Phase II Technician Support for Noble Gas Geochemistry

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EAR-0132265KurzThis award will provide partial support for Dempsey Lott in the Isotope Geochemistry Facility at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), under the guidelines for Phase II technician support in the EAR Instrumentation and Facilities Program. Lott will have responsibility for maintenance, training, and technical support associated with the WHOI noble gas and thermal ionization mass spectrometers, under the supervision of Dr. M. D. Kurz. The laboratory has specialized in helium and neon isotopic measurements in seawater, groundwater, and a variety of rocks and minerals, for a diverse set of scientific programs. Active projects include mantle noble gas measurements from the Hawaiian Scientific Drilling Project (Mauna Kea volcano) and submarine lava flows from various locations (ocean islands and ocean ridges), helium-3 surface exposure dating from surficial Galapagos lava flows, and surface exposure dating from various glacial deposits (Western USA, Patagonia, Antarctica). An important goal of the proposed research is to expand measurement capabilities to the heavy noble gases, which will involve some technique developement. Specifically we will utilize a newly designed stainless steel cryogenic trap that performs significantly better than conventional (charcoal) traps, and will have applications to many aspects of noble gas geochemistry. The technical expertise of Lott will help make the noble gas measurement capability accessible to many researchers at WHOI and also the broader U.S. earth science community.