Upgrade of the Laser Heating System for the (U-Th)/He Laboratory at the University of Kansas

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The funds will be used acquire a diode laser heating system for the (U-Th)/He thermochronology laboratory in the Department of Geology of the University of Kansas. The acquisition of a new diode laser heating system will allow (1) continuation of our NSF-sponsored research at KU currently involving many graduate and undergraduate students, (2) countless national and international collaborative efforts, providing a multitude of faculty, researchers, and students access to a state-of-the-art facility, and (3) development of new thermochronometric techniques and exploration of new research avenues. There is a tremendous demand for low-temperature thermochronometry data to address crucial questions about the timing and rates of a wide spectrum of geological processes ranging from tectonics and landscape evolution to energy related research. In addition to our enormous collaborative and service work load, new research avenues in our laboratory as a result of this acquisition will focus among other things on: (1) laser (U-Th)/He dating of carbonate and hydrous phases; (2) diffusion experiments at higher temperatures (900-600ºC), (3) heating and degassing of larger samples (e.g., magnetite), and (4) U-Pb and (U-Th)/He double-dating of zircon and rutile from sedimentary basins. The proposed acquisition will help maintain the current productivity levels, enhance the existing facilities, and impact the national/international user community of our laboratory. The PI and his colleagues also have a long record of integrating research and education, involving graduate and undergraduates in research and attracting minority and underrepresented students to geology and geochemistry.