MRI: Acquisition of a Laser Ablation ICP-MS Facility for Geoscience and Environmental Engineering and Sciences Research and Teaching in Iowa

这项重大研究仪器（MRI）奖将通过收购四极电感耦合等离子体质谱仪（ICP-MS）和激光消融装置，提高爱荷华州大学研究人员和学生的无机分析能力。这种多功能仪器组合将用于天然和工程材料（岩石、矿物、沃茨、土壤）的痕量和超痕量元素分析。 它将在地球科学系教授的研究和教学计划中发挥关键作用，重点是岩浆成因和构造，以及环境工程科学（EES）计划的教师，重点是重金属的地球化学循环。在地球科学和EES，将受益于校园内访问ICP-MS设施的选定研究活动包括：-微量元素丰度火山岩从各种构造环境（俯冲带，海洋岛屿，溢流玄武岩）约束岩浆成因和地幔来源的模型。- 熔融包裹体和地壳捕虏体的原位激光烧蚀分析，以确定玄武岩中地壳同化的机制。- 冲击材料的组成和冲击成坑过程的影响。- 激光原位烧蚀锆石U/Pb年代学研究，以了解造山带的构造演化。- 铀的环境净化方法。- 纳米Fe对重金属（U、Cr、As）在环境中的归趋和迁移的作用。- 饮用水系统中无机污染物的水质监测和评估。在爱荷华州建立ICP-MS设施将导致创造性和潜在的变革性研究，由地质学家、环境科学家和工程师以及生物学家之间更密切的合作驱动。创新研究可能包括开发新的重金属修复方法，深入了解环境中纳米颗粒的行为，以及更好地了解火山如何工作以及陨石撞击期间发生了什么。 四极ICP-MS和激光消融设备的存在将大大提高爱荷华州大学本科生和研究生的教育机会，为他们提供更全面的研究培训。该设施的使用将纳入各级课程，并将扩大学生研究项目的机会。 对社会的好处包括更好地了解环境中有毒重金属的行为及其补救方法，以及更好地了解火山过程对灾害管理的影响。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will enhance the inorganic analytical capabilities available to researchers and students at the University of Iowa through the acquisition of a quadrupole inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) plus a laser ablation unit. This versatile instrument combination will be used for elemental analysis at trace and ultratrace levels of natural and engineered materials (rocks, minerals, waters, soils). It will play a key role in the research and teaching programs of faculty in the Geoscience Department that focus on magma genesis and tectonics, and faculty in the Environmental Engineering & Science (EES) Program that focus on biogeochemical cycling of heavy metals. Selected research activities in Geoscience and EES that will benefit from on-campus access to ICP-MS facilities include: - trace element abundances in volcanic rocks from various tectonic settings (subduction zones, ocean islands, flood basalts) to constrain models of magma genesis and mantle sources. - in-situ laser ablation analysis of melt inclusions and crustal xenoliths to determine mechanisms of crustal assimilation in basalts. - compositions of impact materials and implications for impact cratering processes. - in-situ laser ablation U/Pb geochronology of zircon to understand the tectonic evolution of orogens. - methods for the environmental clean-up of uranium. - role of nanoparticle Fe on the fate and transport of heavy metals (U, Cr, As) in the environment. - water quality monitoring and assessment of inorganic contaminants in drinking water systems. Establishment of an ICP-MS facility at Iowa will lead to creative and potentially transformative research driven by closer collaborations between geologists, environmental scientists and engineers, and biologists. Innovative research will potentially include development of novel methods for remediation of heavy metals, insights into the behavior of nanoparticles in the enviroment, and an improved understanding of how volcanoes work and what happens during meteorite impacts. The presence of a quadrupole ICP-MS and laser ablation facility will greatly enhance the educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Iowa, by providing them with more comprehensive research training. Use of the facility will be incorporated into the curriculum at all levels, and it will expand opportunities for student research projects. Benefits to society include better understanding of the behavior of toxic heavy metals in the environment and methods for their remediation, and a better understanding of volcanic processes with implications for hazard management.