Acquistion of a state-of-the-art Electron Backscatter Diffraction facility

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0132207CheadleThis grant provides partial support for the acquisition of a detector and software to add electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) capabilities to an existing modern scanning electron microscope (SEM) in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming. EBSD systems are a relatively new technology that allow for the rapid characterization of crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) of thin sections materials at sub-micron resolutions. The technology makes it possible to statistically characterize paleodeformation mechanisms in rocks with very small grain sizes that are impossible or very difficult to analyze using alternative techniques combining traditional optical microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Detailed crystallographic information can also be very useful for studies of mineral surface processes and for characterizing the structure of organic molecules. Research at Wyoming that will immediately benefit from this system includes studies of the deformation processes responsible for creating ultramafic mylonites collected from oceanic fracture zones, studies of mantle peridotites to elucidate the factors responsible for igneous cumulates and to aid in the interpretation of magma chamber dynamics, and studies of the interaction of pharmaceuticals with malaria pigment to aid in the design of more effective antimaliaral drugs.***