Acquisition of Equipment to Establish a U-Th-He Geochronology Facility at MIT and Enhance Existing Laser Extraction Capabilities

该合同提供了67%的部分资金支持，用于购买氦气提取系统和质谱分析设备，该设备将安装在麻省理工学院的地球、大气和行星科学系。收购所需的剩余资金将由研究所提供。近年来的实验和实证研究表明，可以利用伴生矿物放射性成因的4He含量来研究造山带的低温热演化。特别是，磷灰石的U-Th-He热时计可以绘制近地表温度结构的时间函数。由于这些构造在很大程度上是由地形决定的，因此该方法正迅速成为重建山脉发展过程中地形演变的有价值的工具

9985357HodgesThis award provides sixty-seven percent partial funding support for the acquisition of a helium gas extraction system and mass spectrometric analysis facility that will be installed in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The remaining funds necessary for the acquisition is to be provided by the Institute.Recent experimental and empirical studies suggest that the radiogenic 4He content of accessory minerals can be used to explore the low-temperature thermal evolution of orogenic belts. In particular, U-Th-He thermochronometry of apatites allows mapping of near-surface temperature structures as a function of time. Because these structures are largely dictated by topography, the method is rapidly becoming a valuable tool for reconstructing the evolution of topography during the development of mountain ranges.***