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)...

RUI: Collaborative Research: Early Cenozoic basin development in the southwestern US: a record of extensional collapse following subduction of an oceanic plateau?

Recent tectonic models of the southwestern US Cordillera suggest that a flattening slab, coupled with the subduction of an oceanic plateau (the conjugate Shatsky Rise: CSR) in Late Cretaceous ? Eocene time (90-40 Ma) led to subduction erosion, extension and associated paleogeographic change. This 3-year research project will test the hy...

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...

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: Elucidating the geologic record of Late Paleozoic subduction initiation along the southwestern margin of Laurentia, southern California and Sonora, Mexico

The principle aim of this project is to document the timing and response of the southwestern Laurentian margin to the initiation of subduction during late Paleozoic time. Although the recycling of lithosphere at subduction zones is a fundamental part of plate tectonic theory, the manner by which subduction zones initiate...

RUI/Collaborative: Evaluating the influence of crustal deformation on episodic magmatism: southern coast mountains of batholith, British Columbia

This project will evaluate processes responsible for the non-steady-state growth of continental crust in Cordilleran-type magmatic arcs. These batholiths develop as a result of subduction of oceanic lithosphere at convergent margins, but the processes that control the tempo of magma production are unclear; even in arcs where subduction is continuous, ma...