SGER:Exploratory Research on the Timing of Early Paleozoic Orogenesis along Gonwana's Paleo-Pacific Margin, Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica

这个探索性研究的小额赠款调查了南极洲毛德皇后山脉的起源，以了解形成冈瓦纳的地球动力学过程。利用锆石的LA-MC-ICPMS分析和角闪岩的40 Ar-39 Ar分析确定各岩石单元的年龄。项目？目的是确定变形时间、沉积单元沉积、岩浆作用和区域冷却。结果将与澳大利亚的相关岩石单元相关联。通过限制过程的长度和时间尺度，结果将提供对导致变形的地球动力学过程的深入了解，如板块回滚或伸展。此外，对这些沉积单元进行测年可能有助于深入了解寒武纪的生命爆发，因为这些山脉的侵蚀导致的沉积物通量被证实为海洋提供了生物体发育坚硬身体部分所需的营养物质。更广泛的影响包括对本科生研究的支持。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research investigates the origin of the Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica, to understand the geodynamic processes that shaped Gondwana. Ages of various rock units will be determined using LA-MC-ICPMS analyses of zircons and 40Ar-39Ar analyses of hornblende. The project?s goal is to time deformation , sedimentary unit deposition, magmatism, and regional cooling. Results will be correlated with related rock units in Australia. By constraining the length and time scales of processes, the outcomes will offer insight into the geodynamic processes that caused deformation, such as slab roll-back or extension. In addition, dating these sedimentary units may offer insight into the Cambrian explosion of life, since the sediment flux caused by erosion of these mountains is conjectured to have seeded the ocean with the nutrients required for organisms to develop hard body parts. The broader impacts include support for undergraduate research.