Technician Support for the Geochronology Laboratory

这笔拨款为该大学地球与行星科学系的地球年代学实验室提供了为期三年的部分技术支持，为期12万美元。该大学为博士级技术科学家（尤里·阿梅林博士）提供为期一年（1994年1月至1995年1月）的支持，并将在未来三年提供约40%的工资支持。该技术人员将负责质量控制、维护程序、监督研究生和访问科学家，并改进该实验室的程序。该实验室是1994年1月购买的最先进的VG sector 54热电离质谱仪（EAR-9219862）建立的。虽然由于需要更换原有的光电倍增管，该仪器最近才达到其制造商的精度规格，但PI已经仔细记录了大量对U-Pb同位素系列定年的标准、空白和辅助矿物的初始样品的分析。高灵敏度、高透射率仪器使该实验室能够对Pb同位素比率进行超高精度的测量，再加上其100级洁净室和样品的仔细化学制备，导致非常低的、全程序的、常见的Pb空白，最终转化为精确的（3 Ma）定年能力，用于小（少至2g）的附属相矿物样品。＊＊＊

9506693 Tucker This grant provides $120,000 for three years of partial technician support for the University's Geochronology lab in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences. The university has provided one year (Jan 94 - Jan 95) of support for a Ph.D.-level technical scientist (Dr. Yuri Amelin) and will provide ca. 40% of the next three years of salary support. The technician will have responsibility for quality control, maintenance procedures, supervision of graduate students and visiting scientists and improving procedures at this lab which was established with the acquisition of a state-of-the-art VG sector 54 Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer purchased in January, 1994 (EAR-9219862). Although, the instrument has only recently attained its manufacturer's specifications in terms of precision due to the need for replacement of the original photomultiplier tube, the PI has carefully documented a large number of analyses of standards, blanks and initial samples of accessory minerals for U-Pb isotope series dating. The high-sensitivity, high-transmission instrument has afforded this lab the ability to make ultra-high precision measurements of Pb isotope ratios which, coupled with their class-100 clean room and careful chemical preparation of samples has resulted in very low, total-procedure, common-Pb blanks that ultimately translates into precise ( 3 Ma) dating capabilities for small (as little as 2 g) samples of accessory phase minerals. ***