Collaborative Research: RUI: Stratigraphic test of the tectonic assembly of equatorial peri-Gondwanaland: a Himalayan perspective

通过对喜马拉雅东部和邻近的东南亚地区（现坐标）寒武系岩石单元的研究，评估了各个关键区域的相似性，以检验冈瓦纳大陆最终组装的构造模型。具体地说，通过动物群相似性、古环境分析、古洋流、沉积物组成变化和碎屑锆石的年代学研究，验证了冈瓦纳海外部此时是否存在一个微大陆。早古生代“西布玛苏”（云南西部、缅甸东部、泰国和马来西亚）、印度支那（越南）、缅甸西部和西藏南部两个地块（拉萨和羌塘地块）的外赤道近冈瓦南地块的排列和演化是显生宙古地理中最重要的未解决问题之一。这些冈瓦南附近块体的边界、相对位置和沉积时间都没有得到很好的约束，西澳大利亚的“悬”边缘的身份仍然模糊不清。该项目包括三个月的野外季节，两个在喜马拉雅山（Kumaon和尼泊尔西部），一个在越南北部。计划对泰国和华南地区进行简短的实地考察。碎屑锆石分析将在澳大利亚国立大学进行。科罗拉多学院的本科生是本科院校研究项目所有组成部分的合作者。学生们接触到高水平的协作科学研究，为研究生院做准备。这为本科生和研究生在不同的地理和文化环境中体验科学研究提供了一个急需的机会。这项提议的一个关键方面是与印度、中国、尼泊尔和越南的四位著名科学家及其学生进行密切的研究合作。与这些同事一起进行的研究和发表提高了人们对东道国机构和这些地区地质情况的认识。

This study of Cambrian System rock units in the eastern Himalaya and adjacent (present coordinates) southeast Asian areas assesses the similarities of various key regions in order to test tectonic models of the final assembly of the supercontinent Gondwanaland. Specifically, faunal similarity, paleoenvironmental analysis, paleocurrents, changes in sediment composition, and geochronological study of detrital zircons are integrated to test for the existence of an microcontinent outboard of the Gondwana at this time. The arrangement and evolution of the outboard equatorial peri-Gondwanan terranes of 'Sibumasu' (western Yunnan, eastern Burma, Thailand and Malaysia), Indochina (Vietnam), western Burma, and the two southern terranes of Tibet (e.g., Lhasa and Qiangtang blocks) during the early Paleozoic is one of the most significant unresolved problems in Phanerozoic paleogeography. The boundaries, relative positions, and timing of accretion of these peri-Gondwanan blocks are very poorly constrained, and the identity of the 'hanging' margin to western Australia remains obscure. The project includes three month-long field seasons, two in the Himalaya (Kumaon and western Nepal) and one in northern Vietnam. Brief field visits are planned to Thailand and localities in South China. Detrital zircon analysis will be conducted at the Australian National University.Undergraduates at Colorado College are collaborators in all components of this Research at Undergraduate Institutions project. The students are exposed to high-level collaborative scientific study, preparing them for graduate school. This provides a much-needed opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate students (from UC) to experience scientific research in diverse geographical and cultural environments. A key aspect of this proposal is the close research collaboration with four prominent Indian, Chinese, Nepali, and Vietnamese scientists and their students. Research and publication with these colleagues raises awareness of their host institutions and of the geology of these regions.