EAGER: Exploring the potential for the 1.1 Ga Copper Harbor Conglomerate to yield information on terrestrial environments during the rise of the eukaryotes

渴望：探索 1.1 Ga 铜港集团在真核生物崛起期间提供陆地环境信息的潜力

• 批准号: 1542213
• 负责人: Aradhna Tripati
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Los Angeles
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1542213&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Exploring; potential; 1.1; Ga

The evolution of marine environments during the Proterozoic is the subject of intense investigation because of dramatic changes in oxygenation linked to the origin of complex eukaryotic life. In contrast, little is known about terrestrial environments or ecosystems. A lack of data and suitably unaltered successions means that intense speculation surrounds the few hypotheses that exist regarding environmental conditions on land at this time. The investigators wish to study rocks that are situated in a unique time and place in the history of Earth and life, and are ideally placed for exploring the terrestrial biosphere during the rise of crown group eukaryotes and the composition of the ancient atmosphere. If the datasets are not compromised by diagenesis (a question this study will address directly using clumped isotope paleothermometry), then this succession has the potential to answer several outstanding questions about the evolution of life and climate. The project has numerous societal benefits. It will support the career development of at least two women scientists, the raining of a postdoctoral researcher, and new collaborations including with an international collaborator. It will be used to broaden participation and to promote diversity, including outreach activities to under-represented students. Project participants will conduct outreach to K-12 students. It will also support education as results will be included in lectures to undergraduate and graduate students. The investigators propose a brief initial exploratory investigation to determine the potential of an unburied 1 billion year old succession from Michigan for the study of terrestrial environments during the rise of the eukaryotes. Carbonates in the 1.09 Ga Copper Harbor conglomerate of northern Michigan represent a potentially transformative archive of paleoclimatic and geobiological information. The succession contains terrestrial stromatolites that developed on an ancient alluvial fan, as well as lacustrine stromatolites. Researchers will conduct preliminary analyses of a suite of pilot samples from both facies to explore preservation and collect pilot data on proxy signatures, including on clumped isotopes and redox sensitive proxies. This work will allow to assess preservation and the utility of future in depth study of these rocks to provide proxy data for a crucial period in Earth's geobiological evolution. If successful, researchers will follow up with a collaborative, in-depth study of the succession. The potential rewards from future research are huge - but the risks of trying to find and identify unaltered rocks from this time period would preclude a study of this nature from being funded through traditional NSF programs until a suite of pilot data is collected.

由于与复杂真核生物起源有关的氧合作用的剧烈变化，元古代海洋环境的演变成为人们深入研究的主题。相比之下，人们对陆地环境或生态系统知之甚少。由于缺乏数据和适当的未改变演代，这意味着围绕着当时存在的关于陆地环境条件的少数假设，人们进行了激烈的猜测。研究人员希望研究那些位于地球和生命历史上独特的时间和地点的岩石，这些岩石是探索皇冠群真核生物兴起时期陆地生物圈和古代大气组成的理想场所。如果数据集没有受到成岩作用的影响（本研究将直接使用块状同位素古温学来解决这个问题），那么这种演替就有可能回答有关生命和气候演化的几个悬而未决的问题。该项目具有许多社会效益。它将支持至少两名女科学家的职业发展，培养一名博士后研究员，以及与一名国际合作者进行新的合作。它将用于扩大参与和促进多样性，包括向代表性不足的学生开展外展活动。项目参与者将对K-12学生进行外展。它还将支持教育，因为结果将包括在本科生和研究生的讲座中。研究人员提出了一个简短的初步探索性调查，以确定密歇根州10亿年前未被掩埋的演替的潜力，以研究真核生物兴起期间的陆地环境。密歇根北部1.09 Ga铜港砾岩中的碳酸盐代表了一个潜在的古气候和地质生物学信息档案。该序列包括在古代冲积扇上发育的陆生叠层石，以及湖相叠层石。研究人员将对两种相的一系列先导样品进行初步分析，以探索代用特征的保存情况，并收集代用特征的先导数据，包括团块同位素和氧化还原敏感代用特征。这项工作将有助于评估这些岩石的保存和未来深入研究的效用，为地球地质生物进化的关键时期提供代理数据。如果成功，研究人员将进行后续合作，深入研究演替。未来研究的潜在回报是巨大的，但试图寻找和识别这一时期未改变的岩石的风险将使这种性质的研究无法通过传统的国家科学基金会项目获得资助，直到收集到一套试点数据。