This award supports a planning visit to enable Dr. Kirsten Nicholson of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana in Ithaca, New York to meet with Dr. Pierre Maurizot of the French Geological Survey in Noumea, New Caledonia and Dr. Philippa Black of the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The visit will help develop a collaborative plan for a tectonic study of cretaceous rocks in the New Caledonia Area.
The study will involve the Mt Camel terrane and the Noumea Basin. Both units are in-situ (autochthonous) packages of late Cretaceous marine sediments and volcanic rocks ranging from basaltic to rhyolitic. Preliminary geochemical analyses have identified continental arc signatures in the lavas, as supported by sedimentary petrography indicating continental detrital mineral assemblages in both units. These results suggest that there was a well-developed late Cretaceous continental arc system active in both New Zealand and New Caledonia, possibly extending through Australia into the Antarctic Peninsula, with major implications for tectonic modeling during the break-up of Gondwanaland. The researchers will combine petrographic, geochemical and chronological analyses of on-land igneous associations and sedimentary sequences with the metamorphic and tectonic history of the region. The initial phase is to undertake preliminary recognizance of the field area in New Caledonia, meet all the collaborators, assess laboratory facilities and formalize a working schedule for the research. The findings will have a significant impact on the geological history of New Zealand and New Caledonia. It is also anticipated that this project will provide unique training and educational opportunities for U.S. postdocs and students to obtain a global research experience. It is anticipated that these collaborations between the scientists and students from each country will lead to long-term collaborations that will benefit all the institutions.
