Collaborative Proposal - Constraints on the Evolution of Hotspot-Ridge Interactions: The Northern Galapagos Region

加拉帕戈斯群岛及其周围的海底结构独特，是许多海底地壳建造过程的科学调查中心。这项研究补充了加拉帕戈斯正在进行的工作，试图了解海底线性构造(沃尔夫-达尔文线和热诺维萨海脊)的性质和作用，以及它们与加拉帕戈斯火山和太平洋板块构造的关系。目标是：(1)使用40Ar/39Ar测年确定沿两条线状构造的火山岩的年龄，以了解该地区喷发的时间；(2)使用微量元素组成和比率来确定地幔来源和熔融制度。这些数据，连同文献和德国合作者最近巡航的其他数据汇编，将被用来生成一套海底构造图，显示过去1000万年加拉帕戈斯地区火山活动的位置和组成。这些地图将用于制作加拉帕戈斯热点-山脊相互作用的构造重建图。这项工作的更广泛影响包括与德国科学家的国际合作，以及在让本科生参与研究活动方面的研究和教育的紧密结合，这些活动包括让他们参与海洋巡航，全面参与研究计划和实施，以及最先进的地球化学技术培训。该方案指出，该项目涉及来自两个本科院校的个人投资。

The Galapagos Archipelago and surrounding seafloor are unique in their construction and the center of much scientific investigation of processes of seafloor crustal construction. This research complements already on-going work in the Galapagos seeking to understand the nature and role of lineaments (Wolf-Darwin Lineament and Genovesa Ridge) on the seafloor and their ties to Galapagos volcanism and Pacific plate tectonics. Goals are to: (1) determine the age of volcanic rocks along the two lineaments using 40Ar/39Ar dating to understand the timing of eruptions in the area and (2) use trace elements compositions and ratios to determine mantle sources and melting regimes. These data, along with a compilation of other data from the literature and from recent cruises by German collaborators will be used to generate a set of seafloor tectonic maps showing the location and composition of volcanism in the Galapagos region over the past 10 million years. These maps will be used to produce a tectonic reconstruction of Galapagos hotspot-ridge interactions. Broader impacts of the work include international collaboration with German scientists and strong integration of research and education in terms of involving undergraduates in research activities which include having them participate in an oceanographic cruise, participate fully in research planning and implementation, and training in state of the art geochemical techniques. The Program notes that the project involves PIs from two undergraduate institutions.