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

该奖项由国家科学基金会极地计划办公室提供，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)在恩德比岛研究富铍矿物的探险。铍在地壳岩石中是一种稀有元素，在麻粒岩相(高温高压、相对干燥条件)变质岩中尤其不常见。该项目主要研究东南极恩德比岛凯西湾东部太古宙超高温(高达1000摄氏度)麻粒岩相纳皮尔杂岩中独特的富铍伟晶岩。主要目的是验证这样一种假设，即铍起源于伟晶岩所在的变质沉积物，而不是伟晶岩浆的一个组成部分。作为日本南极考察队题为“东南极岩石圈的结构和演化”项目的一部分，将在1998/99年恩德比岛的南半球野外考察期间进行实地工作。矿物和岩石成分将被用来确定伟晶岩及其寄主岩石的演化和结晶条件。该项目的研究成果将为研究具有麻粒岩相特征的高温低水活度环境下铍的地球化学行为提供一些重要的认识。

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.