Acquisition of a Magnetic-Sector, High-Resolution Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer for the University of Texas at Austin

9871301 Banner这项重大研究仪器计划赠款为德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校地质科学系的高分辨率、磁扇区电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(ICPMS)提供一半的资金。该仪器将与现有的分析洁净室和质谱仪设施配合使用，对岩石、矿物、水和生物样品进行高灵敏度的元素和同位素分析。感应加热的高温(高达10000 K)和样品快速而完全地引入电离环境导致了大多数物种的高解离和电离效率。电感耦合等离子体源的高电离效率与双聚焦磁扇区分析仪最近在背景和分辨率方面的改进相结合，将提供德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校以前无法提供的分析能力。这些能力包括对许多元素的探测极限在千分之几到万亿分之一的范围内，这将在我们正在进行的研究项目中开辟许多新的途径，以重建气候变化的记录、沉积盆地和含水层的发展、矿物风化和岩浆演化。这些新途径包括调查低水平微量金属浓度，如天然水和标记颗粒中的稀土元素；关于地下水矿藏的高空间分辨率化学和U-Th辐射年龄数据；矿物风化的生物控制；以及火成矿物相中的微量元素替代。预计这一分析设施将用于德克萨斯州奥斯汀大学和其他大学和研究机构地质、生物和化学科学的教职员工、研究生和博士后研究员的研究和研究培训。目前得到资助的和未来的研究工作将利用电感耦合等离子体质谱技术提供的新的分析能力。***

9871301 Banner This Major Research Instrumentation Program grant provides funds for one-half of the cost of a high-resolution, magnetic sector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for the Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. This instrument will be used in conjunction with existing analytical clean room and mass spectrometer facilities for high-sensitivity elemental and isotopic analysis of rock, mineral, water, and biological samples. The high temperature (up to 10,000 K) of the inductive heating and the rapid and complete introduction of the sample to the ionizing environment result in a high efficiency of dissociation and ionization for most species. The coupling of the high ionization efficiency of the ICP source with the recent improvements in background and resolution afforded by a double-focusing, magnetic sector analyzer, will provide previously unavailable analytical capabilities at UT Austin. These capabilities include detection limits in the part-per-quadrillion to part-per- trillion range for many elements, which will open many new avenues to be pursued in our ongoing research programs in reconstructing records of climate change, the development of sedimentary basins and aquifers, mineral weathering, and magmatic evolution. These new avenues include investigations of low-level trace metal concentrations such as the rare earth elements in natural waters and labeled particles; high-spatial resolution chemical and U-Th radiometric age data on groundwater mineral deposits; the biological control on mineral weathering; and trace element substitution in igneous mineral phases. It is anticipated that this analytical facility will be used for research and research training by faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral research fellows in the geological, biological, and chemical sciences at UT Austin and other universities and research institutions in Texas. Currently funded and future research efforts will take advantage of the new analytical capabilities offered by the ICP-MS technology. ***