Beryllium in Granulite-Facies Pegmatites in Archean Napier Complex, Antarctica

该奖项由美国国家科学基金会极地项目办公室提供，支持缅因州大学的一名研究人员参加日本南极研究考察队（JARE）的一次考察，研究恩德比Land的富集铍矿物。铍在地壳岩石中是一种稀有元素，在麻粒岩相（高温高压和相对干燥的条件）变质岩中富集尤其罕见。该项目主要研究位于南极洲东部恩德比地Casey Bay东部的太古代超高温（高达1000摄氏度）麻粒岩相Napier杂岩中独特的富含铍的伟晶岩。主要目的是验证这样一个假设，即铍起源于含有伟晶岩的变质沉积物，而不是伟晶岩岩浆的成分。实地工作将于1998/99年在恩德比兰进行，作为日本南极研究考察队题为“南极东部岩石圈的结构和演化”的项目的一部分。矿物和岩石组成将用于确定伟晶岩及其寄主岩石的演化和结晶条件。该项目的研究结果将对麻粒岩相高温低水活动特征下铍的地球化学行为提供一些重要的见解。

This award, provided by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, supports participation of a researcher from the University of Maine in an expedition of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) to study beryllium enriched minerals in Enderby Land. Beryllium is a rare element in crustal rocks and enrichments are especially unusual in granulite-facies (high temperature and pressure, and relatively dry conditions) metamorphic rocks. This project focuses on unique beryllium-enriched pegmatites in the Archean ultra-high temperature (up to 1000 degrees C) granulite-facies Napier Complex in eastern Casey Bay, Enderby Land, East Antarctica. The primary objective is to test the hypothesis that the beryllium originated in the metasediments hosting the pegmatites rather than being a component of a pegmatitic magma. Field work will be conducted during the 1998/99 austral field season in Enderby Land as a part of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition's project entitled "Structure and Evolution of East Antarctic Lithosphere". Mineral and rock compositions will be used to determine the evolution and conditions of crystallization of the pegmatites and their host rocks. The results of the project will provide some important insights on the geochemical behavior of beryllium under the high temperatures and low water activities characteristic of the granulite facies.