Acquisition of A High-Sensitivity Gravity Meter for Studies in Continental Lithosphere Structure/Tectonics

0549651 Roy这笔赠款支持购买相对重力仪(Scintrex CG-5)，以扩大新墨西哥大学(UNM)地球和行星科学系的地球物理数据采集能力，用于教学和研究。该重力仪将支持岩石圈地球动力学方面的研究，包括：1)调查里奥格兰德裂谷裂谷的裂谷运动学，利用互补的GPS和重力测量来阐明对区域地壳伸展的控制(如下地壳岩脉的传播)；2)调查科罗拉多高原的折返和地表隆起历史；3)数值模拟里奥格兰德裂谷和科罗拉多高原东部之下的上地幔结构；4)研究冰盖侵位的物理控制。重力仪将支持加强PI(Roy、Geissman和Wawryzniec)的研究和教学计划，涉及几名研究生和本科生。此外，该仪器将向地球和行星科学系的其他用户提供，并将支持与里奥格兰德裂谷和南落基山脉区域附近机构(例如新墨西哥州矿产和矿产资源局、新墨西哥州采矿和技术研究所、埃尔帕索德克萨斯大学等)的教员进行合作研究。

0549651RoyThis grant supports acquisition of a relative gravimeter (Scintrex CG-5) to expand the geophysical data acquisition capabilities for both teaching and research in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico (UNM). The gravimeter will support studies in lithospheric geodynamics including: 1) investigations of the kinematics of rifting in the Rio Grande rift valley that would employ complementary GPS and gravity measurements to elucidate the controls on regional crustal extension (e.g., lower crustal dike propagation); 2) investigations of the exhumation and surface uplift history of the Colorado Plateau; 3) numerical modeling of the structure of the upper mantle beneath the Rio Grande Rift and eastern Colorado plateau; and 4) research on the physical controls of laccolith emplacement. The gravimeter will support enhancement of the research and teaching programs of the PIs (Roy, Geissman, and Wawryzniec), involving several graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, the instrument will be available to other users in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and will support collaborative research with faculty at nearby institutions in the Rio Grande rift and Southern Rocky Mountains region (e.g., the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the University of Texas at El Paso, etc.).***