Collaborative Research: Research Infrastructure: CFS (Track III) Cosmogenic Nuclides in Earth Science Research: Allied facilities for sample preparation, analysis, and training

合作研究：研究基础设施：CFS（第三轨）地球科学研究中的宇宙成因核素：用于样品制备、分析和培训的联合设施

• 批准号: 2300560
• 负责人: Paul Bierman
• 金额: $ 146.05万
• 依托单位: University of Vermont & State Agricultural College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-15 至 2028-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2300560&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Infrastructure; CFS; Track

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a technique used to measure exceedingly rare materials produced as cosmic rays interact with rocks, soil, and Earth’s atmosphere. Using these data, scientists can determine the timing of events that have the potential to impact human endeavors. Some catastrophic changes, like floods or earthquakes, occur over short time-scales, while others, landscape erosion and the growth and demise of ice sheets, occur over longer time-scales, thousands to millions of years. These changes directly impact the welfare of human populations world-wide. This award renews funding for the Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory (PRIME Lab) and the University of Vermont (UVM) Community Cosmogenic Facility. These two facilities will collaborate to produce a national, multi-user facility dedicated to the measurement of cosmogenic radionuclides using accelerator mass spectrometry. Doing so allows the combined facility to train students and researchers from dozens of universities within the US that do not have these capabilities or the funds to create them. At the University of Vermont, students learn how to perform the physical and chemical preparation of samples and then participate in the measurement of their samples on the PRIME Lab AMS. The interaction between students, faculty, and professional staff at PRIME Lab and University of Vermont facilitates interaction with geologists, chemists, and physicists, providing a unique opportunity to expand the educational opportunity beyond the focus of specific research projects. An essential component of this award is outreach to underrepresented communities, which will provide students hands-on opportunities to participate in geologic field work, laboratory instruction, and exposure to nuclear physics measurement techniques.The collaborative facility goals are to provide allied sample preparation, chemical extraction, and AMS measurements of cosmogenic and other long-lived radionuclides to the geoscience community. The first goal of this proposal is the continuance of this sample preparation and measurement capability for the NSF and geoscience community. PRIME Lab has provided AMS measurements for the geoscience community since the early 1990’s. PRIME Lab provides measurements of 10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl, and 129I in terrestrial geologic samples. PRIME Lab routinely measures thousands of unknowns annually for researchers, including those in the NSF community, but the laboratory can neither keep pace with demand and adequately train enough “next-generation” cosmogenic nuclides researchers. Accordingly, a significant goal of this award is the establishment of additional sample preparation facilities for the geoscience community. The combination of the AMS measurement capabilities at PRIME Lab with the sample preparation facilities at UVM has value beyond just the combination of two facilities. Combining the groups enables us to explore techniques that allow the facility to streamline some of the processes, identify potential problems in the application of cosmogenic nuclides, allow for unique opportunities to train the next generation of cosmogenic nuclide researchers, and develop next-generation measurement techniques and applications.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.

加速器质谱（AMS）是一种用于测量宇宙射线与岩石、土壤和地球大气相互作用时产生的极其稀有物质的技术，科学家可以利用这些数据确定可能影响人类活动的事件发生的时间。洪水或地震等灾难性变化发生在较短的时间范围内，而其他的景观侵蚀和冰盖的生长和消亡则发生在较长的时间范围内，数千到数百万年，这些变化直接影响着地球。该奖项为普渡大学稀有同位素测量实验室（PRIME 实验室）和佛蒙特大学（UVM）社区宇宙发生设施提供了新的资金，这两个设施将合作建立一个国家级多用户专用设施。这样做可以使联合设施培训来自美国数十所不具备这些能力或资金来创建这些能力的大学的学生和研究人员。在佛蒙特大学，学生学习如何进行样品的物理和化学制备，然后参与 PRIME 实验室 AMS 上的样品测量。 PRIME 实验室和佛蒙特大学的学生、教师和专业人员之间的互动便利。与地质学家、化学家和物理学家的互动，提供了一个独特的机会，将教育机会扩展到特定研究项目的重点之外，该奖项的一个重要组成部分是向代表性不足的社区进行推广，这将为学生提供参与地质学的实践机会。实地工作，合作设施的目标是向实验室地球科学界提供宇宙成因和其他长寿命放射性核素的联合样品制备、化学提取和 AMS 测量。该提案的第一个目标是延续。自 1990 年代初以来，PRIME 实验室一直为地球科学界提供 AMS 测量，并提供 10Be 测量。 PRIME 实验室每年为研究人员（包括 NSF 界的研究人员）例行测量陆地地质样品中的 14C、26Al、36Cl 和 129I，但该实验室既无法满足需求，也无法充分培训足够的“下一代”宇宙成因。因此，该奖项的一个重要目标是为地球科学界建立额外的样品制备设施，将 PRIME 实验室的 AMS 测量能力与核素研究人员相结合。 UVM 的样品制备设施的价值不仅仅是两个设施的组合，使我们能够探索使该设施简化某些流程的技术，识别宇宙成因核素应用中的潜在问题，并提供独特的机会。培训下一代宇宙成因核素研究人员，并开发下一代测量技术和应用。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。