CAREER: Innovative (U-Th)/He Chronometry and Integration with Student Teaching and Research

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ReinersEAR-0236965 Recent developments in methods and interpretational bases of (U-Th)/He chronometry have demonstrated that this technique poses significant potential for advancing understanding of a wide variety of processes, many of which have been difficult to address with other geochronometric approaches. This project will integrate (U-Th)/He chronometric research in technique development, innovative applications, and undergraduate student research. Work will focus in particular on development of single-crystal He-Pb dating, geomorphologic investigations using ancient coal-fires, tectonic applications that constrain timing, rate, and styles of exhumation and landscape development, and analytical and methodological improvements. To facilitate integration of (U-Th)/He chronometry in undergraduate research, a series of summer workshops for students outside of Yale will be conducted. Students will perform a suite of (U-Th)/He chronometric measurements with modeling and interpretation, over three weeks at Yale, to complement their individual senior theses or other types of projects; faculty mentors will also participate in the latter stages of the workshops. The topical and regional diversity of projects will serve as an introduction to a wide range of research (and the general importance of chronometric constraints) for the students, as well as to test and broaden the range of geologic problems that can be addressed by He dating. This work will facilitate broader impacts in research, learning, and infrastructure by: 1) providing access to, and training and experience in (U-Th)/He chronometry for a wide range of investigators both at Yale and beyond, 2) emphasizing integration of innovative (U-Th)/He chronometric approaches into a wide range of studies besides typical tectonogeomorphic applications, 3) integrating He dating into student research and teaching efforts at Yale, 4) establishing structured annual summer workshops for research by undergraduates and faculty mentors, and helping faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions get plugged-in to analytical facilities for future projects, and 5) creating an opportunity to involve students (including members of underrepresented groups) in a positive research-oriented experience at critical junctures in their educations.