Continued Technical Support for the W. M. Keck Isotope Laboratory

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9708361 Ruiz This grant provides $80,000 two-years partial salary support for a technician at the University of Arizona to oversee operations and maintenance, train new users and develop geochemical separations and mass spectrometric techniques utilizing both the thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) and the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) in the W.M. Keck Isotope Laboratory. This lab is actively applying isotopic data to elucidate mechanisms of crustal and mantle evolution and metallogenesis. Specific examples include, Re/Os isotopic dating of molybdenite to constrain metallogenic epochs in the southwestern U.S., Re/Os isotopic characterization of platinum group element (PGE) deposits in mafic-ultramafic complexes and geochemical and geochronologic studies of the tectonics of Mexico. This group is also conducting developmental work on coupling laser ablation with ICP mass spectrometry, a newly burgeoning and potentially promising analytical technique for micro-scale studies of trace element distributions in solid geologic samples. ***