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

该项目为美国早期职业研究人员和研究生提供旅行资助，以参加将于2015年5月初在加州帕萨迪纳举行的“金星、地球和岩石系外行星的比较地球动力学和构造”研讨会。美国航天局对金星等类地行星的飞行任务表明，这些行星上的地球动力学过程与地球上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为25亿年前早期地球上的构造如何运作提供线索。早期地球构造的性质的证据很少，已经被更年轻的事件抹去或大幅修改。该研讨会将汇集研究地球，金星和岩石系外行星的科学家，探讨控制构造和地球动力学过程的关键因素的作用，并比较太阳系内行星的演化路径。拟议的研讨会有可能通过以下方式造福社会或促进预期的社会成果：（1）妇女充分参与STEM;（2）通过研究生、博士后研究员和早期职业研究人员的参与，发展多元化、具有全球竞争力的STEM劳动力;以及（3）学术界与美国宇航局/喷气推进实验室科学家之间的伙伴关系得到加强。在地球科学研究的重大挑战中，很少有像理解板块构造的起源那样广泛的影响。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，大规模变形的局部化，以及地幔内部循环和板块存在之间的联系。达到下一个层次的理解可能需要确定板块构造不发展的条件。金星是一颗在许多方面与地球相似的行星，对金星的研究为其他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”研讨会旨在建立一个跨学科的科学社区，将早期地球研究和行星科学结合起来。这些社区往往是独立的，但有很多东西可以相互学习。该研讨会将被用作跳板，以建立新的跨学科合作，并开发开发基础设施的想法，以弥合这些社区。研讨会将讨论：（1）显着的地质证据，特别是构造，太古代地球和金星进行比较;（2）控制行星的组成和热演化的全球地球动力学过程，包括早期地球;（3）行星观测，地质观测和建模的进展。

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.