Acquisition of a Time-of-Flight ICP-MS for Interdisciplinary Research in Archaeology, Geology, and Biology at CSULB

国家科学基金会的支持将用于获得飞行时间电感耦合等离子体质谱仪（TOF-ICP-MS），该仪器将被添加到由加州州立大学长滩（CSULB）的文科学院（CLA）和自然科学与数学学院（CNSM）的教师合作团队组装的分析仪器核心中。由NSF MRI资助的分析仪器赠款我们的研究小组运营的这个核心设施内包括四极ICP-MS，激光消融系统，环境SEM与附加EDX和WDS，以及低质量稳定同位素质谱仪。在不久的将来，将增加一个由其他来源供资的热致发光/光学发光测量系统。TOF-ICP-MS通过提供上级瞬态信号分析（非常适合激光烧蚀样品引入）和上级同位素比精确度，补充了现有的四极杆ICP-MS。这些优势将在各种考古，地质和生物研究应用中得到利用。在考古学中，与激光烧蚀系统相结合的飞行时间电感耦合等离子体质谱仪将通过改进宏观和微观层面的化学表征以及通过使联合收割机结合元素和同位素比率表征成为可能来加强对人工制品来源的研究。在地质学方面，新仪器将用于调查新近纪和第四纪加州边缘的古海洋学和构造历史。在生物学中，只有TOF-ICP-MS才能提供的高分辨率同位素比值和同时的高采集速率时间分辨分析将增强正在进行的生物体如何平衡其对必需金属的代谢需求与这些金属在环境中的生物利用度的研究。此次仪器采购的更广泛影响将是加强CSULB的跨学科教育和研究环境。CSULB，一个非博士。加州大学是加州第二大大学，2000年被美国教育部指定为MSI（少数民族服务机构）。这个项目的PI是CLA和CNSM的教师合作团队的成员，他们正在促进跨学科的研究和教学，这些研究和教学可以被广泛地称为“历史科学”。最低限度，历史科学包括地质学，生物学，地理学和考古学，但我们更喜欢定义的领域，而不是现有的学科，它所包含的，而是作为任何科学调查的历史和进化现象，无论是地质，生物，或文化。我们促进跨学科历史科学研究和教育的一种方式是支持各种学生和教师研究人员使用分析仪器，包括新的TOF-ICP-MS。在当地，主修考古学，地质学，生物学和其他科学的学生，其中许多人来自代表性不足的群体，将在我们的实验室中获得最先进的仪器的实践经验。我们还计划扩展现有的短期访问者计划，该计划将使任何学术级别的合作研究人员，从本科到高级教师，到CSULB使用TOF-ICP-MS和其他仪器。我们正在通过这一仪器收购和其他正在进行的举措追求的总体目标是创建一个跨学科中心，这将是一个资源CSULB，加州州立大学系统，以及科学家调查历史现象的更广泛的社区。

Support from the National Science Foundation will be used to acquire a time-of-flight inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (TOF-ICP-MS), which will be added to a core of analytical instruments being assembled by a collaborative team of faculty in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM) at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). Analytical instruments funded by NSF MRI grants within this core facility operated by our research group include a quadrupole ICP-MS, a laser ablation system, an environmental SEM with attached EDX and WDS, and a low-mass stable isotope mass-spectrometer. A thermoluminescence/optical luminescence measurement system, funded by alternate sources, will be added in the near future. The TOF-ICP-MS complements the existing quadrupole ICP-MS by offering superior transient-signal analysis (ideal for laser-ablation sample introduction) and superior isotope ratio precision. These advantages will be exploited in a variety of archaeological, geological, and biological research applications. In archaeology, the TOF-ICP-MS instrument coupled to a laser ablation system will enhance research into artifact provenance by improving macro- and micro-level chemical characterization and by making it possible to combine elemental and isotope-ratio characterization. In geology, the new instrument will be used in investigations of paleoceanographic and tectonic history of the Neogene and Quaternary California Margin. In biology, the high resolution isotopic ratioing and simultaneous, high acquisition rate time-resolved analysis that can only be provided by a TOF-ICP-MS will enhance ongoing investigations of how organisms balance their metabolic requirements for essential metals against the bioavailability of these metals in the environment. The broader impact of this instrument acquisition will be to enhance the interdisciplinary education and research environment at CSULB. CSULB, a non-Ph.D. granting institution, is the second-largest university in California, and, in 2000, it was designated a MSI (minority-serving institution) by the U.S. Department of Education. The PIs on this project are members of a collaborative team of faculty in the CLA and CNSM who are promoting interdisciplinary research and instruction in what can broadly be labeled "historical sciences." Minimally, historical sciences include geology, biology, geography, and archaeology, but we prefer to define the field not by the existing disciplines it subsumes but rather as any scientific investigation of historical and evolutionary phenomena, be they geological, biological, or cultural. One way we are promoting interdisciplinary historical science research and education is by supporting use of analytical instruments, including the new TOF-ICP-MS, by a variety of student and faculty researchers. Locally, students who major in archaeology, geology, biology, and other sciences, many of whom are from underrepresented groups, will receive hands-on experience with the state-of-the-art instrumentation in our laboratories. We also plan to extend an existing short-term visitor program that will bring collaborating researchers of any academic rank, from undergraduate to senior faculty, to CSULB to use the TOF-ICP-MS and other instruments. The overall goal we are pursuing through this instrument acquisition and other ongoing initiatives is creation of an interdisciplinary center that will be a resource for CSULB, the California State University System, and the broader community of scientists investigating historical phenomena.