Precambrian Earth Evolution

拟议的研究计划将调查地壳/地幔系统的起源和演化，主要是在前寒武纪。前寒武纪地球演化存在许多不确定性，计划中的研究将有助于更好地理解长期存在的问题，如地球最早地壳的性质、海洋和生命起源的时间和方式、现代式板块构造是否在整个地球历史上运作、大陆和大陆根是如何形成的，以及全球短暂而大规模的镁铁质岩浆活动对地球演化的影响。这项计划中的研究将彻底改变我们对大陆和次大陆岩石圈地幔形成方式的理解，记录下戏剧性地塑造前寒武纪地球的不同寻常的灾难性火山事件，并为加拿大一些自然资源(如镍、铜、铂族元素)的起源提供洞察。

The proposed research program will investigate the origin and evolution of Earth's crust/mantle system, primarily during the Precambrian. There are many uncertainties about Precambrian Earth evolution and the planned research will contribute to a better understanding of long-standing questions about the nature of Earth's earliest crust, when and how oceans and life originated, whether modern-style plate tectonics operated throughout Earth history, how continents and continental roots form, and the impact of short-lived and voluminous episodes of global mafic magmatism on Earth evolution. The planned research will revolutionize our understanding of how continents and the subcontinental lithospheric mantle formed, document unusual catastrophic volcanic events that dramatically shaped the Precambrian Earth, and provide insight into the origin of some Canadian natural resources (e.g., nickel, copper, platinum group elements).