Upgrade of the Scanning Electron Microscope Lab at the Arizona LaserChron Center

亚利桑那州 LaserChron 中心扫描电子显微镜实验室升级

• 批准号: 2153415
• 负责人: George Gehrels
• 金额: $ 40.04万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2153415&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Upgrade; Scanning; Electron; Microscope; Lab

This award provides funding to acquire three new instruments that will be used to determine the chemistry and structure of minerals which record a variety of geologic events and processes. The instruments will be utilized in the Arizona LaserChron Center (ALC), which is an NSF-supported community facility that supports research in Earth Sciences. Science questions addressed by ALC researchers focus on reconstructing the history of igneous activity (e.g., volcanic eruptions), formation of ore deposits, uplift of mountain ranges, accumulation of sediment and formation of associated hydrocarbon resources, evolutionary changes, early evolution of the Earth, Moon, meteorites, and Mars, history of Earth’s climate (e.g., patterns of ice sheets), and archaeological trade routes. The new instruments will be utilized to support the research of ~350 faculty members, professional geologists, and students per year. Supported activities include generating the images and analyses that are needed for NSF-funded projects, providing opportunities for researchers to learn the theory and methods of instrument operation, and offering educational and outreach activities for under-represented minority participants. The requested instruments consist of (1) an Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) detector, (2) an Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) detector, and (3) a Raman spectroscopic system. The EDS and EBSD detector systems will replace the outdated systems which were acquired with our Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM) in 2009. These instruments, combined with the new “AZtec Live/HKL” software included with the Instruments, will provide the chemical and structural information needed for ALC researchers to conduct cutting-edge research in geochronology, petrochronology, and thermochronology. New capabilities in microstructural analysis will also be enabled. The Raman system, combined with the “Correlate” software package offered by the manufacturer, will provide powerful new capabilities of chemical mapping and phase identification. Collectively, these enhanced capabilities will provide the images and analyses needed by ALC researchers more efficiently, at lower cost, and with enhanced resolution, and will also allow ALC researchers to explore exciting new science applications regarding: (1) the spatial context of in situ geochronometric minerals, (2) 4D evolution of shear zones, (3) use of baddeleyite for chronologic and chemical studies of mafic rocks, (4) processes of Pb loss in minerals, (5) provenance of detrital minerals, (6) many processes that control modal abundances, sizes, shapes, and orientations of minerals in various rock types, and (7) application of elastic thermobarometers to study a variety of geologic processes.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.

该奖项提供资金购买三台新仪器，这些仪器将用于确定记录各种地质事件和过程的矿物的化学和结构。这些仪器将在亚利桑那州 LaserChron 中心 (ALC) 中使用，该中心是 NSF 的一个机构。支持地球科学研究的社区设施。 ALC 研究人员解决的科学问题侧重于重建火成岩活动（例如火山喷发）的历史、矿床的形成、山脉的隆起、火山的积累。新仪器将用于支持相关碳氢化合物资源的沉积物和形成、演化变化、地球、月球、陨石和火星的早期演化、地球气候的历史（例如冰盖的模式）以及考古贸易路线。每年支持约 350 名教职员工、专业地质学家和学生的研究，包括生成 NSF 资助项目所需的图像和分析、为研究人员提供学习仪器操作理论和方法的机会以及提供教育服务。和外展活动对于代表性不足的少数族裔参与者，所需的仪器包括 (1) 能量色散光谱 (EDS) 探测器，(2) 电子背散射衍射 (EBSD) 探测器，以及 (3) 拉曼光谱系统 EDS 和 EBSD 探测器。系统将取代 2009 年购买的扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 的过时系统。这些仪器与仪器附带的新“AZtec Live/HKL”软件相结合，将为 ALC 研究人员提供进行地质年代学、岩石年代学和热年代学前沿研究所需的化学和结构信息。拉曼系统与 ALC 提供的“Correlate”软件包相结合也将启用。制造商将提供化学图谱和相识别的强大新功能，总的来说，这些增强的功能将以更低的成本和更高的分辨率更高效地为 ALC 研究人员提供所需的图像和分析，并且还将使 ALC 研究人员能够探索令人兴奋的领域。新科学应用涉及：(1) 原位地质测时矿物的空间背景，(2) 剪切带的 4D 演化，(3) 使用斜锆石进行镁铁质岩石的年代学和化学研究，(4) 矿物中铅损失的过程，( 5）碎屑矿物的来源，（6）控制各种岩石类型中矿物的模态丰度、尺寸、形状和方向的许多过程，以及（7）应用弹性温压计来研究各种该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。