Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/B504157/1
Distribution of trace elements between zircon, garnet and melt: a key to understanding crustal events and processes.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor SL Harley, University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr R Hinton, University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Earth Resources
- Properties Of Earth Materials
- Tectonic Processes
- Abstract:
- The fundamental Earth science problem of relating ages, as determined using zircon U-Pb geochronology, to processes and hence geological events is central to understanding mountain building and evolution of the continental crust. The proposed research will obtain chemical information on the distribution of elements that occur at only trace (parts per million) concentrations between the key accessory mineral used in dating rocks and events, zircon, and the pressure-temperature sensitive mineral garnet. The distribution of these trace elements between zircon and garnet is important as the resulting chemical signatures in zircon can then be related to specific metamorphic and magmatic processes that occur during the evolution of the crust and in mountain building. This novel and innovative research will apply state-of-the-art microanalysis to zircon and garnet preserved together in rocks sampled from carefully selected geological areas in order to determine which chemical features of zircon appear to be diagnostic of the presence of garnet during zircon growth. This study of natural samples will be integrated with new experiments on the distribution of trace elements between zircon, garnet and melt. These experiments will be carried out under controlled high-pressure and -temperature conditions that approximate those found in nature, and will produce reliable zircon-garnet trace element distribution data with which natural zircon-garnet pairs can be compared. This will allow the discrimination of equilibrium versus disequilibrium chemical signatures in zircon in garnet-bearing metamorphic and magmatic rocks, and so provide an objective basis for interpretation of the timing of growth or recrystallisation of zircon in these important crustal environments.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/B504157/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £238,212
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £115,819 | £10,399 | £42,159 | £69,836 |
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