About UGECC

Founded in November 1995 by Arkady Pilchin, Ph. D.
UGECC was created to represent the scientific researches accomplished by Arkady Pilchin, Geoscientist since 1973, Ph. D. from 1983.

A Personal Message From Arkady Pilchin:

Unfortunately after leaving the Soviet Union, I was not able to find any long-term position in the field of Geosciences. However, I am very happy with my place in the scientific community, as well as my achievements and contributions, my knowledge, and my capabilities. I am not sure that were I to find a job in Geosciences and not had to struggle, I would have become a better scientist than I am today. Over the course of the years, I have collected under UGECC a great wealth of geologic data. It was not easy, though.

What is a pity is that in the more than 17 years that I live in Canada not only did I not find a paying job in Geoscience, but I was also not able to find anyone from any Canadian universities with whom I could collaborate on research projects. These circumstances forced me to work in other fields to support my family, my company and my ongoing research. Nevertheless, this did not impede my resolve to pursue Geoscience, and I continued to work on scientific researches in all my spare time, evenings, weekends, and periods when I was unemployed.

UGECC has always been an independent research company, and never received financial support from anyone other than from my family, the Pilchin family. I worked as long as I could to support my family and my scientific research. However, right now, I am also struggling with certain health conditions that tend to arise with age. This means in essence I am getting only 2/3 of my previous salary, which wasn’t much to begin with, and is not enough for everything.

Because of the lack of financing for field and lab researches, the only option for me to gather data is by collecting it from published scientific books and articles. Between subscriptions to scientific websites, organising my data, and having my work edited for publication, it can get fairly costly. In truth, I have no money to pay for all of it.

For these reasons, at the present I am looking for a Sponsor or Sponsors for any of my ongoing or recent research projects, because I am not able to cover even small expenses on these researches.

Thank you and sincerely,

Arkady Pilchin, Ph. D.

Ongoing UGECC Research Projects

1. The origin of anorthosites (1995-present)
2. Initial trapping and concentration of platinum group elements (2011-present)
3. Formation and activity of oceanic lithosphere, formation of ophiolites and Plate Tectonics (From 2001-Present)
4. Thermodynamic conditions before and during formation of the water-ocean and related processes (2001-Present)
5. Thermodynamic conditions and composition of the early Earth atmosphere during its formation and evolution (2001-Present)
6. Thermal conditions before and during Earth's accretion, and formation and evolution of the magma ocean (2001-Present)
7. Banded Iron Formations (BIFs): thermodynamic conditions and some processes related to formation of BIFs (2001-Present)
8. Formation and evolution of the early Earth lithosphere (2001-Present)
9. Content of iron and iron oxides in magmatic rocks through time as an indicator of heterogeneity of the mantle (2001-Present)
10. Different kinds of eclogites and the thermodynamic conditions of their formation and stability (2001-Present)
11. Thermodynamic conditions of granulite facies rock formation and distribution of granulites through time (2001-Present)
12. Stability of iron oxides in the Earth and their role in the formation of rock magnetism (2001-Present)
13. Role of iron in conditions the of formation and evolution of Earth (2001-Present)
14. Start of Plate Tectonics: markers, events, and processes (2001-Present)
15. Processes of formation of overpressure within the crust and upper mantle (2001-Present)
16. Thermodynamic conditions of the formation and stability of high and ultra-high pressure and low temperature rocks (eclogites, blueschists, serpentinites) and minerals (coesite, microdiamonds) (2001-Present)

Completed UGECC Research Projects

1. The role of serpentinization in the exhumation of high- to ultra-high-pressure metamorphic rocks (2002-2005)
2. Transformations between ferric and ferrous iron and its role in the stability of rocks and minerals (2002-2004)
3. A new Moho discontinuity map for the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean (2002-2005)
4. Thermal regime and Curie discontinuity map of the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean (2002-2005)
5. Modeling of tectonic processes (subduction, obduction, island arc formation, rifting, orogenic processes) using petrologic, mineralogical, geochemical, thermodynamic, tectonic and geophysical data (2001-2003)
6. Petrologic peculiarities, P-T conditions, and geologic processes related to the formation of ophiolites, their obduction, and the role of serpentinization process in formation of ultra-high pressure in orogenic zones. (1996-2001)
7. Thermodynamic conditions of the Earth crust and upper mantle: development of the complete thermodynamic theory and some of its applications for different geologic, tectonic processes, petrologic composition of the Earth crust and upper mantle, mineralogical and geochemical composition of rocks and minerals, and their stability; in cooperation with University of Tel Aviv (1995 - 2001)
8. Participant in UNESCO joint project (IGCP project No. 428) Past Climate Change Inferred from the Analysis of the Underground Temperature Field (1998-2002)
9. Causes of the origin of overpressure and ultra-high pressure formation in orogenic regions and the role of pressure in tectonic and metamorphic processes (1995-2001)
10. Difference in P-T conditions, formation of the different kinds of minerals and their stability, and rock types during the Archean, Early Proterozoic and Middle-Late Proterozoic periods (1995-1998)

Completed Pre-UGECC Research Projects (before 1995)

1. Instability of some iron-containing minerals under low temperature conditions and the role of temperature and pressure on Fe(II)-Fe(III) transformation, in cooperation with University of Tel Aviv (1994-1997)
2. Geothermal regime of sedimentary basins and regions of joining of platform and shield (Dead Sea Basin, Los Angeles Basin, Salton Trough, South and Central Alberta and Willistone basin) (1991-1994)
3. Determination of crust thickening and the bottom edges of magnetized bodies in Israel and surrounding areas (1991-1993)
4. Development of a Geothermal map of the Caucasus (1986-1989)
5. Prognosis of the structure, composition and physical conditions of the earth’s crust of the Caucasus based on results of the Saatly Superdeep borehole (1985-1988)
6. Development of a combined geological and geophysical model of the Earth crust of the Caucasus (1986-1988)
7. Thermodynamic conditions in the epicentre of earthquakes and their influence on the seismicity of the Caucasus region (1985-1989)
8. Methodical instructions for prognosis and estimation of overpressure in oil and gas fields (1985-1987)
9. Development of methods for prognosis and studying of the main features of stratum overpressure distribution in depression zones of the:
   • Soviet Union (1988-1990)
   • South of the Soviet Union (1986-1988)
   • Caucasus and Middle Asia (1984-1986)
   • Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea (1981-1984)
10. Development of methods of oil and gas fields prognosis and oil and gas recourses calculation at great depths of the south-eastern Caucasus and development of a geodynamic model (1983-1986)
11. Study of deep structures of the Earth crust and geophysical fields variations with time in the Southern Greater Caucasus (for earthquake prognosis) (1983-1985)
12. Experimental and methodical research of the origin of overpressure and the distribution of depression regions in deep wells of the Transcaucasian and Middle Asia for oil and gas fields search (1979-1981)
13. Development and composing of methodological instructions for the interpretation of magnetic anomalies in conditions of oblique magnetization and rugged relief (1977-1979)
14. Using of magnetic methods for research of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic formations in region of deeping Orogeny structures in Azerbajan (1975-1977)
15. Search of oil and gas fields in Sangachaly-Duvanny-Bulla region of Caspian sea using sea-bottom gravity and sea magnetometric methods (1973-1974)