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惰性气体实验室购买最新一代惰性气体质谱仪提供资金。我们在同位素地球化学领域处于世界领先地位，我们的实验室推进了NSF的使命，即培育基础科学的进步，培养新一代的分析和技术技能科学家。我们是美国唯一一家积极参与对地幔样品中Ne、Ar、Kr和Xe进行高精度多收集器测量的实验室。这些测量使我们能够解决一些基本问题，这些问题涉及地球上的水和其他挥发性元素是何时何地被输送到地球上的，巨大的撞击在融化地球和侵蚀早期大气中的作用，以及我们星球的早期分化和脱气历史。新仪器的收购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以及在地球吸积、分化及其早期历史（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、研究生和本科生提供最先进的分析培训。新仪器产生的研究成果将通过同行评议的期刊、公开讲座以及与戴维斯大学K-12教室的互动进行广泛分享。该提案资助购置一台新的高分辨率多收集器Nu Noblesse HR惰性气体质谱仪，用于地球上的研究。在加州大学戴维斯分校新成立的惰性气体实验室里，科学家们研究了这种气体的起源和演变。仪器具有6000的质量分辨能力，足以分辨40Ar++对20Ne+、20NeH对21Ne、H35Cl对36Ar、H37Cl对38Ar等压干扰。仪器配置5个检测器组件，每个检测器组件由法拉第杯和电子倍增器组成。高质量法拉第将配备一个10的11次方欧姆放大器，用于测量大光束（4He和40Ar），而其他4个法拉第将配备一个10的12次方欧姆放大器。探测器组件显著提高了现有的多采集能力，特别是对Xe同位素。随着新仪器的获得，Nu Noblesse HR将用于广泛的研究课题，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-外逸层相互作用和地表过程。特别是，它将使我们能够在早期地球研究中继续发挥领导作用，并将提供关于陆地挥发物的获取、大气的形成、岩浆海洋的脱气、古宙地球的脱气以及随后的地幔-地壳-大气系统演化的关键新信息。新仪器的收购将节省现有仪器的时间，并使我们能够拥有一台专用的新质谱仪，用于高质量的重惰性气体工作，这反过来又将使我们能够与加州大学戴维斯分校内外的研究人员在广泛的研究项目上形成更有效的合作。

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.