MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) for geological, environmental, and microbiological research at Indiana University

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The multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) funded by this MRI award enables a team of scientists at Indiana University to investigate metal isotope fractionation effects and the chemical mechanisms governing metal isotope fractionation in a variety of environmental, biological, geological, and planetary contexts. Undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty researchers in Geological Sciences, Chemistry, and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, as well as collaborators from two nearby primarily undergraduate institutions (Indiana State University and DePauw University), will use this cutting-edge instrumentation to advance understanding of how metal isotopes trace and record chemical, geological, and biological processes occurring in nature. This understanding will in turn enable application of metal isotope geochemistry to a wide range of important questions, including those related to contaminant metal fate and transport, availability of bioessential metals in natural waters and sediments, origin of ore deposits, and records of early life on Earth and other planets. The MC-ICP-MS will be located in the recently completed Multidisciplinary Science Building II, which also contains a newly constructed, dedicated clean room for experimentation and sample preparation. The instrument shares space with a well-established and internationally recognized gas-source mass spectrometry facility and thus extends the analytical capabilities of that laboratory across the entire periodic table. These facilities and hands-on training from a partially NSF-supported technician will aid in preparation of the current and next generation of young scientists.