 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Effects of seawater pCO2 on the skeletal morphology of massive Porites spp. corals
Allison, N., Ross, P., Brasier, A., Cieminska, N., Lopez Martin, N., Cole, C., Hintz, C., Hintz, K. & Finch, A. A., 10 May 2022, In: Marine Biology. 169, 11 p., 73.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Tourmaline chemical and boron isotopic constraints on the magmatic-hydrothermal transition and rare-metal mineralization in alkali granitic systems
Wu, H., Huang, H., Zhang, Z., Yang, S.-Y., Gao, Y.-B. & Finch, A. A., 31 Jul 2024, In: American Mineralogist. 109, 8, p. 1461-1477Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Alkaline-silicate REE-HFSE systems
Beard, C. D., Goodenough, K. M., Borst, A. M., Wall, F., Siegfried, P. R., Deady, E. A., Pohl, C., Hutchison, W., Finch, A. A., Walter, B. F., Elliott, H. A. L. & Brauch, K., 1 Feb 2023, In: Economic Geology. 118, 1, p. 177-208 32 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review