Proterozoic and paleozoic carbonate systems and associated base-metal deposits

碳酸盐沉积岩(石灰岩和白云岩)是关于地球表面条件、地球生物群的演化以及过去25亿年大部分时间里地球海洋和大气的化学状态的唯一最好的信息来源。在这段时间里，地球的表面状况发生了巨大而永久的变化，从几乎完全不同于今天的初始状况，到大致类似于现代地球的状况。要理解这一漫长但关键的过渡，需要详细了解地球早期海洋中沉积的碳酸盐岩。 这项研究旨在就早期地球碳酸盐沉积系统的演化、它们包含的早期微生物生命的证据，以及它们可以传达的关于它们所承载的有经济价值的金属矿床的信息提供新的视角。这项工作将以加拿大北部的实地研究为主，并辅之以分析显微镜和地球化学。结果将有助于我们了解早期地球是什么样子，以及微生物生命是如何发展和进化的。它还将深入了解为什么碳酸盐赋存的金属矿床位于它们所在的位置，这将有助于发现对加拿大具有重要经济意义的其他矿藏。

Carbonate sedimentary rocks (limestone and dolostone) are the single best source of information about Earth's surface conditions, the evolution of Earth's biotas, and the chemical state of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere through most of the last 2.5 billion years. Earth's surface conditions changed dramatically and permanently through that interval, from initial conditions almost entirely unlike those of today, to conditions that loosely resemble the modern Earth. Understanding this long but critical transition requires a detailed understanding of the carbonate rocks deposited in Earth's early oceans. This research aims to contribute new perspectives on the evolution of carbonate-depositional systems from the early Earth, the evidence of early microbial life that they contain, and the information they can convey about the economically valuable metal deposits that they host. The work will be dominated by field research in northern Canada, augmented by analytical microscopy and geochemistry. Outcomes will contribute to our understanding of what the early Earth was like and how microbial life developed and evolved. It will also provide insight into why carbonate-hosted metal deposits are located where they are, information which will aid in the discovery of other mineral deposits of economic importance to Canada.