MRI: Acquisition of a Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer for High-Precision Geochronology and Isotope Geology

MRI：购买热电离质谱仪进行高精度地质年代学和同位素地质学

• 批准号: 1726099
• 负责人: Blair Schoene
• 金额: $ 52.25万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1726099&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Thermal; Ionization; Mass

Determining the rates of geologic processes over thousand to billion year time scales requires the determination of isotopic ratios with very high precision on a wide range of Earth materials. Precise and accurate measurements of radioactive and radiogenic isotopes provides the basis for geochronology, which in addition to other types of isotopic data, can be used to unravel ties between causation versus coincidence in events such as mass extinctions, climate change, the pace of biotic evolution, and provide a more detailed understanding of the physics of mass and heat transfer that drive plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions. This MRI grant provides funds to purchase a thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University, which focuses on measuring high-precision isotope ratios that are essential for determining the age of Earth materials and understanding the rates of geologic processes. This new instrument will supplement an existing TIMS managed by PI Schoene. The enhanced capacity provided by the new TIMS will permit the lab to broaden its research focus and secure ties between the research programs of Schoene and co-PI Higgins, as well as other faculty in the department and within a broad geoscience community. The new TIMS will serve to 1) increase the capacity of a world-class U-Pb lab to host and train internal and external users from a broad spectrum of universities, including liberal arts colleges, 2) devote more time to exploring and exploiting new isotopic systems, 3) further increase the precision and accuracy of these techniques to benefit the geochronologic and isotope geology communities, 4) expand the devotion of Schoene and Higgins towards integrating research and class work, and 5) build on existing programs led by Higgins to engage and educate local urban communities in the dangers of, and science behind, environmental and anthropogenic Pb contamination. This MRI grant provides funds to purchase a new TIMS in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University to be managed by PI Schoene and co-PI Higgins, which will supplement an existing TIMS currently managed by Schoene. The new instrument will be housed in an existing space adjacent to state-of-the-art geochemistry facilities, be supported by existing clean labs for sample preparation, and also supplement the research capabilities of existing ICPMS facilities led by Higgins. The existing TIMS and ICPMS facilities have developed a track record of serving the demand for geochronologic and isotopic data within a broad geoscience community; they also devote substantial time to establishing techniques and workflows that both ensure the precision and accuracy of routine methods and enable new science. The focus of the current TIMS is on the numerous applications of U-Pb geochronology; the new instrument will expand those capabilities and also devote time to measuring stable and radiogenic Sr and Ca isotopes. The new instrument will also permit the PIs to host more external users, thus broadening the impact of the laboratories and providing much-needed high-precision geochronologic and isotopic data to a wide-range of users from Universities that may not have the infrastructure to host similar laboratories. Targeted Geoscience research projects range from understanding the evolution of continents and volcanic systems, calibrating rates of climate change in the deep past through geochronology of stratigraphic sections, extending the reach of ice-core records for tracking atmospheric composition beyond a million years ago, measuring the flux of flood basalt eruptions and understanding their environmental impact, and increasing the precision and accuracy of geochronology of Lunar samples.

确定数千年至数十亿年时间尺度的地质过程速率需要以非常高的精度确定各种地球材料的同位素比率。放射性和放射性同位素的精确测量为地质年代学提供了基础，除了其他类型的同位素数据外，地质年代学还可用于揭示大规模灭绝、气候变化、生物进化速度等事件中因果关系与巧合之间的联系，并提供对驱动板块构造和火山喷发的质量和热传递物理学的更详细的了解。这笔 MRI 赠款提供资金用于在普林斯顿大学地球科学系购买热电离质谱仪 (TIMS)，该仪器专注于测量高精度同位素比，这对于确定地球材料的年龄和了解地质过程的速率至关重要。该新仪器将补充 PI Schoene 管理的现有 TIMS。新的 TIMS 提供的增强能力将使实验室能够扩大其研究重点，并确保 Schoene 和联合 PI Higgins 以及该系其他教员和广泛的地球科学界内的研究项目之间的联系。 新的 TIMS 将有助于 1) 提高世界一流的 U-Pb 实验室的能力，以接待和培训来自广泛大学（包括文理学院）的内部和外部用户，2) 投入更多时间来探索和开发新的同位素系统，3) 进一步提高这些技术的精度和准确性，以造福于地质年代学和同位素地质学界，4) 扩大 Schoene 和 Higgins 对整合研究和课堂工作的投入，以及 5) 建立希金斯领导的现有计划旨在让当地城市社区了解环境和人为铅污染的危险及其背后的科学依据。这笔 MRI 赠款提供资金用于在普林斯顿大学地球科学系购买新的 TIMS，由 PI Schoene 和联合 PI Higgins 管理，这将补充目前由 Schoene 管理的现有 TIMS。新仪器将安装在毗邻最先进地球化学设施的现有空间内，由现有洁净实验室提供样品制备支持，并补充 Higgins 领导的现有 ICPMS 设施的研究能力。 现有的 TIMS 和 ICPMS 设施已经在满足广泛的地球科学界对地质年代学和同位素数据的需求方面取得了良好的记录；他们还投入大量时间来建立技术和工作流程，既确保常规方法的精度和准确性，又实现新科学。当前 TIMS 的重点是 U-Pb 地质年代学的众多应用；新仪器将扩展这些功能，并投入时间测量稳定的放射性 Sr 和 Ca 同位素。新仪器还将允许 PI 接待更多的外部用户，从而扩大实验室的影响，并向来自可能没有基础设施的大学的广泛用户提供急需的高精度地质年代学和同位素数据。类似的实验室。有针对性的地球科学研究项目包括了解大陆和火山系统的演化、通过地层剖面的地质年代学校准远古气候变化的速率、扩大冰芯记录的范围以追踪一百万年前以上的大气成分、测量洪水玄武岩喷发的通量并了解其环境影响，并提高月球样本地质年代学的精度和准确性。

项目成果

U–Pb ID-TIMS geochronology using ATONA amplifiers

使用 ATONA 放大器进行 U–Pb ID-TIMS 地质年代学

• DOI: 10.1039/d0ja00135j
• 发表时间: 2020-06-10
• 期刊: Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: D. Szymanowski;B. Schoene
• 通讯作者: B. Schoene