MRI: Acquisition of a Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope for Cal State Northridge Scanning Electron Microscopy Lab

The purpose of this proposal is to acquire a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) that offers nano-scale resolution and state-of the art analytical capabilities, including: 1) high speed and high angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), 2) energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, and 3) wavelength-filtered cathodoluminescence (CL)...

Development of a CSUN GeoAnalytical Center for Research, Teaching, and Outreach in Earth Systems Science

This project will create a “GeoAnalytical Center” within the Department of Geological Sciences (DGS) at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) with the goal of expanding STEM research and educational opportunities in laboratory and computational settings. The GeoAnalytical Center will consolidate existing CSUN DGS research facilities with the requested instrumentation to create an exce...

Evaluating the Role of MASH Processes and the Growth of Continental Crust

The origin and evolution of continental crust along continental margins are fundamental problems in geology. Our current understanding of continental arc magmatism is largely derived from observations of upper- and middle-crustal rocks exposed at the Earth?s surface. These observations include geologic mapping, radiometric age determinations, and whole rock and mineral geochemistry which are used to construct petrologic mod...

Acquisition of New Excimer Laser Ablation System for a High Resolution ICPMS Facility

This proposal requests funds to 1) purchase a laser ablation (LA) system for use with an existing Thermo Scientific Element2 sector-field, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (SF-ICPMS), and 2) establish a summer institute for underrepresented students aimed at laser ablation microanalysis of geologic materials (?PLASMA?, Projects in Laser Ablation Spectrometry for Minority Achievement). Our current las...

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: STRAIN LOCALIZATION, SHEAR ZONE CONNECTIVITY, AND MAGMA-DEFORMATION INTERACTIONS BY DEPTH WITHIN A 65 KM THICKTRANSPRESSIONAL CONTINENTAL ARC

It is poorly understood how deformation becomes localized into high-strain shear zones and how deformation is achieved and sustained deep within the roots of continental arcs during episodes of shortening, magmatism, metamorphism, and anatexis. This problem is important to investigate, not only for determining how different weakenin...

CAREER: Investigating Controls on Arc Flare-ups and the Growth of Lower Continental Crust

The proposed research program focuses on investigating the magmatic and thermal evolution of an exhumed, Cretaceous magmatic arc in Fiordland, New Zealand with the primary goal of determining the tempo and mechanisms of magmatic construction of lower arc crust. Geochronologic and geochemical data will be used to test three hypotheses: 1) magmatic fluxes into the lower and middle crust were episodic, spatiall...

Rheological investigation of deep crustal mylonites, San Gabriel Mountains, California

A critical new research objective in the SCEC5 program is the development of the Community Rheologic Model (CRM), whereby key research priorities include building a provisional rheology model around a geologic framework for Southern California. The geologic framework of the CRM is referred to as the Lithotectonic Block Model, where distinct blocks of crust are enclosed between significant faults of the San Andr...

Geochronology of Southern California Plutonic Rocks

We propose to analyze zircon and titanites from igneous rocks in Southern California in partnership with the CA Geological Survey.