9316945 Bickford The Grenville province is the youngest precambrian province in North America and is extensive but variably exposed along the Atlantic coast and extends into Texas and Mexico. This proposal will investigate a key area of exposure near Van Horn Texas where prior work has shown a gradation from lower amphibolite grade upper crustal rocks in the tectonic hinterland to pristine unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks. The work will involve extensive age dating to constrain deformational events within the existing geologic framework and will develop models for the evolution of the Grenville terrane in this area. Results will apply to the generation of the 1.5-1.35Ga "Anorogenic" granite-rhyolite province of the central United States and to hypotheses of a late proterozoic connection between Southern North America and adjacent continents.
