Acquisition of a noble gas analysis facility for surface process studies at the Berkeley Geochronology Center

该仪器和设施项目拨款支持建立一个自动化惰性气体提取和净化系统，该系统将与伯克利地质年代学中心（BGC）现有的惰性气体质谱仪相结合。该系统将优化用于与定量表面过程研究相关的惰性气体分析，主要是宇宙射线产生的氦和氖的测量，以及支持惰性气体扩散研究。提取系统将包括自动化硬件和软件、用于自动激光提取的高真空室、校准的标准移液器、气体净化系统、用于分离稀有气体的低温系统和二极管激光光学系统。与其他宇宙生成核素相比，该系统将充分利用宇宙生成惰性气体测量的相对速度和简单性。这将使我们能够解决需要大量宇宙生成核素测量的地球表面动力学问题，包括随机过程的研究和需要在可能控制表面过程速率的大量参数中跨梯度采样。pi和其他从事定量表面过程研究的研究人员之间现有的和计划中的合作，确保了拟议的设施将对地球科学界的大截面有用和可访问。宇宙成因稀有气体测量的增加将导致地球表面过程研究的进展，包括定量地貌学、景观演化和第四纪地质年代学。广泛的研究人员跨越地球表面过程研究领域，以及BGC？在为美国和国际研究人员（包括许多早期职业科学家、博士后研究人员和研究生）提供最先进的分析设施方面的记录，确保了拟议的设施将使整个地球科学研究界受益。

This Instrumentation and Facilities Program grant supports establishment of an automated noble gas extraction and purification system to be coupled to an existing noble gas mass spectrometer at the Berkeley Geochronology Center (BGC). This system will be optimized for noble gas analyses relevant to quantitative surface process studies, primarily measurements of cosmic-ray-produced helium and neon as well as supporting noble gas diffusion studies. The extraction system will include automation hardware and software, a high vacuum chamber for automated laser extractions, calibrated standard pipettes, a gas purification system, a cryogenic system to separate noble gases from one another, and diode laser optics. The system will take full advantage of the relative speed and simplicity of cosmogenic noble gas measurements as compared to other cosmogenic-nuclides. This will allow us to address problems in Earth surface dynamics requiring large numbers of cosmogenic-nuclide measurements, including the study of stochastic processes and the need to sample across gradients in a large array of parameters which may control the rates of surface processes.The existing and planned collaborations between the PIs and other researchers engaged in quantitative surface process research ensure that the proposed facility will be useful and accessible to a large cross-section of the Earth science community. Increased availability of cosmogenic noble gas measurements will lead to progress in Earth surface process studies, including quantitative geomorphology, landscape evolution, and Quaternary geochronology. A wide array of researchers spanning the field of Earth surface process research, as well as BGC?s record in making state-of-the-art analytical facilities available to a broad range of U.S. and international researchers, including numerous early-career scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students, ensures that the proposed facility will benefit the Earth science research community as a whole.