Collaborative Research: Geodynamics of Intracontinental Mountain Building in the Tien Shan, Central Asia

这个项目涉及对天山的深层结构和变形运动学的多学科研究，天山是世界上最大和最活跃的大陆内山脉。目的是了解大陆内造山的动力过程，利用天山作为实验室来提出以下问题：为什么以及如何在大陆区域内发生这种变形，这种变形如何随时间演变，深部结构对地幔流动的限制是什么，以及这种可能的流动和预先存在的地质非均质性如何与观测到的上地壳变形相关？该项目涉及地球科学6个独立学科，美国8个机构，来自6个国家（中国、法国、哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、俄罗斯和美国）的科学家参与

9614282Vernon This project involves a multidisciplinary investigation of the deep structure and kinematics of deformation of the Tien Shan, the largest and most active intracontinental mountain range in the world. The objective is to understand the dynamic processes responsible for intracontinental mountain building, using the Tien Shan as a laboratory to ask: why and how such deformation occurs where it does within continental regions, how such deformation evolves with time, what bounds does the deep structure place on flow in the mantle, and how do such possible flow and pre-existing geological heterogeneity relate to the observed deformation of the upper crust? The project involves 6 separate disciplines of earth sciences, 8 institutions in the USA and involvement of scientists from 6 nations (China, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and the USA).***