U.S.-New Zealand Cooperative Research on the Development of the Continental Crust in the Western Province of New Zealand

该奖项将支持圣地亚哥州立大学地质科学系David L. Kimbrough教授和新西兰地质调查局Andrew J. Tulloch博士之间为期一年的合作项目。科学家们将对新西兰的结晶基底岩石进行放射性测年，以期获得更多关于新西兰与冈瓦纳超大陆分裂有关的地质事件的信息，更广泛地说，有助于更好地了解环太平洋地区的大陆地壳演化。该活动是在美国-新西兰合作科学项目下进行的。研究人员将测量矿物锆石中的铀铅（U-Pb）同位素丰度，锆石是这里要研究的花岗岩中常见的微量成分。锆石U-Pb法是确定地质事件年龄关系的一种可靠且应用广泛的方法。它在研究新西兰的深成岩方面特别有用，在那里，这些岩石中的其他同位素系统可能已经被花岗岩体初始结晶后的热液事件“重置”了。圣地亚哥州立大学有进行矿物U-Pb测年的设施，但不在新西兰，因此科学家之间正在进行的这方面合作将在Tulloch博士对圣地亚哥进行研究访问期间进行。该奖项的资金将帮助提供必要的材料和用品，以及本科生参与研究。

This award will support a one-year collaborative project between Professor David L. Kimbrough, Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University, and Dr. Andrew J. Tulloch, New Zealand Geological Survey. The scientists will carry out radiometric dating of crystalline basement rocks of New Zealand, with a view toward obtaining more information about geological events in New Zealand associated with the fragmentation of the Gondwana supercontinent, and, more generally, contributing to a better understanding of continental crustal evolution in the circum-Pacific region. The activity takes place under the U.S.-New Zealand Cooperative Science Program. The researchers will measure uranium-lead (U-Pb) isotopic abundances in the mineral zircon, a common trace constituent in the granitic rocks to be studied here. The zircon U-Pb method is a reliable and widely applied technique for determining age relations of geologic events. It is especially useful in studying the plutonic rocks of New Zealand, where other isotope systems in these rocks may have been "reset" by thermal and hydrothermal events subsequent to the initial crystallization of the granite bodies. Facilities for carrying out U-Pb dating of minerals exist at San Diego State University, though not in New Zealand, and so this aspect of the ongoing cooperation between the scientists will be carried out during a research visit by Dr. Tulloch to San Diego. Funds from this award will assist in providing for necessary materials and supplies, as well as for undergraduate student involvement in the research.