Upgrade of Hardware, Computer and Peripheral Equipment Electron Microprobe Laboratory, University of Oklahoma

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9404658 London This award provides 55 per cent of the funding required for the upgrade of an electron microprobe system at the School of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma. The University is committed to providing the remaining funds necessary for the equipment upgrade, which will consist of modern computer automation of stage movement and analytical functions, installation of x-ray diffracting composite detectors for analysis of light elements, and a sputter coater for carbon coating of non conducting specimens. The upgraded system is needed to meet the needs of a diverse user base at the University of Oklahoma who rely on the electron microprobe for chemical microanalysis of geological and other material samples. Specific projects needing the capabilities of a modernized electron microprobe include: (1) quantitative spatial analysis of the organic, mineral, and trace elemental constituents of coals, including a quantitative assessment of the correlation among maceral composition, optical reflectance, and back scattered electron signal intensity, (2) spatial analysis of rocks forming reservoir rocks for hydrocarbon and water, and (3) microscale studies of minerals grown from late-stage magmatic fluids and gases. *** 9405805 Craig This award provides 75% of the funds required for the acquisition of a microscope system for use with transmitted and reflected light to be used in the rare gas isotope laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. The University is committed to providing the remaining funds necessary for the acquisition. The microscope system is mainly to be used by researchers working with fluid, glass, and crystalline inclusions trapped in samples of basaltic rocks that have been extruded from the Earth's mantle. The microscope is needed for the location and identification of these small inclusions prior to extraction of the rare gases (argon, helium, and neodymium) for isotopic analysis. The researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography are using the isotopic content of the rare gases brought up from the mantle to understand the geochemical evolution of the mantle. ***