CAREER: Coordinated Geochronology: A toolkit for revealing Earth's impact history and a new laboratory "field" course paradigm

Many processes change Earth's landscape, including volcanoes, plate tectonics (earthquakes), weather, and erosion. Impact cratering has also played an important role throughout the history of Earth. When impact craters formed and how often they happen is not well understood.

The goal of this proposal is to develop new ways to measure the age of impact craters on Earth's surface. The results will let scientists test the effects of impacts on Earth's climate and geology. Studying impacts and impact cratering is also important for society.

Many impact craters around the world are mined for mineral resources. This project may also help determine how impacts concentrate these mineral resources. This project will also develop an accessible lab class for university students to increase access to geoscience.

The accessible lab activities will also provide students with important technical workforce skills. Additionally, an after-school Ad Astra Colorado program will be expanded by creating an online platform. The educational activities developed in this project can be a model for other universities.

The goal of this CAREER proposal is to develop new methods to measure the age of impact craters on Earth's surface. Earth's surface has been shaped by geologic processes such as volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics (earthquakes), weathering, and erosion. Impact cratering has also played a very important role throughout the history of Earth.

However, the history of impacts on the Earth, such as the timing and environmental effects are not well understood. Studying impacts and impact cratering is also important for society. Many impact craters around the world are mined for mineral resources.

Because large impact events may affect climate, biodiversity, and tectonic/volcanic activity, they are important to national security. Better ways to measure the age of Earth’s impact craters will help scientists investigate connections between impacts and mass extinctions, episodes of volcanism, and climate change. This project will also develop lab-based activities that can be used as alternatives to geology field-based courses that are required by most university geoscience programs.

The lab activities will help increase accessibility to the geosciences for students with disabilities that make it difficult to participate in field courses. The accessible lab activities will also provide students with important technical workforce skills. Additionally, this project will develop impact cratering curriculum for an online after school program through the Ad Astra Colorado program.

Educational activities developed at CU Boulder may serve as a model for more accessible undergraduate courses and outreach activities at other universities.

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.