Building mountain belts - the Appalachian model

地球上的每一个山带都是独一无二的，但它们的形成过程可能都是相似的。其中一个过程是外来碎片或地形的增加。我的研究项目侧重于识别阿巴拉契亚山脉北部的这些碎片，解释它们来自地球上的哪里，并了解它们是如何、何时以及为什么与祖先北美联系在一起的。我的工作模型识别了阿巴拉契亚造山带北部的碎片和欧洲的相关带，这些碎片来自三个独立的微大陆，分别是Meguma， Avalonia和Ganderia。我们在理解这些碎片方面取得了很大进展，但问题依然存在。该提案侧重于两个具体的问题领域：(1)布雷顿角岛中部的Ganderia部分和(2)新斯科舍省大陆北部的Avalonia部分。我将以野外测绘为基础，更好地定义岩石单元，然后对精心收集的代表性样品进行矿物、质地和化学研究、年代测定和同位素分析，以破译这些地区岩石的年龄和起源。******这项工作对那些在盘古大陆分裂后可能衍生出山带组成部分和/或以前的组成部分可能分散到的地区工作的地球科学家来说很重要。更广泛地说，这项工作对那些试图理解以阿巴拉契亚北部造山带为例的造山基本过程的人很重要。我与来自加拿大、美国、英国、西班牙、法国和德国的地球科学家的合作程度证明了我工作的相关性。我的研究涉及本科生和研究生（硕士）水平的学生，因此学生的资金是我预算的最大组成部分。我的学生学习如何在野外解读岩石，获取和使用分析数据，进行公开演讲，撰写科学论文。我们预计，新的结果，与以前的工作和其他领域的成果相结合，将导致一个明确的和内部一致的阿巴拉契亚北部造山模型，广泛适用于其他山带。这样的理解应该会导致更多和更成功的矿产勘探项目，特别是如果，正如我们预期的那样，与纽芬兰中部和新不伦瑞克矿产丰富地区相关的岩石单元可以被证明存在于布雷顿角岛。**

Each mountain belt on Earth is unique, but similar processes likely took place in the formation of all. One of those processes is the accretion of exotic fragments or terranes. My research program focuses on identifying such fragments in the northern part of the Appalachian mountain belt, interpreting from where on the Earth they were derived, and understanding how, when, and why they were attached to ancestral North America. My working model recognizes fragments in the northern Appalachian orogen and correlative belts in Europe derived from three separate microcontinents named Meguma, Avalonia, and Ganderia. We have made much progress toward understanding these fragments, but problems remain. This proposal focuses on two specific problem areas: (1) the part of Ganderia in central Cape Breton Island and (2) the part of Avalonia in northern mainland Nova Scotia. I will use field mapping as a basis to better define rock units, followed by mineral, textural, and chemical studies, dating, and isotopic analyses of carefully collected representative samples to decipher the ages and origins of the rocks in these areas.******This work is important to geoscientists who work in areas from which components of the mountain belt may have been derived and/or to which former components may have been dispersed after the break-up of Pangaea. More broadly, the work is important to those who are trying to understand the fundamental processes of mountain building as exemplified in the northern Appalachian orogen. The relevance of my work is demonstrated by the extent of my collaborations with geoscientists from not only Canada but also the USA, UK, Spain, France, and Germany. My research involves students at both the undergraduate and graduate (MSc) levels and hence funding for students is the largest component of my budget. My students learn how to interpret rocks in the field, acquire and use analytical data, make public presentations, and write scientific papers. We anticipate that the new results, integrated with those from previous work and from other areas, will lead to a definitive and internally consistent model for northern Appalachian mountain building, with broad applicability to other mountain belts. Such understanding should lead to increased and more successful mineral exploration programs, especially if, as we anticipate, rock units related to those in mineral-rich areas in central Newfoundland and New Brunswick can be demonstrated to be present in Cape Breton Island. **