iMAGE-CREATE is a new NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience project in Marine Geodynamics and Georesources (iMAGE). It is a platform for training in the field of solid earth geosciences that brings together land-based geologists and marine scientists working on the structure of the Deep Earth and its contained resources – knowledge that is urgently needed to access tomorrow’s energy and raw materials.
New knowledge about the dynamic evolution of the Earth is rapidly emerging from the study of large-scale tectonic processes on land and in the oceans. These processes are directly linked to the capacity of the Earth’s crust to supply raw materials and energy for the future. Students in iMAGE-CREATE are exploring this relationship under three broad themes: i) The Birth of Continents, ii) The Restless Earth, and iii) Resources for the Future.
The continents as we know them originated from early differentiation, accretion and amalgamation of tectonic plates and from crustal thickening due to magmatism and sedimentation. The story of their growth lies in the distant geological past and especially in ancient oceans. Episodes of crustal growth were strongly correlated with peaks in mineral deposit formation and therefore provide important clues to our resource future.
The formation and preservation of the Earth’s crust and its mineral and energy resources are directly linked to plate tectonics. Seismicity is the best means for monitoring plate interactions, as well as the structure and composition of the crust and upper mantle that directly influence resource formation. The major pieces of the puzzle can be imaged today, including in real time, through the record of crustal deformation on the continents and in the oceans.
The secure, sustainable, and safe supply of energy and mineral resources is a major challenge for the future. Deeper geological resources are needed to replace exhausted near-surface supply, and raw materials and energy will have to be sourced from underground in order to reduce the environmental impacts of exploitation. Locating those resources requires new quantitative models of the structure and composition of the Earth’s crust at depth.
Students in iMAGE-CREATE are conducting a wide range of experiments to explore the structure and evolution of the continental and oceanic lithosphere as it relates to the formation of mineral and energy resources. In particular, new opportunities for training are being developed in “universities at sea”, including participation in large-scale crustal imaging experiments, sampling of the deep ocean crust, and the use of large-scale research infrastructure to monitor plate interactions. iMAGE-CREATE is providing access to uniquely integrated training in these fields that is not part of existing graduate programs. Students in iMAGE-CREATE are exposed to three exciting opportunity streams: i) Training at Sea, ii) Training in the Field, and iii) Mapping Summer Schools.
A unique feature of iMAGE-CREATE is training at sea. Our objective is that every graduate trainee participates on at least one sea-going expedition. Students join long-range missions aboard international research vessels to learn aspects of seabed mapping and sampling, different survey techniques, use of marine robotics, marine geophysical surveys, seismics and seafloor geodesy … and life at sea. Read more here
Training at sea in iMAGE-CREATE is matched by field schools on land, providing students with first-hand knowledge and experience from the ancient oceans in different geological settings. In iMAGE-CREATE, trainees participate in two field schools (2 x 2 weeks) selected from a wide range of options. The focus of each field school is on aspects of crustal growth and metallogeny in modern and ancient volcanic belts, structural and magmatic evolution of the studied terranes, and the tectonics of each setting. Read more here
Two Mapping Summer Schools were developed specifically for the iMAGE-CREATE trainees. The iMAGE-CREATE–GEOMAR Seafloor Mapping School provides intensive introductory training in seafloor geology and remote predictive geological mapping techniques. The Terrane Mapping School is intended to duplicate the experience of the Seafloor Mapping School, training students to access relevant geoscience data sets, compile the data, and integrate them into regional-scale tectonostratigraphic assemblage maps.
