Early Career: Acquisition of Laser Diffractometer Particle Size Analyzer for Grain Size Analyses of Pyroclastic and Sedimentary Deposits

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This project will obtain a Laser Diffractometer Particle Size Analyzer (LDPSA) to study the physical dynamics of explosive volcanic eruptions. The instrument will be used to analyze volcanic ash as a product of magmatic fragmentation and as a hazard to aircraft, electrical infrastructure, and human health. The instrument will also serve multiple faculty researchers in geoscience and physics. The LDPSA will provide hands-on training for several graduate and undergraduate courses in the Department of Geological Sciences. The instrument will also permit public outreach efforts to local high schools by providing opportunities for visiting students to use the instrument. A Laser Diffractometer Particle Size Analyzer (LDPSA) allows researchers at University of Alabama Tuscaloosa to explore grain size analyses as a complementary tool for answering research questions seeking information about watershed systematics and the regulation of bacterial communities. Preliminary data demonstrate that sediment surface area, calculated using particle size, is an important factor regulating the total bacterial biomass. The LDPSA will provide information to evaluate: 1) whether this relationship holds across seasons and hydrological regimes; 2) whether sediment surface area and size distribution also play an important part in determining microbial community structure. The LDPSA will provide hands-on training of research methodologies for a variety of both graduate and undergraduate courses in the Department of Geological Sciences. The availability of an LDPSA will broaden the effectiveness of these lessons and allow students to directly perform analyses and examine the resultant data in an interactive setting.