This project addresses two major problems in geology: (a) the tectonic setting and crustal conditions for 1.4 GA "anorogenic" granites and (b) processes of pluton emplacement, the so-called "room problem" for granites. These topics will be addressed through a multidisciplinary field, structural and petrologic investigation of well-exposed 1.4 Ga plutons and associated metamorphic aureoles in central Arizona. Due to the complex interplay among heat, transport, metamorphism, and deformation during plutonism, it is necessary to collect both petrologic and structural data (at a variety of scales) in order to decipher the tectonic framework of the magmatic event. Results will lead to fundamental changes in models for Middle Proterozoic tectonic evolution of North America and Scandinavia in addition to fundamental constraints on mechanisms of crustal growth and reactivation during pluton emplacement.
