Acquisition of a Research Boat with Which to Conduct Geologic Studies of the Alexander-Stikine Suture Zone, Southeastern Alaska

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The rocks of the Alexander-Stikine suture zone in southeastern Alaska include the boundary between locally derived geological terranes formed on the west coast of the North American plate and the exotic terranes which have, over geological time, migrated long distances due to the movement of the Pacific plate. Field studies in this zone by the principal investigator of this project will be focused on the global tectonic processes through which these distant terranes were displaced and finally joined on the western margin of North America. This proposal requests 50% of the funds required to purchase a small research boat for field transportation in this otherwise inaccessible region. The NSF-sponsored research in the geological history of the rocks of the Alexander-Stikine suture zone of southeastern Alaska will provide new and specific interpretations of the growth of continents during plate tectonic changes.