Acquisition of a Gas-Source Mass Spectrometer

这笔赠款为马里兰大学的同位素地球化学实验室购买一台大扇形气体源质谱仪提供部分支持。最近，詹姆斯·法夸尔加入了马里兰大学地球系统科学跨学科中心和地质系，担任助理教授。该仪器将是Farquhar在硫和氧的多同位素地球化学研究计划中的主要工具(这意味着除了18O/16O之外还可以测量17O/16O，除了34S/32S之外还可以测量33S/32S和36S/32S)。有关这些不太丰富的氧和硫同位素的同位素比率知识提供的信息使我们能够对化学和物理过程有重要的新见解，并为解决一类全新的地质和生物地球化学问题提供了可能性。多同位素方法的应用包括生物分馏过程研究、大气-地表相互作用研究、大气演化研究、陨石研究以及地壳和地幔地球化学研究。该设施将补充马里兰大学地球化学组(Becker、Candela、Kaufman、McDaniel、McDonough、Morgan、Ondov、Prestegaard、Rudnick、Tomascak、Walker)现有和计划中的研究能力，并将向马里兰大学和更广泛的地质和地球化学界的研究人员开放。***

0004130FarquharThis grant provides partial support for the costs of acquiring a large sector gas-source mass spectrometer for the Isotope Geochemistry Lab at the University of Maryland. The PI, James Farquhar recently joined the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center and Department of Geology at the University of Maryland as an Assistant Professor. The instrument will be the primary tool for Farquhar's research program in multiple isotope geochemistry of sulfur and oxygen (meant to imply measurement of 17O/16O in addition to 18O/16O, and 33S/32S and 36S/32S in addition to 34S/32S). The information provided by a knowledge of isotope ratios involving these less abundant oxygen and sulfur isotopes allows us to gain important new insights into chemical and physical processes and provides the potential to address a whole new class of geological and biogeochemical questions. The applications of the multiple isotope approach include the study of biological fractionation processes, the study of atmosphere-surface interactions, the study of the evolution of the atmosphere, studies of meteorites, and studies of crustal and mantle geochemistry. The facility will complement present and planned research capabilities of the University of Maryland geochemistry group (Becker, Candela, Kaufman, McDaniel, McDonough, Morgan, Ondov, Prestegaard, Rudnick, Tomascak, Walker) and will be accessible to researchers at the University of Maryland and in the wider geological and geochemical community. ***