Marine Geodynamics and Ore Deposits

海洋地球动力学和矿床

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-03736
• 负责人: Hannington, Mark
• 金额: $ 3.72万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=690257
• 关键词: Marine; Geodynamics; Ore; Deposits

Metal mining is one of the largest sectors of the global economy, challenged by demand for resources that are increasingly difficult to find. Many of the worlds presently exploited metal deposits were originally formed in ancient oceans, by rifting of continental or thickened oceanic crust, where metal-enriched melts are produced. Research in today's oceans is revealing the complex architecture and compositional heterogeneity of the crust and mantle where ore deposits are formed and providing new clues to their possible locations in the geologic past. Some of the most richly endowed crust on Earth exists today in subduction zones of the Western Pacific, where intricate microplate dynamics regulate crustal growth and provide the pathways to the surface for melts and metal-bearing fluids. However, the large-scale magmatic and tectonic processes responsible for enrichment of the ore elements at these locations are still poorly understood. Students under my supervision at uOttawa are using state-of-the-art deep-sea technology to probe the oceanic crust where this enrichment is taking pace, and sophisticated analytical techniques to trace the ore elements and their isotopes back to their crustal sources. To carry out this research, the students are gathering samples and data on scientific expeditions to the Mariana arc, the Melanesian Archipelago (PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu), and the Tonga-Kermadec arc, as well as the Tyrrhenian and Aegean Seas in the Mediterranean and on continuing research cruises to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Iceland. Their goal is to test whether fertile crustal domains can be identified in the oceans in the same way that metallogenic provinces have been defined on land. This ambitious program is made possible by long-established and successful cooperation with German, US, NZ and Australian partners who are providing access to research vessels, sea-going infrastructure, and analytical facilities. The students are combining marine geology, geophysics, and geochemistry in a uniquely multidisciplinary approach to identify the sources and the pathways for ore elements through the crust and test new hypotheses about the relationship between crustal growth and ore formation. My group is one of the few scientific teams worldwide bridging modern marine research to the understanding of ancient ore deposits, with direct practical application to resource discovery on land.

金属采矿是全球经济最大的部门之一，受到对资源的​​需求越来越难以找到的挑战。目前，许多世界被剥削的金属沉积物最初是在古老的海洋中形成的，它是通过大陆或增厚的海洋壳的裂片而形成的，在那里产生了富含金属的融化熔体。当今海洋的研究揭示了地壳和地幔的复杂建筑和组成异质性，其中形成了矿石矿床，并为他们在地质过去的可能位置提供了新的线索。当今地球上一些最丰富的end质地壳存在于西太平洋的俯冲带中，其中复杂的微板动力学调节地壳生长，并为熔体和金属含水液提供了表面的途径。但是，在这些位置富集矿石元素的大规模岩浆和构造过程仍然知之甚少。在我在乌塔瓦（Uottawa）的监督下，学生正在使用最先进的深海技术来探测这种富集的步伐，并采用复杂的分析技术来追踪矿石元素及其同位素，以追溯到它们的外壳来源。 To carry out this research, the students are gathering samples and data on scientific expeditions to the Mariana arc, the Melanesian Archipelago (PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu), and the Tonga-Kermadec arc, as well as the Tyrrhenian and Aegean Seas in the Mediterranean and on continuing research cruises to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Iceland.他们的目标是测试在海洋中是否可以在海洋中确定肥沃的地壳结构域，就像在陆地上定义了金属植物省一样。通过与德国，美国，新西兰和澳大利亚合作伙伴的长期合作和成功的合作，这项雄心勃勃的计划成为可能，他们正在提供研究船，海上基础设施和分析设施的访问权限。学生们将海洋地质，地球物理学和地球化学结合在一种独特的多学科方法中，以通过地壳通过地壳识别矿石元素的来源和途径，并检验有关地壳生长与矿石形成之间关系的新假设。我的小组是全球范围内桥接的少数科学团队之一，以了解古老的矿石矿床，直接应用在土地上的资源发现。