Interconnecting the earth system with sulfur and oxygen multiple isotopes

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This award from the Discovery Grants Program will help establish the research program of the new total sulfur and oxygen stable isotope laboratory in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at McGill University. The broad aim of the laboratory's research program is to investigate the oxidative evolution and capacity of Earth's surface environment on timescales from years to gigayears.  Special emphasis is placed on the unique ability of measurements of total S and O isotopic compositions (32S, 33S, 34S, 36S; 16O, 17O, 18O) to make new interconnections among different components of the paleo- and present Earth system.  Of particular interest are the implications that total S and O isotopic analyses have for understanding the origin of the vast mineralization that occurs in Archean rocks of the Canadian Shield and for understanding what controls the abundances of pollution-cleansing oxidants (OH, O3) in the modern atmosphere.  During the research supported under this award, students and post-docs in the isotope lab will be trained in state-of-the-art techniques for making total S and O stable isotope analyses.  Research will be structured to enable more-experienced lab members to directly supervise less-experienced lab members, thereby adding mentoring to the research training experience.  This award supports research that will emphasize and quantify solid Earth controls on the oxidative evolution of Earth's surface environment. All students trained under this award, therefore, will gain an Earth system perspective for Earth science.  This perspective will be encouraged through the PI's position as an inaugural member of the new Earth System Science program at McGill University.