Portable x-ray diffractometer for field studies.

该提案要求提供资金，以购买一台便携式X射线衍射仪，该仪器还可通过X射线荧光提供化学信息。这一创新仪器将用于确定对环境研究、盆地分析、成岩研究和矿物勘探至关重要的矿物。该技术的基础是，每种矿物都有独特的晶体结构，当用X射线衍射研究时，每种矿物都提供了独特的X射线信号。申请人及其学生和PDF将使用衍射仪研究加拿大矿山废物和盐湖中的矿物，表征沉积盆地流体演化研究中的成岩粘土和碳酸盐矿物，并表征为探索地下Cu，Zn，Au和U矿床而收集的土壤样品中的矿物。这些矿物通常是非常细的颗粒，因为它们是由流体的快速蒸发或固体的直接蚀变形成的，在野外很难区分。这些矿物中的一些也是高度反应性的，在它们可以返回实验室进行研究之前，可能会水合、分解、潮解、氧化或以其他方式发生变化。便携式衍射仪将允许在这些矿物出现的现场识别这些矿物，允许研究人员根据衍射仪提供的即时结果调整采样策略或重点。

The proposal requests funds to purchase a portable X-ray Diffractometer that also provides chemical information via X-ray Fluorecence. This innovative instrument will be used to identify minerals that are critical for environmental studies, basin analysis, diagenetic studies and mineral exploration. The basis of the technology is that each mineral has a unique crystal structure and when studied with X-ray diffraction, each mineral provides a unique X-ray signal. The applicants and their students and PDFs will use the diffractometer to study minerals that occur in mine waste and saline lakes in Canada, to characterize diagenetic clay and carbonate minerals in fluid evolution studies of sedimentary basins, and to characterize minerals in soil samples collected to explore for undercover Cu, Zn, Au and U deposits. Often these minerals are very fine grained because they form from the rapid evaporation of fluids or the direct alteration of solids and they are very difficult to distinguish in the field. Some of these minerals are also highly reactive and may hydrate, dehydrate, deliquesce, oxidize or change in some other fashion before they can be returned to the laboratory for study. The portable diffractometer will allow the identification of these minerals in the field where they occur, permitting the researcher to adjust the sampling strategy or emphasis based on the immediate results provided by the diffractometer.