Margo Odlum

Margo Odlum is an Assistant Professor at the Geosciences Research Division of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. She specializes in fault and shear zone evolution through field geology, micro- to nanoscale textural analysis, geochemistry, and thermochronology.

Education

• PhD (2019), The University of Texas at Austin
• B.S. (2013), University of California, Los Angeles

Research Focus

Her work explores the structural and thermal record of deformation and seismicity across active brittle fault zones, exhumed ductile shear zones, and subduction complexes. The CREST SD group at Scripps integrates geo- and thermochronometry, field geology, petrology, and microstructural analysis to reconstruct tectonic histories in extensional and orogenic systems. Research spans microscale to orogen-scale insights into deformation processes.

Advising and Group

Margo advises students like PhD candidate Chloë Weeks (joined August 2022), MS student Meg Ferrell (joined January 2022), and MS student Molly Pickerel (defended May 2023). She collaborates with international teams on Arctic tectonics, strain localization, and fluid-rock interactions.

Presentations

Recent invited talks include the AGU 2021 presentation on "Microscale record of seismicity in hematite fault mirrors from the Rio Grande Rift" and keynotes at Goldschmidt 2022 and 2024 sessions on thermochronology and kinetics.