Nanogeochronology of Earth and Planetary Materials

纳米地球科学是地球、行星和环境研究的一个快速发展的领域，因为新的电子和原子探针显微镜技术使矿物中的元素和同位素三维测绘成为可能。我的团队一直处于这一领域的前沿，开发了对放射性原子进行成像和计数的技术，并首次以三维方式看到了矿物中的地质时间。我的研究重点是一套含铀的副矿物，包括锆石和斜纹石，它们构成了内太阳系(地球、月球、火星、小行星)中一些最古老的残片。这些微小的矿物颗粒可以被视为行星的记忆细胞，通过在我的实验室和合作设施中使用专门的显微镜技术，我的团队发现了行星壳重大变化的纳米级特征，如巨大的撞击和否则被隐藏的构造事件。我建议在纳米尺度上扩大这一探索，以解决地球、行星和环境科学中的突出问题。我的团队将探索加拿大和南非地壳深处的锆石晶体，以及金伯利岩管中的钻石，以更好地了解大陆的形成及其资源。我们将对我们在陨石中发现的一套来自火星和月球的古老矿物以及地球上最古老和已知的最大撞击坑的样本使用同样的技术。这将给我们提供关于太阳系生命开始时期行星形成的初始条件的新信息，以及洞察使撞击产生的玻璃保持稳定20亿年的潜在因素。我们将扩大我的团队在地质时间尺度上暴露于弱放射性材料方面的专业知识，方法是对天然铜等高抗性模拟材料进行首批纳米级调查，以改进深层地质储存库的设计。这项对一些寿命最长、最耐用的自然材料进行纳米级调查的计划将使人们对地球和我们的行星环境有新的了解，并培训HQP掌握新技术，将其应用于未来行星科学、政府地质调查以及矿产勘探和核材料储存设计等工业部门的发现研究。加拿大科学家在这一研究计划中的培训将包括与国内和国际自然和材料科学专家网络的合作，并将转移能够适应回答社会问题和满足我们经济未来变化的全面和灵活的技能集。

Nanogeoscience is a fast-developing area of earth, planetary and environmental research as new electron and atom probe microscopy techniques have enabled the three-dimensional mapping of elements and isotopes within minerals. My group has been at the forefront of this area by developing techniques to image and count radioactive atoms, and see' geologic time in minerals, in three dimensions, for the first time. I have focused my research on a suite of U-bearing accessory minerals, including zircon and baddeleyite, that comprise some of the oldest remaining pieces of the inner solar system (Earth, Moon, Mars, Asteroids). These tiny mineral grains can be seen as the memory cells of planets, and, using specialized microscopy techniques in my laboratory and partner facilities my group has discovered nanoscale signatures of major changes in planetary crusts such as giant impact and tectonic events that were otherwise hidden. I propose to expand this exploration at nano-scale to address outstanding problems in earth, planetary and environmental science. My group will explore zircon crystals from the deep crust of Canada and South Africa brought to surface along with diamond in kimberlite pipes to better understand the formation of continents and their resources. We will use these same techniques on a suite of ancient minerals from Mars and the Moon that we have found in meteorites, as well as samples from Earth's oldest and largest known impact crater. This will give us new information regarding the initial conditions of planet formation in the period when life began in our solar system, as well as insight into the underlying factors that allow impact-generated glass to remain stable for two billion years. We will expand my team's expertise in materials exposed to weak radioactivity at geological time scales by conducting among the first nanoscale investigations of highly resistant analogue materials such as native copper to improve the design of deep geological repositories. This program of nano-scale investigation of some of the most long-lived and durable natural materials will lead to new understanding of the Earth and our planetary surroundings, and train HQP in new techniques with application to future discovery research in planetary science, government geological surveys, and industry sectors such as mineral exploration and nuclear material storage design. The training of Canadian scientists in this program of research will include collaborating with a domestic and international network of experts in natural and materials science, and will to transfer a comprehensive and flexible skill set that can be adapted to answering societal questions and meeting future transformations in our economy.