| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 8, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 7, 2023 |
| Award Number: | 1950839 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Elizabeth Rom
elrom@nsf.gov (703)292-7709 OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $182,306.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $197,731.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2023 = $15,425.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
216 MONTANA HALL BOZEMAN MT US 59717 (406)994-2381 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
GL |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Polar Special Initiatives |
| Primary Program Source: |
0100XXXXDB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
Concord University and Montana State University will organize a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site that will involve a total of eight students each year in an international geologic field experience in Greenland. Students will spend five weeks at a field site on the west coast of Greenland while mapping geologic structures in the newly established Aasivissuit - Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage site. This unique location will allow the students to learn important field mapping and sampling skills, contribute to an improved understanding of this important location and make connections with the local communities. Travel expenses to the program and logistic support for fieldwork in Greenland will be provided. Students will receive stipends to support their work while in the field and while completing final analysis, reporting and preparation of publications at their home institutions.
This project addresses a cutting-edge question in earthquake dynamics from a geologic perspective. By mapping and sampling a pseudotachylyte system exposed for more than 34 km along strike, REU students will test a new hypothesis for the origin of multi-fault earthquake rupture and generate a geologic data set that will provide a unique compliment to geophysical and geodynamic investigations for multi-fault rupture processes. Students will participate in an intensive field research experience in a remote international setting. The REU will be hosted by a primarily undergraduate institution and recruitment will focus on students who are historically disadvantaged or from groups underrepresented in the geosciences. The field research will take place within the Aasivissuit - Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage site in western Greenland; thus, the project will incorporate lessons about the indigenous heritage of the region and students will share science findings with local educators and community members in Greenland. This project is supported by the Division of Earth Sciences and the Office of Polar Programs in the Geoscience Directorate.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Arctic REU program is built around an expedition-based field experience followed by laboratory analysis. Over the course of the three year project 21 undergraduate students from diverse social and academic backgrounds engaged in a complete scientific workflow from field exploration, observation, and data collection to laboratory analysis, hypothesis formulation, data synthesis, and interpretation. Students work together in collaborative teams and present their research results at national geoscience conferences. The scientific goal of the project is an investigation of processes of earthquake fault rupture and propagation using exposures of deep crustal rocks that have been brought to the surface by million of years of erosion and uplift. In 2021 and 2023, field work focused on the Homestake shear zone in the high alpine terrain of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. In 2022 students worked on the Ikertoq shear zone above the arctic circle in West Greenland. Students used state-of-the-art field methods including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), GIS mapping and analysis, and high-resolution outcrop mapping on drone-acquire photogrammetric maps. Back in the lab, students acquired hands-on experience working with analytic systems including Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) imaging and chemical analysis, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) mineralogical analysis, and optical microscopy. Students presented posters and/or scientific talks at the Geological Society of America (GSA) conference and the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure Undergraduate Research Experience Symposium. Learning outcomes and student experience were assessed by an external evaluator.
Last Modified: 07/26/2024
Modified by: Colin A Shaw
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