Objectif "Today, subduction dominates the Earth’s appearance: it drives plate tectonics, and plays a dominant role in continental crust formation. If and how subduction operated 2.5-4 billion years ago, in the Archaean, is debated, primarily on the basis of the sparse Archaean geological record. It seems likely that some form of subduction occurred at least by the late Archaean, but may well have looked different from today’s. A proper understanding of this Archaean ‘subduction’ is essential, since so many processes are likely to depend on it.Observations of the geological (mostly isotope-geochemical) record have provided an invaluable window to peer into the Archaean world. But inferred Archaean geodynamics from these observations are non-unique. Various models fit the same data within uncertainty, and often lack a firm physical basis. To overcome these shortcomings, I propose a novel, forward approach of predicting synthetic geochemical fingerprints from numerical, geodynamically consistent physical models, and comparing those with geochemical observations. This will be used to constrain and better understand the two most pressing questions in Earth sciences: How did plate tectonics evolve, and how did continents form? In particular, this project aims to:1) assess quantitatively the geodynamical and geochemical viability of intermittent plate tectonics;2) test the various proposed models for the formation of Archaean continental crust;Comparison of calculated synthetic geochemistry (e.g. Re-Os data, rare-Earth element data) from geodynamical models with available datasets will provide powerful diagnostics to distinguish viable models.In addition, this work will also directly relevant for the evolution of the Earth’s surface, and to the differences with the other terrestrial planets. Finally, there are potential economic benefits, since the world’s largest mineral deposits (e.g. gold) occur in Archaean terrains and have been associated to subduction." Champ scientifique natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeochemistryengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringmining and mineral processingnatural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanetsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologyseismologyplate tectonics Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Thème(s) ERC-SG-PE10 - ERC Starting Grant - Earth system science Appel à propositions ERC-2011-StG_20101014 Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Institution d’accueil UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM Contribution de l’UE € 1 443 503,00 Adresse STOCKTON ROAD THE PALATINE CENTRE DH1 3LE Durham Royaume-Uni Voir sur la carte Région North East (England) Tees Valley and Durham Durham CC Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Wendy Harle (Ms.) Chercheur principal Jeroen Van Hunen (Dr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée Bénéficiaires (2) Trier par ordre alphabétique Trier par contribution de l’UE Tout développer Tout réduire UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM Royaume-Uni Contribution de l’UE € 1 443 503,00 Adresse STOCKTON ROAD THE PALATINE CENTRE DH1 3LE Durham Voir sur la carte Région North East (England) Tees Valley and Durham Durham CC Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Wendy Harle (Ms.) Chercheur principal Jeroen Van Hunen (Dr.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée UNIVERSITE JEAN MONNET SAINT-ETIENNE France Contribution de l’UE € 47 235,02 Adresse RUE TREFILERIE 10 42023 Saint Etienne Voir sur la carte Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes Loire Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Odile Barou (Ms.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée
