Support for Comparative Geodynamics and Tectonics of Venus, Earth, and Rocky Exoplanets Workshop

该项目为职业生涯初期的美国研究人员和研究生提供旅费，用于参加将于2015年5月初在加利福尼亚州帕萨迪纳举行的“金星、地球和洛基系外行星的比较地球动力学和构造学”研讨会。NASA对金星等类地行星的任务表明，在这些行星上运行的地球动力学过程与在地球上运行的板块构造过程有很大不同。重要的是，金星上的构造过程可能会为25亿多年前早期地球上的构造活动提供线索。早期地球构造性质的证据很少，因为它们要么被更年轻的事件抹去，要么被大幅改变。这次研讨会将汇集研究地球、金星和岩石系外行星的科学家，探索控制构造和地球动力学过程的关键因素的作用，并比较太阳系内的行星演化路径。拟议的研讨会有可能造福社会或通过以下方式促进预期的社会成果：(1)妇女充分参与STEM；(2)通过研究生、博士后研究员和职业生涯早期研究人员的参与，发展一支多样化的、具有全球竞争力的STEM劳动力队伍；以及(3)增加学术界与NASA/喷气推进实验室科学家之间的伙伴关系。在地球科学研究的重大挑战中，很少有像了解板块构造的起源那样具有广泛影响的。在过去几十年中开发的几个模型旨在模拟板块边界的发展、大范围变形的局部化以及地幔内部循环与板块存在之间的联系。要达到下一层次的理解，可能需要确定板块构造不会发展的条件。对金星这颗在许多方面与地球相似的行星的研究，为替代的全球构造模式提供了一个参考点。也许可以在金星和地球上太古宙的地质记录之间找到相似之处。“金星、地球和岩石系外行星的比较地球动力学和构造学”工作坊旨在建立一个跨学科的科学共同体，将早期的地球研究和行星科学结合在一起。这些社区通常是分开的，但有很多东西需要相互学习。研讨会将被用作建立新的跨学科合作的跳板，并开发一个基础设施来连接这些社区的想法。讲习班参与者将讨论：(1)太古代地球和金星的显著地质证据，特别是构造，以进行比较；(2)控制行星组成和热演化的全球地球动力学过程，包括早期地球；以及(3)行星观测、地质观测和建模方面的进展。

This project provides funding for travel support for early career U.S. researchers and graduate students to attend a workshop on "Comparative Geodynamics and Tectonics of Venus, Earth, and Rocky Exoplanets" to be held in Pasadena, California, in early May of 2015. NASA missions to Earth-like planets, such as Venus, indicate that the geodynamic processes operative on these planets differ substantially from the plate tectonic processes that operate on Earth. Importantly, the tectonic processes on Venus may provide clues as to how tectonics operated on the early Earth more than 2.5 billion years ago. The evidence for the nature of early Earth tectonics is scant, having been either obliterated or substantially modified by younger events. This workshop will bring together scientists studying Earth, Venus, and rocky exoplanets to explore the role of key factors that control tectonic and geodynamic processes and to compare planetary evolutionary paths within the solar system. The proposed workshop has potential to benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes through: (1) full participation of women in STEM; (2) development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce through involvement of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and early career researchers; and (3) increased partnerships between academia and NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab scientists.Among the grand challenges of Earth science research, few have implications as broad as understanding the origin of plate tectonics. Several models developed over the last few decades aim to simulate the development of plate boundaries, localization of large-scale deformation, as well as the link between internal circulation of the mantle and the presence of plates. Achieving the next level of understanding may require determining the conditions under which plate tectonics does not develop. The study of Venus, a planet similar in many respects to Earth, provides a point of reference for alternative global tectonics modes. It may be possible to find similarities between Venus and the geological record of the Archean eon on Earth. The "Comparative Geodynamics and Tectonics of Venus, Earth, and Rocky Exoplanets" workshop aims at building an interdisciplinary scientific community that joins Early Earth studies and planetary sciences. These communities are often separate, but have much to learn from each other. The workshop will be used as springboard to build new interdisciplinary collaborations and develop idea for developing an infrastructure to bridge these communities. The workshop paticipants will discuss: (1) salient geological evidence, especially tectonics, of Archean Earth and of Venus to draw comparisons; (2) global geodynamic processes that control the composition and thermal evolution of planets, including Early Earth; and (3) advances in planetary observations, geological observations, and modeling.