Acquisition of an SEM-CL Detector for Research and Education in Geology and Geological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

A New State-Of-The-Art Cathodoluminescence Imaging System for Colorado School of MinesThis National Science Foundation grant supports the purchase of a state-of-the-art cathodoluminescence detector to be attached to an existing scanning electron microscope at the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering of the Colorado School of Mines. The new detector creates color images when electrons are focused on materials at very small scale. It will be used in economic geology, tectonics, oil and gas reservoir studies, and environmental geochemistry. Some examples include minerals in precious metal deposits to understand ore formation and imaging minerals to determine geological ages. The new detector will also be used in teaching undergraduate and graduate students at Colorado School of Mines. It will also benefit researchers and students at four other Colorado universities and colleges. The instrument will be available to staff and citizen scientists to enhance museum exhibits at Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.This NSF Division of Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities Program grant supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art cathodoluminescence detector to be attached to a recently commissioned field-emission scanning electron microscope at the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering of the Colorado School of Mines. The new detector will allow high-resolution and high-sensitivity imaging of the luminescence of natural and synthetic materials from the nanometer to centimeter scale. The new analytical capabilities will be primarily used in pure and applied research in economic geology, tectonics, reservoir characterization, and environmental geochemistry. Emphasis will be placed on the development of new workflows for correlative microscopy allowing the study of growth and alteration textures in minerals. Applications will include the visualization of the distribution of intrinsic and extrinsic defects in quartz at the micro- to nanoscales to better understand how temperature, pressure, and salinity changes in hydrothermal fluids forming base and precious metal deposits result in quartz precipitation and dissolution. Imaging with the new detector will be employed to distinguish compositional and potential age domains in zircons from sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks prior to U-Pb geochronological analysis, allowing selection of the most suitable geochronology method and to identify locations for in-situ dating in the case of complexly zoned zircon crystals. The new detector will also be used as a teaching resource to further the learning experience of undergraduate and graduate students at Colorado School of Mines. The new analytical capabilities will complement electron beam instrumentation available elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region, benefiting researchers and educators at four other Colorado universities and colleges. The instrumentation will be made available to staff and citizen scientists to image luminescent minerals to enhance museum exhibits at Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.