U.S.-India Planning Visit: Tectonic and Metallogenic History of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone and Bordering Terranes

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0431929Stein Description: This award supports a two-week, field-based planning visit for US PI Holly Stein and co-PI Judith Hannah of Colorado State University (CSU) to build collaborations with Indian geologists including Dr. Santanu Bhowmik of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. The title of the research is "Tectonic and Metallogenic History of the Central Indian Tectonic Zone and Bordering Terranes." Combining US expertise in geochronology with Indian knowledge of field relationships will enable them to address major questions in tectonics and metallogenesis. With their Indian colleagues, they will visit several already identified localities in order to (1) assess exposures and accessibility to improve planning of the larger project; (2) assess the current knowledge and understanding of the field relationships; (3) collect samples for preliminary analyses that can guide future field work; and (4) solidify plans for a multi-year collaborative research project. Following this, the investigators will submit a full proposal to NSF's Petrology & Geochemistry Program, which is expected to yield important information on the growth of continents and the position of various Indian terranes in plate tectonic reconstructions. Scope: This award includes support for one CSU graduate student, which will also be a training opportunity in state-of-the-art analytical techniques, an immersion in complex tectonics, and an introduction to the unique geology and culture of India. New concepts and broadened understanding of the regional tectonics acquired by both PIs and student will find there way into the classroom. The collaboration with Indian geoscientists is expected to build long-lasting research relationships with mutually beneficial interactions. This project will help sustain a shared research facility at CSU, which during the past six years has supported individuals from industry, academia, and government agencies. This award will enable the inclusion of India's geosciences community, which currently lacks comparable facilities and expertise.