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，新的电子和原子探针显微镜技术使矿物中元素和同位素的三维绘图成为可能。我的小组一直处于这一领域的最前沿，开发了放射性原子成像和计数技术，并首次在三维空间中从矿物中“看到”地质年代。我的研究集中在一套含铀的辅助矿物上，包括锆石和斜锆石，它们构成了内太阳系（地球，月球，火星，小行星）中最古老的剩余部分。这些微小的矿物颗粒可以被视为行星的记忆细胞，并且，在我的实验室和合作伙伴设施中使用专门的显微镜技术，我的团队发现了行星地壳重大变化的纳米级特征，例如巨大的撞击和构造事件，否则会被隐藏。我建议在纳米尺度上扩大这种探索，以解决地球、行星和环境科学中的突出问题。我的团队将探索来自加拿大和南非地壳深处的锆石晶体，这些晶体与金伯利岩管道中的钻石一起沿着带到地表，以更好地了解大陆的形成及其资源。我们将使用这些相同的技术对一套来自火星和月球的古老矿物，我们已经在陨石中发现，以及地球上最古老和最大的已知撞击坑的样本。这将为我们提供有关太阳系生命开始时期行星形成的初始条件的新信息，以及深入了解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的材料方面的专业知识，对自然铜等高抗性模拟材料进行首批纳米级调查，以改进深层地质处置库的设计。这项对一些最长寿和耐用的天然材料进行纳米级调查的计划将导致对地球和我们的行星环境的新认识，并在新技术方面培训HQP，并将其应用于行星科学，政府地质调查和工业部门的未来发现研究，如矿物勘探和核材料储存设计。加拿大科学家在这项研究计划的培训将包括与自然和材料科学专家的国内和国际网络合作，并将转移一套全面和灵活的技能，可以适应回答社会问题，并满足我们经济的未来转型。

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.