Acquisition of Instrumentation for Geochemistry at Caltech

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9903699EilerThis grant provides partial support for the costs of acquiring a gas-source, isotope-ratio mass spectrometer and Excimer laser ablation system for in situ sampling of geological materials, both of which will be used in the geochemistry laboratory in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. The PI, John Eiler, recently began an appointment to the professorial faculty at Caltech and the instruments supported by this grant will form the core to the laboratories he supervises. In addition to Eiler, the supported instruments will be used in collaborations including several other faculty at Caltech (including Drs. Adkins, Blake, Farley, Rossman, Stolper, and Yung) and with Dr. Martin Shoell (Chevron).The supported instruments will provide new analytical capabilities for the PI's ongoing research in stable isotope geochemistry and opportunities for development of new research programs; in addition, they will be key components to a larger geochemistry laboratory integrating noble-gas and ICP mass spectrometers already at Caltech. The following areas of research will be pursued by the PI using the supported instruments: 1) Mantle geochemistry, including the oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope and trace-element geochemistry of mantle minerals and mantle derived melts, 2) Experimental studies of isotope partitioning among low-temperature volatiles, to serve as a basis for studying the stable isotope geochemistry of the Earth's upper atmosphere, and the atmospheres of Mars and the Jovian satellites, and 3) compound-specific hydrogen isotope analysis of organic matter in meteorites and terrestrial sediments. Additional research to be conducted through collaboration with other Caltech scientists and using the supported instruments includes: 1) study of the nitrogen-isotope geochemistry of atmospheric N2O, 2) U-Th-He thermochronometry, 3) the carbon isotope geochemistry of CO2 in urban air masses, and 4) oxygen and carbon isotope geochemistry of deep-sea corals.***