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

本项目将获得一台激光衍射粒度分析仪（LDPSA），用于研究火山爆发的物理动力学。该仪器将用于分析火山灰作为岩浆碎裂的产物，以及对飞机、电力基础设施和人类健康的危害。该仪器还将为地球科学和物理学的多名教员研究人员提供服务。LDPSA将为地质科学系的几个研究生和本科生课程提供实践培训。通过为来访的学生提供使用该乐器的机会，该乐器还将允许向当地高中进行公共推广工作。激光衍射粒度分析仪（LDPSA）允许阿拉巴马大学塔斯卡卢萨分校的研究人员探索粒度分析作为回答研究问题的补充工具，寻求流域系统信息和细菌群落的调节。初步数据表明，沉积物表面积（以粒径计算）是调节细菌总生物量的重要因素。LDPSA将提供信息来评估：1)这种关系是否跨越季节和水文制度；2)沉积物表面积和粒径分布是否也对微生物群落结构起重要作用。LDPSA将为地质科学系的各种研究生和本科生课程提供研究方法的实践培训。LDPSA的可用性将扩大这些课程的有效性，并允许学生在互动环境中直接进行分析和检查所得数据。

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.