The Origin and Evolution of the Paleozoic Variscan Orogen: Implications for the Development of Curvilinear Mountain Belts

古生代瓦里斯造山带的起源和演化：对曲线山带发育的启示

• 批准号: 418359-2012
• 负责人: Braid, James
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: St. Francis Xavier University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=573609
• 关键词: Origin; Evolution; Paleozoic; Variscan; Orogen

My main research interests are orogenic processes occurring during the assembly and amalgamation of supercontinents. The Late Paleozoic Alleghanian-Variscan orogenic belts of eastern North America and Western Europe are of particular importance, because they record the first-order processes related to the formation of the supercontinent Pangea, which had profound influences on many of our earth's natural systems. Therefore, insight into how these mountain belts developed will contribute to our understanding of how global tectonic events in both the past and present relate to our natural environment. There are a plethora of tectonic models, which attempt to explain the geology of the Variscan orogen. However, when regional tectonic models are integrated into these models there exists a multitude of inconsistencies, highlighting a fundamental disconnect between our understanding of local and orogen-scale processes in the Variscan. In addition, there is a lack of understanding of how geodynamic processes in the Variscan belt relate to known events in the Appalachians. To address these questions, I will select some critical areas in which rival hypotheses and regional tectonic models can be tested. My proposed research program has four complementary goals: ((i) to test proposed genetic relationships between Pangean suture zone deposits along the length of the Variscan orogen; (ii) to determine how this orogen evolved following initial collision between Gondwana and Laurussia; (iii) to better understand this evolution in a global context, especially in terms of the connections between the Variscan orogen and the Appalachian orogen of eastern North America; and (iv) to understand how these processes relate to the assembly and amalgamation of supercontinents.To achieve these goals, I and my students will undertake detailed field work augmented by geochemical and isotopic analysis of critical samples throughout the Variscan orogen.

我的主要研究兴趣是超级大陆组装和合并过程中发生的造山过程。北美东部和西欧的晚古生代阿勒根阶-瓦里斯造山带尤其重要，因为它们记录了与超大陆盘古大陆形成相关的一级过程，对地球的许多自然系统产生了深远的影响。因此，深入了解这些山脉如何发展将有助于我们了解过去和现在的全球构造事件如何与我们的自然环境相关。有大量的构造模型试图解释瓦里斯造山带的地质学。然而，当区域构造模型整合到这些模型中时，存在大量不一致之处，突显了我们对瓦里斯坎局部和造山带规模过程的理解之间存在根本脱节。此外，人们对瓦里斯坎带的地球动力学过程与阿巴拉契亚山脉已知事件的关系缺乏了解。为了解决这些问题，我将选择一些可以测试竞争假设和区域构造模型的关键领域。 我提议的研究计划有四个互补的目标：（i）测试沿瓦里西亚造山带长度的盘古缝合带沉积物之间拟议的遗传关系；（ii）确定冈瓦纳大陆和劳俄罗斯之间最初碰撞后该造山带如何演化；（iii） ）更好地了解全球背景下的这种演变，特别是瓦里西亚造山带和北美东部阿巴拉契亚造山带之间的联系；以及（iv）了解这些过程如何与地球的聚集和融合相关；为了实现这些目标，我和我的学生将进行详细的实地工作，并对整个瓦里斯造山带的关键样本进行地球化学和同位素分析。