Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Research and Education in Geological and Paleoclimate Studies at the University of Houston

休斯顿大学购买同位素比质谱仪用于地质和古气候研究的研究和教育

• 批准号: 2104159
• 负责人: Qi Fu
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-07-15 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2104159&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Acquisition; Isotope; Ratio; Mass; Spectrometer

This award will support the acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS) in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston. The instrument will expand analytical capabilities, enhance analytical accuracy and precision, increase sample throughput, and enable currently unavailable analyses at the University of Houston. Its highly improved sensitivity and precision allow measurements of clumped isotopes in carbonates, as well as traditional stable isotope characterization of light elements (C, H, O, N, and S) in gases, rocks, and other matrices. It will improve the research program of each PI, which covers a wide range of areas in geological and paleoclimate studies, their abilities to mentor and teach graduate and undergraduate students, and collaborations with other institutions. Postdocs, undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in hands-on training opportunities with this instrument, which are fully integrated with novel scientific projects and other educational activities. Through hands-on trainings and related courses, the instrument will be an invaluable tool for engaging undergraduate and graduate students in stable isotope geochemistry, in particular those historically underrepresented students (women and minorities) in STEM fields. It will infuse undergraduate and graduate students with interdisciplinary knowledge, and serve students, postdocs, and faculty from different departments and colleges at the University of Houston, local educational institutions, and research organizations. More importantly, through outreach activities, it will enhance geoscience education for local K-12 students, motivate them to consider building careers in geoscience, and raise public awareness of science in general in the greater Houston area.The requested IRMS instrument will form an integral component of research into fundamental geological processes on Earth and other planetary bodies, paleoclimatic effects on human evolution and migration, paleoenvironment and glacial history. It will foster current and future exciting interdisciplinary research by making precise isotopic measurements, and enable new fields of discovery in broad areas of Earth sciences. In organic geochemistry and astrobiology, isotopic signatures of light alkanes and clumped isotopes of carbonates from geological environments and laboratory experiments are used to elucidate their reaction pathway and formation condition, and constrain their origin. In geoarchaeology and soil science, clumped, triple oxygen, and traditional stable isotopes are used to reconstruct past climate and past environments to better understand the context in which humans and hominins evolved. In speleothem science and limnology, the use of conventional stable isotopes of speleothem and lake sediments with two recently developed proxies can provide a comprehensive understanding of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment. In marine and glacial geology, past ocean water temperatures in west Antarctica are calculated using the stable isotope records from foraminifera, collected from sediment cores in locations where circumpolar deep water may be melting the base of major ice sheets, to better understand glacial history. Through current collaboration, the isotopic signatures of prehistoric skeletons will be combined with archaeological details and genetic analyses to identify the kinship system and origin of social inequality within ancient populations in Europe and Southeast Asia. Altogether, the related research projects point to the potentially high-impact science that a state-of-the-art IRMS with appropriate peripherals would allow at the University of Houston. The scientific findings will place the University of Houston on the leading edge of stable isotope geochemistry research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该奖项将支持休斯顿大学地球和大气科学系购买同位素比质谱仪（IRMS）。该仪器将扩大分析能力，提高分析准确度和精密度，增加样品通量，并使休斯顿大学目前无法进行的分析成为可能。其高度改进的灵敏度和精度允许测量碳酸盐中的聚集同位素，以及气体，岩石和其他基质中轻元素（C，H，O，N和S）的传统稳定同位素表征。它将改善每个PI的研究计划，涵盖地质和古气候研究的广泛领域，指导和教授研究生和本科生的能力，以及与其他机构的合作。博士后，本科生和研究生将参与该仪器的实践培训机会，该仪器与新颖的科学项目和其他教育活动完全整合。通过实践培训和相关课程，该仪器将成为吸引本科生和研究生参与稳定同位素地球化学的宝贵工具，特别是那些在STEM领域历史上代表性不足的学生（妇女和少数民族）。它将为本科生和研究生注入跨学科知识，并为休斯顿大学，当地教育机构和研究机构不同部门和学院的学生，博士后和教师提供服务。更重要的是，通过推广活动，它将加强对当地K-12学生的地球科学教育，激励他们考虑在地球科学领域建立职业生涯，并提高大休斯顿地区公众对科学的认识。古环境和冰川历史它将通过精确的同位素测量促进当前和未来令人兴奋的跨学科研究，并在地球科学的广泛领域中实现新的发现领域。在有机地球化学和天体生物学中，利用地质环境和实验室实验中的低碳烷烃和碳酸盐成团同位素特征来阐明它们的反应途径和形成条件，制约它们的成因。在地质考古学和土壤科学中，三重氧和传统的稳定同位素被用来重建过去的气候和过去的环境，以更好地了解人类和古人类进化的背景。在洞穴沉积物科学和湖沼学中，使用洞穴沉积物和湖泊沉积物的常规稳定同位素以及最近开发的两种代用指标可以提供对古气候和古环境的全面了解。在海洋和冰川地质学中，过去南极洲西部的海水温度是使用有孔虫的稳定同位素记录计算的，这些记录是从环极深水可能融化主要冰盖底部的沉积物岩心中收集的，以更好地了解冰川历史。通过目前的合作，史前骨骼的同位素特征将与考古细节和遗传分析相结合，以确定欧洲和东南亚古代人口中的亲属制度和社会不平等的起源。总而言之，相关的研究项目指出了休斯顿大学最先进的IRMS与适当的外围设备将允许的潜在高影响力的科学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。