Acquisition of a high-resolution multicollector noble gas mass spectrometer for Earth origin and evolution research

该合同将为加州大学戴维斯分校新成立的稀有气体实验室购买最新一代的惰性气体质谱仪提供资金。我们是同位素地球化学领域的世界领先者，我们的实验室推进了NSF的使命，以促进基础科学的进步，并培训新一代科学家的分析和技术技能。我们是美国唯一一家积极参与高精度多收集器测量地球地幔样品中Ne、Ar、Kr和Xe的实验室。这些测量使我们能够解决与地球水和其他挥发性元素何时何地输送、巨大撞击在融化地球和侵蚀早期大气中所起的作用以及我们星球的早期分化和脱气历史有关的基本问题。收购这台新仪器将提供无与伦比的分析能力，使我们能够在分析地球化学技术的发展和地球吸积、分异及其早期历史，包括大气的形成和组成领域的应用方面保持世界领先地位。新仪器将为博士后研究员、研究生和本科生提供最先进的分析培训。这台新仪器产生的研究成果将通过同行评议的期刊、公开演讲以及与戴维斯大学K-12课堂的合作广泛分享。该计划将资助购置一台新的高分辨率多采集器Nu Noblesse HR惰性气体质谱仪，用于在加州大学戴维斯分校新成立的稀有气体实验室研究地球？S的起源和演化。该仪器的质量分辨率为6000，足以分辨20Ne上的40Ar、21Ne上的20Ne、36Ar上的H35Cl和38Ar上的H37Cl的等压干扰。该仪器配置有5个探测器组件，每个探测器组件由一个法拉第杯和一个电子倍增器组成。高质量的法拉第将配备一个10至功率11欧姆的放大器，用于测量大束(4He和40Ar)，而其他4个法拉第将配备10至功率12欧姆的放大器。探测器组件显著提高了现有的多收集能力，特别是对Xe同位素的收集能力。随着新仪器的购置，NU Noblesse HR将处理一系列广泛的研究课题，包括早期地球研究、地幔-大气系统的地球化学演化、地球内部-外圈相互作用和表面过程。特别是，它将使我们能够继续在早期地球研究中发挥领导作用，并将提供关于陆地挥发物的获取、大气形成、岩浆海洋脱气、赫甸地球脱气以及随后地幔-地壳-大气系统演化的关键新信息。拟议中的新仪器收购将解放现有仪器的时间，使我们能够拥有专门的新质谱仪，用于高质量的重惰性气体工作，这反过来将使我们能够在广泛的研究项目上与加州大学戴维斯分校和加州大学戴维斯分校以外的研究人员形成更有效的合作。

This award will fund the acquisition of the latest generation of a noble gas mass spectrometer for the newly established Noble Gas Laboratory at the University of California Davis. We are a world leader in isotope geochemistry, and our laboratory advances the NSF mission to nurture progress in the basic sciences and to train a new generation of scientists in analytic and technical skills. We are the only laboratory in the United States actively involved in high-precision multi-collector measurements of Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe in samples from Earth's mantle. These measurements allow us to address fundamental questions related to when and from where Earth's water and other volatile elements were delivered, the role of giant impacts in melting the Earth and eroding the early atmosphere, and the early differentiation and degassing history of our planet. The acquisition of the new instrument will provide unrivalled analytical capabilities that enable us to remain world leaders in the development of techniques in analytic geochemistry and applications in the field of Earth's accretion, differentiation and its early history, including the formation and composition of the atmosphere. The new instrument will provide state-of-the-art analytical training for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate students. The research generated from the new instrument will be shared broadly through peer-reviewed journals, public lectures and by engaging with K-12 classrooms at Davis.The proposal funds the acquisition of a new high-resolution multicollector Nu Noblesse HR noble gas mass spectrometer for research on Earth?s origin and evolution in the newly established Noble Gas Laboratory at the University of California Davis. The instrument is capable of obtaining a mass resolving power of 6000, sufficient to resolve isobaric interferences of 40Ar++ on 20Ne+, 20NeH on 21Ne, H35Cl on 36Ar and H37Cl on 38Ar. The instrument is configured with 5 detector assemblies, with each detector assembly consisting of a faraday cup and an electron multiplier. The high mass faraday will be equipped with a 10 to the power 11 ohm amplifier for measuring large beams (4He and 40Ar) while the 4 other faradays will be equipped with a 10 to the power 12 ohm amplifier. The detector assembly significantly improves upon existing multicollection capabilities, particularly for the Xe isotopes. With the acquisition of the new instrument, a broad range of research topics will be addressed using the Nu Noblesse HR including early Earth research, geochemical evolution of the mantle-atmosphere system, Earth interior-exosphere interactions and surface processes. In particular, it will allow us to keep playing a leadership role in early Earth research and will provide key new information on the acquisition of terrestrial volatiles, the formation of the atmosphere, magma ocean degassing, degassing of the Hadean Earth and the subsequent evolution of the mantle-crust-atmosphere system. The proposed acquisition of the new instrument would free up time on the existing instrument and allow us to have a dedicated new mass spectrometer for high-quality heavy noble gas work, which in turn would allow us to form more effective collaborations on a wide range of research projects with researchers at and outside of UC Davis.