A detrital apatite archive to track crustal growth

该项目将使磷灰石成为研究大陆地壳演化的新工具。地壳塑造了大气层和海洋的组成，通过提供氧气和营养物质影响了生命的进化。然而，大陆地壳何时以及如何生成仍然是一个核心问题。目前的大陆地壳发展模型依赖于矿物锆石。然而，锆石只记录了岩石演化的历史。为了解决这个偏差，我们将使用矿物磷灰石，它形成于进化程度较低的岩石中。我们将开发一个碎屑磷灰石数据库的Pb-Nd（模型）年龄，并将其与锆石记录，以提供一个更全面的描述我们的星球是如何发展的。

This project will establish apatite as a new tool to study the evolution of the continental crust. The crust shaped the composition of the atmosphere and the oceans with consequences for the evolution of life through the availability of oxygen and nutrients. However, when and how the continental crust was generated remains a core question. Current models for continental crust development rely on the mineral zircon. However, zircons only record the history of evolved rocks. To address this bias we will use the mineral apatite which forms in less evolved rocks. We will develop a detrital apatite database of Pb-Nd (model) ages and integrate this with the zircon record to provide a more holistic description for how our planet developed.