Understanding why and how the deep continental crust flows at high temperature and pressure is central to understanding a broad range of geologic processes. There is however, uncertainty about how to quantify the influence of many factors¬-including rock composition, temperature, grain size, strain, fluid activity, and/or degree of melting. This research uses the ages and compositions of the minerals titanite, rutile and zircon to test which factors permitted or inhibited the flow of continental crust at high pressure and temperature in a well-understood part of Norway. The impact of this research should be considerable and broad because of the archetypal nature of the Norwegian terrane. Although this proposal is targeted toward understanding why the deep continental crust flows, it will also help pinpoint why mineral reactions in Earth are sometimes very slow. Answers to these questions address why Earth?s tectonic plates move, why earthquakes occur, how long mountain ranges exist, and the composition of Earth's crust. This project provides training and research for U.S. students and brings together scientists and students from the U.S., Norway, and France, providing cross-cultural experiences that ensure that the collaborative impact of this project will be long lasting. The laboratory approach in this project is relatively new and its continued development will enable further expansion into other fields, such as biology.
