Collaborative Research: Geomagnetic field strength and stability between 500 and 800 Ma: Constraining inner core growth

合作研究：500 至 800 Ma 之间的地磁场强度和稳定性：限制内核生长

• 批准号: 1828866
• 负责人: Aleksey Smirnov
• 金额: $ 27.2万
• 依托单位: Michigan Technological University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-04-15 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1828866&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Geomagnetic; field; strength

Earth's magnetic field protects the planet from solar particles that would otherwise erode the atmosphere. Thus, the magnetic field is thought to be an essential factor ensuring long-term planetary habitability. Today, this geomagnetic field is powered by growth of the solid inner core. But thermal models suggest Earth has not always had a solid inner core; the time of the onset of inner core growth has ranged from 500 million to more than 2.5 billion years ago. This represents a fundamental unknown about the planet. Arguably the best way to investigate this question is to use "paleomagnetism", the record of the ancient magnetic field trapped in rocks and crystals as they form. Such data have motivated the hypothesis that the geomagnetic field, and the magnetic shielding of the atmosphere from solar particles, almost collapsed 565 million years ago, but then the field slowly recovered. This event may record the birth of the solid inner core. This hypothesis will be tested through studies of rocks ranging in age from 800 to 500 million years old found in Australia, Canada and the United States. The collaborative work will involve a team of 5 scientists at 3 institutions (including an underrepresented minority and woman scientist), and will be integrated into education and outreach efforts at each university, including efforts to expand opportunities for first-generation and historically underrepresented individuals. The time of Earth's inner core nucleation (ICN) is unknown and thus represents a first-order problem in our understanding of the planet. For decades the inner core was assumed to be billions of years old. However, viable core thermal conductivity values now span a factor of 3, with the highest values compatible with ICN onset between approximately 800 and 500 million years ago. These onset ages are predicted by many recent thermal evolution models, but a paucity of paleofield strength data has thwarted efforts seeking to determine if there is a sign of a young inner core. Recent paleomagnetic data record an unprecedented low in time-averaged geomagnetic field strength 565 million years ago that is greater than 10 times lower than the strength of the present geomagnetic field. The ultra-low field intensity is accompanied by an ultra-high reversal frequency and other indicators of unusual field behavior in 15 other Latest Precambrian-Cambrian igneous and sedimentary units. These observations and recent modeling results are the basis for the hypothesis that the geomagnetic field approached collapse in late Precambrian/early Cambrian times (i.e., the ratio of the magnetic energy to kinetic energy is less than 1) coincident with the onset of ICN. Hence, the inner core may be young. This hypothesis will be tested through the study of 4 igneous provinces emplaced between about 500 and 800 million years ago, in Australia, the US and the Northwest Territories (Canada). State-of-the-art paleomagnetic directional and paleointensity data, including single silicate crystal analyses, and U-Pb radiometric age data will allow a synoptic view of the geodynamo during the youngest predicted ages of ICN. The work will involve a team (5 PIs/co-PIs at 3 institutions) including an underrepresented minority and woman scientist. The work will be integrated into undergraduate and graduate education and outreach efforts at each university, including efforts to expand opportunities for first-generation and historically underrepresented individuals. Student teams will visit and conduct analyses in each of the laboratories, comparing and contrasting techniques. The project will be integrated into university-specific undergraduate courses in preparation for field and laboratory investigations.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.

地球磁场保护地球免受太阳粒子的侵害，否则太阳粒子会侵蚀大气层。因此，磁场被认为是确保行星长期适宜居住的重要因素。如今，地磁场由固体内核的生长提供动力。但热模型表明，地球并不总是有坚固的内核。内核生长开始的时间从5亿年前到25亿年前不等。这代表着对这个星球的根本未知。可以说，研究这个问题的最佳方法是使用“古地磁学”，即岩石和晶体形成时捕获的古代磁场的记录。这些数据引发了这样一种假设：地磁场以及大气对太阳粒子的磁屏蔽在 5.65 亿年前几乎崩溃，但随后磁场慢慢恢复。这一事件可能记录了固体内核的诞生。这一假设将通过对澳大利亚、加拿大和美国发现的年龄从 800 到 5 亿年前的岩石的研究来检验。这项合作工作将涉及 3 个机构的 5 名科学家组成的团队（包括一名代表性不足的少数族裔和女性科学家），并将融入每所大学的教育和推广工作，包括为第一代和历史上代表性不足的个人扩大机会的努力。地球内核成核（ICN）的时间是未知的，因此代表了我们了解地球的一个首要问题。几十年来，内核被认为已有数十亿年的历史。然而，可行的核心热导率值现在跨越了 3 倍，最高值与大约 800 至 5 亿年前的 ICN 爆发相一致。许多最近的热演化模型都预测了这些起始年龄，但古地强度数据的缺乏阻碍了确定是否存在年轻内核迹象的努力。最近的古地磁数据记录了 5.65 亿年前的时间平均地磁场强度史无前例的低水平，比现在的地磁场强度低 10 倍以上。超低场强度伴随着超高反转频率和其他 15 个最新前寒武纪-寒武纪火成岩和沉积单元中异常场行为的其他指标。这些观测结果和最近的模拟结果是以下假设的基础：地磁场在前寒武纪晚期/寒武纪早期接近崩溃（即磁能与动能之比小于 1），与 ICN 的爆发同时发生。因此，内核可能还年轻。这一假设将通过对大约 500 至 8 亿年前位于澳大利亚、美国和西北地区（加拿大）的 4 个火成岩省的研究来检验。最先进的古地磁方向和古强度数据，包括单硅酸盐晶体分析和 U-Pb 辐射年龄数据，将允许对 ICN 最年轻预测年龄期间的地球发电机进行概要观察。这项工作将涉及一个团队（3 个机构的 5 名 PI/联合 PI），其中包括一名代表性不足的少数族裔和女性科学家。这项工作将纳入每所大学的本科生和研究生教育以及外展工作中，包括为第一代和历史上代表性不足的个人扩大机会的努力。学生团队将参观每个实验室并进行分析，比较和对比技术。该项目将被纳入大学特定的本科课程，为实地和实验室调查做准备。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。