Equipment to Upgrade the Sedimentary Basins Research Programs at MIT

这项奖励提供了购买设备所需资金的一半，这些设备需要升级麻省理工学院地球、大气和行星科学系的沉积盆地研究设施。所需的剩余资金将由该机构提供。升级中包括的设备包括显微镜和阴极发光-荧光光学系统。沉积盆地是泥沙显著堆积的场所。通常，沉积物充填在地壳的主要凹陷中，产生1-10公里厚的沉积物。这种规模的地壳下沉发生在各种构造环境中，从张性裂谷和被动大陆边缘到与主动挤压有关的前陆区。麻省理工学院沉积盆地研究的一个主要焦点是识别和分离盆地形成机制，以便了解盆地历史。这类研究的目的是更好地了解盆地演化，增进对在盆地深层作业的过程(如石油的形成和运移)的了解。

This award provides one-half of the funds required to purchase equipment items needed to upgrade the Sedimentary Basins Research Facility in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences at MIT. The remaining funds required will be provided by the institution. Equipment items included in the upgrade are a microscope and a cathodoluminescence-fluorescence optical system. A sedimentary basin is a site of pronounced sediment accumulation. Commonly, sediments fill major depressions in the Earth's crust, producing deposits that are 1-10 kilometers thick. Crustal subsidence on such scales occurs in a variety of tectonic settings, ranging from tensional rifts and passive continental margins to foreland regions associated with active compression. A major focus of sedimentary basin studies at MIT is to identify and isolate basin formative mechanisms so that basin history can be understood. The objectives of such studies are to reach better understanding of basin evolution and to improve knowledge of the processes (such as oil formation and migration) that operate at deep levels in the basins.