National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF)

确定广泛的环境材料的同位素组成是我们约束，跟踪和理解广泛的环境科学过程的能力的基础。同位素用于确定材料的年龄，限制变化率，整合不同的环境记录，并评估因果假设。同位素还被用于跟踪地球上从水圈到生物圈的一系列自然和人为过程。同位素科学需要前沿的基础设施;不仅是物理基础设施，如最先进的设备和完善的实验室，而且同样重要的是经验丰富的设施人员，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要求需要国家提供基本能力，原因如下：（1）社区迫切需要基本和复杂的同位素分析;（2）需要继续投资于仪器和技术人员，以保持在世界同位素科学的前沿;（3）英国研究组合的高需求和交付要求。在存在这些要求的地方，国家设施显然是一个具有成本效益的机制，可以提供和支持环境科学研究和创新，现在和未来。国家环境同位素设施（NEIF）是一个演变的设施，建立在NERC环境同位素分析设施的良好记录基础上。这一单一的全国分布设施包括一系列同位素分析的分析能力和工作人员的专门知识，支持一系列多学科，跨主题的环境科学领域。NEIF的功能分为两类：年表和环境与生命科学示踪剂。结合起来，这些支持在地球化学，考古学，古气候学和气候变化，固体地球过程（包括）等领域的研究。自然灾害），人类-景观演变和相互作用（inc. NEIF将在需要同位素分析的领域支持英国环境研究界，促进、支持和鼓励最好的研究、技术和新思想。NEIF提供的统一能力和专业知识在英国是独一无二的，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，提高对NEIF能力的认识，他们在环境科学中的作用，相关的NERC活动和公共宣传。NEIF的综合战略性质，通过战略小组提供明确的社区投入，成为NEIF所涵盖的环境科学领域的催化剂。除了直接支持项目和提供培训外，NERC设施的持续支持使其发展能够最好地满足用户社区的需求，使设施工作人员能够提供更长远的观点，确定挑战和机遇，以便为环境科学界提供最佳服务。NEIF代表了为英国研究界提供同位素能力和专业知识的重大进展。它将提供更多的社区创新和更大的灵活性范围，同时保留支撑英国科学的核心目的，此外还将拥有具有国际竞争力的最先进的能力，这些能力由经验丰富，独特的员工组合提供关键支持。

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.