Facility Support: Multi-User Facility Support for U-Th-Pb Geochronology and Complementary Isotope Geochemistry and SEM imaging at the Arizona LaserChron Center

地质年代学方法和仪器的最新发展正在给地球科学研究的许多不同方面带来革命性的变化。激光消融电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICPMS)推动了一些最令人兴奋的进展，它以微米级的空间分辨率快速产生U-Th-Pb年龄和补充的地球化学信息，并具有解决地球科学中广泛问题所需的精度。亚利桑那州激光计时中心(ALC)是一个多用户设备，它利用LA-ICPMS来确定沉积、火成岩和变质岩中各种矿物的U-Th-Pb年龄、Hf同位素比率和微量元素丰度。我们还使用了专用的扫描电子显微镜，可以生成最先进的显微分析所需的高分辨率和高倍率图像。ALC的主要目标是(1)生成可靠的地质年代学和地球化学数据，以支持许多不同的NSF资助项目；(2)利用设施运营的每个方面作为机会，培训教师和学生研究人员地质年代学理论和方法；以及(3)推动利用LA-ICPMS的高效率和精细空间分辨率的新技术和应用的开发。ALC的研究是在高度协作的模式下进行的，ALC的科学家为项目的各个方面提供帮助(从研究的初始设计到结果的最终发布)，来自其他机构的教职员工和学生访问实验室来生成他们自己的数据并学习U-Th-Pb年代学的理论和方法。从这个奖项中获得的资金将使ALC能够促进获得地质年代学信息，以支持NSF资助的大量项目。这些项目侧重于产生关于大陆增长、造山过程、沉积物的生成和扩散、矿物和碳氢化合物资源的形成、演化变化史以及气候和构造之间的遗传联系的新知识。ALC还将继续帮助推动许多新的分析技术、应用和仪器的发展。教育活动将包括每年接待数百名教职员工和学生研究人员的访问，在年度会议上教授短期课程，开发可用于地球科学课程的材料，创造显示和解释地质年代学数据的新工具，以及推动全球数据库的发展？其中包含U-Th-Pb地质年代学信息。

Recent developments in geochronologic methods and instrumentation are revolutionizing many different aspects of Earth Science research. Some of the most exciting advances are being driven by Laser-Ablation ICP Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS), which generates U-Th-Pb ages and complementary geochemical information rapidly, with micron-scale spatial resolution, and with the precision necessary to address a wide range of problems in Earth Science. The Arizona LaserChron Center (ALC) is a multi-user facility that utilizes LA-ICPMS to determine U-Th-Pb ages, Hf isotope ratios, and trace element abundances from a variety of minerals that occur in sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. We also utilize a dedicated Scanning Electron Microscope that generates the high-resolution and high-magnification images necessary for state-of-the-art micro-analysis. Primary goals of the ALC are to (1) generate robust geochronologic and geochemical data in support of many different NSF-funded projects, (2) use every aspect of facility operation as an opportunity to train faculty and student researchers in geochronologic theory and methodology, and (3) drive the development of new techniques and applications that take advantage of the high efficiency and fine spatial resolution of LA-ICPMS. Research at the ALC is conducted in a highly collaborative mode, with ALC scientists providing assistance with all aspects of a project (from initial design of the study to final publication of results) and faculty members and students from other institutions visiting the lab to generate their own data and learn the theory and methodology of U-Th-Pb geochronology.Funding from this award will enable the ALC to facilitate the acquisition of geochronologic information in support of a large number of NSF-funded projects. These projects focus on generating new knowledge about the growth of continents, processes of mountain building, generation and dispersal of sediment, formation of mineral and hydrocarbon resources, history of evolutionary changes, and genetic linkages between climate and tectonics. The ALC will also continue to help drive the development of numerous new analytical techniques, applications, and instruments. Educational activities will include hosting visits from several hundred faculty and student researchers per year, teaching short courses at annual meetings, developing materials that can be used in Earth Science courses, creating new tools for displaying and interpreting geochronologic data, and driving the development of a global database ?Geochron? that hosts U-Th-Pb geochronologic information.