National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF)

确定一系列环境材料的同位素组成有助于我们约束、跟踪和了解广泛的环境科学过程。同位素被用来确定物质的年龄，限制变化率，整合不同的环境记录，并评估因果假说。同位素还被用来跟踪从水圈到生物圈在整个地球上运行的一系列自然和人为过程。同位素科学需要处于领先地位的基础设施；不仅是最先进的设备和完善的实验室等有形基础设施，而且经验丰富的设施人员也同样重要，他们提供专业知识，推动开发，探索新的应用领域，并开发系统，以确保数据可访问、可互操作和可重复使用。环境科学对同位素的需求需要国家提供基本能力，原因如下：(1)社区对基础和复杂的同位素分析的迫切需求；(2)需要对仪器和熟练人才的持续投资，以保持世界同位素科学的领先地位；(3)英国的研究组合要求高需求和高交付。在存在这些要求的地方，国家设施是一个明显具有成本效益的机制，可以提供和支持现在和未来的环境科学研究和创新。国家环境同位素设施(NEIF)是设施的演变，建立在NERC用于环境同位素分析的设施的良好记录的基础上。这一单一的全国分布的设施包括一系列同位素分析的分析能力和工作人员专业知识，这些分析能力和工作人员的专业知识支撑着一系列多学科、跨主题的环境科学领域。NEIF能力被细分为两类：年表和环境与生命科学追踪器。综合起来，这些将支持生物地球化学、考古学、古气候学和气候变化、固体地球过程(包括自然灾害)、人类-景观演变和相互作用(包括人类世)、生命进化、生态学、污染、水文循环、应用矿物和能源研究等领域的研究。NEIF将在需要同位素分析的领域支持英国环境研究社区，促进、支持和鼓励最好的研究、技术和新想法。NEIF提供的统一能力和专业知识在英国技术上是独一无二的，并以最高的标准和质量提供。NEIF将实现一系列关键目标：促进环境研究，支持为早期职业研究人员提供培训，提供创新，并促进对NEIF能力的认识，它们在环境科学中的作用，相关的NERC活动，以及公共外展。一个单独的国家设施的好处是，它将“大于其组成部分的总和”。国家环境政策框架的综合战略性质，加上社区通过战略小组提供的明确意见，对国家环境政策框架所涵盖的环境科学领域起到了催化剂作用。除了直接支持项目和提供培训外，对国家环境研究中心设施的持续支持使其能够不断演变，以最符合用户群体的需要，使设施工作人员能够提出更长远的观点，识别挑战和机遇，以便最好地为环境科学界服务。NEIF代表着为英国研究界提供同位素能力和专业知识方面的重大进展。它将提供更多的社区创新和更大的灵活性空间，同时保持支撑英国科学的核心宗旨，此外还将主办具有国际竞争力的最先进的能力，这一能力以经验丰富的独特员工队伍为关键支撑。

Determining the isotopic composition of a breadth of environmental materials underpins our ability to constrain, track and understand a wide range of environmental science processes. Isotopes are used to determine the age of materials, constrain rates of change, integrate disparate environmental records, and assess cause/effects hypothesis. Isotopes are also used to track a range of natural and anthropogenic processes operating across the planet, from the hydrosphere to the biosphere. Isotope science requires infrastructure at the leading edge; not only physical infrastructure such as state of the art equipment and well established laboratories, but as important are the experienced facility personnel who provide the expertise, drive development, explore new areas of application, and develop systems to ensure data are accessible, interoperable and reusable. The requirements for isotopes in environmental sciences necessitates national delivery of fundamental capabilities for the following reasons: (1) A compelling community need for fundamental and complex isotope analyses; (2) Continued investment in instruments and skilled people is required to remain at forefront of world isotope science; and (3) High demand and delivery required by the UK research portfolio. Where these requirements exist, national facilities are a demonstrably cost-effective mechanism to deliver and underpin environmental science research and innovation, now and into the future.The National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF) is an evolution of facilities that builds upon a strong track record of NERC facilities for environmental isotope analyses. This single nationally distributed facility comprises a range of analytical capabilities and staff expertise for isotope analyses that underpins an array of multidisciplinary, cross themed, environmental science areas. NEIF capabilities are subdivided into two categories: Chronology and Environmental and Life Science Tracers. Combined, these support research in the areas of biogeochemistry, archaeology, palaeoclimatology and climate change, solid Earth processes (inc. natural hazards), human-landscape evolution and interactions (inc. the Anthropocene), evolution of life, ecology, pollution, the hydrological cycle, applied minerals and energy research.NEIF will underpin the UKs environmental research community in areas where isotope analyses are required, facilitating, supporting and encouraging the best research, technology and new ideas. The unified capabilities and expertise delivered by the NEIF are technically unique within the UK and are delivered to the highest standard and quality. NEIF will deliver against a number of key objectives: to facilitate environmental research to support the provision of training for early career researchers, to deliver innovation, and to promote awareness of NEIF capabilities, their role in environmental sciences, related NERC activities, and public outreach.The benefits of a single national facility are that it will be ''greater than the sum of its parts''. The combined strategic nature of NEIF, with clear community input via the Strategy Group, acts as a catalyst for the areas of environmental science covered by NEIF. In addition to the direct support of projects and provision of training, the sustained support of NERC facilities has enabled their evolution to best fit the user community needs enable facility staff to deliver a longer-term perspective, identify challenges and opportunities, in order to best service the environmental science community. The NEIF represents a major evolution in the provision of isotopes capabilities and expertise for the UK research community. It will provide increased community innovation and greater scope for flexibility, whilst retaining the core purpose of underpinning UK science, in addition to hosting internationally competitive state-of-the-art capabilities critically underpinned by a vastly experienced, unique staff assemblage.