Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Geochemical, Biogeochemical and Petrological Research

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0321004LoubereThis Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant provides partial support for the purchase of an stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (SIRMS) equipped with specialized inlet systems for carbonate and water analysis and for gas chromatography. This facility will support research and instruction at Northern Illinois University in three areas: (a) aqueous, carbonate and silicate geochemistry, (b) biogeochemistry and (c) geomicrobiology. The facility will accommodate a wide variety of users and will provide rapid, easy, automated sample analyses. NIU faculty including Paul Loubere, Melissa Lenczewski and Gene Perry will use the SIRMS for stable isotopic studies of silicates, carbonates, natural waters, organic matter and specific organic molecules. Research areas to be addressed include mineral equilibria; petrogenesis of rocks from North America, Central America and Antarctica; mineral precipitation and diagenesis; the marine carbon cycle; the role of tropical oceans in climate change; timing and causes of glaciation at high latitudes; the elemental fluxes through volcanic arcs; groundwater geochemistry including the degradation of anthropogenic compounds; and topics in geobiology. The facility will also benefit scientists at other regional mid-west institutions including Illinois State, Southern Illinois and The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The facility will increase collaborations among a broad range of researchers and their students at a number of these institutions. ***