SGER: Relocation of a Multicollector VG-354 from Lawrence Livermore National Lab to Florida International University

该合同提供的资金将用于将劳伦斯·利弗莫尔国家实验室的热电离质谱仪(TIMS)迁至佛罗里达国际大学地球科学系。TIMS是一种非常通用和强大的仪器，用于测量天然和人造材料中的同位素比率，它在数十个科学学科中有应用。自从被LLNL收购以来，这种质谱仪的使用相对较少，将被一种较新的仪器取代。在FIU，TIMS将安装在一个学术研究实验室，在那里，从事地质、考古、环境和法医研究的教职员工和学生都将大量使用它。FIU的教职员工将监督这种仪器的使用，包括PI，他们已经使用TIMS机器多年，但必须到遥远地方的实验室才能使用它们。该仪器在金融情报室的预计用途包括：对用于考古和法医研究的矿石、玻璃、陶瓷、金属合金和其他材料中的元素来源进行同位素和化学指纹分析。几种元素的同位素比率在不同的自然来源中差异很大，因此对天然和人造材料的分析可以指明它的来源。对天然矿石的分析可以揭示原始地质来源或所含金属，并阐明形成矿石的过程。对金属合金和陶瓷等考古文物的分析可以揭示用于制造这些文物的地质原材料是从哪里获得的，以及这些技术是如何发展和传播的。对玻璃、金属和油漆的法医分析可以追踪到犯罪现场发现的材料的来源。岩石的精确测年为火山喷发、造山事件和矿床的形成等地质事件提供了一个框架。这样的分析对于理解岩石的类型、造山事件的发生时间和方式、铜、银、金等主要金属矿藏的形成方式以及在哪里最有效地发现它们是至关重要的。该仪器还可用于确定迈阿密-戴德县城区土壤和血液中铅污染的来源。最近的研究表明，在迈阿密-戴德县城区的一些老城区，儿童血铅中毒是一个严重的问题。这种铅污染的潜在来源包括含铅汽油、含铅油漆的土壤污染，以及焚烧炉和其他远程来源的大气尘埃。测量土壤、油漆、沼泽泥炭样本和血液样本中的铅同位素比率将使我们能够确定每个来源的同位素指纹，以及哪个来源是血铅污染的主要贡献者。

The funds provided in this award will be used to relocate a thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to the Department of Earth Sciences at Florida International University. The TIMS is a very versatile and powerful instrument used to measure ratios of isotopes in natural and man-made materials, and it has applications in scores of scientific disciplines. Since its purchase by LLNL, this mass spectrometer has seen relatively light use, and it will be replaced there by a newer instrument. At FIU, the TIMS will be installed in an academic research lab where it will see heavy use from faculty and students alike involved in geological, archaological, environmental and forensic research. The faculty at FIU who will supervise the use of this instrument, including the PI, have been using TIMS machines for many years, but have had to travel to labs in far distant locations to use them. Projected uses of this instrument at FIU include:The isotopic and chemical fingerprinting of the sources of elements in ores, glasses, ceramics, metal alloys and other materials for archaeological and forensic research. Isotope ratios of several elements vary greatly in different natural sources, so that analysis of natural and man-made materials can indicate the sources from which it was made. Analyses of natural ores can reveal the original geological sources or the contained metals, and illuminate the processes that formed the ores. Analyses of archaeological artifacts such as metal alloys and ceramics can reveal where the geological raw materials were obtained that were used in their manufacture, and therefor how the technologies developed and spread. Forensic analyses of glass, metals and paint can trace the origins of materials found at crime scenes. The precise dating of rocks provides a framework for geological events such as volcanic eruptions, mountain building events and the formation of ore deposits. Such analyses are essential for understanding how many types of rocks form, when and how mountain building events have taken place, and how major deposits of metals like copper, silver and gold form and where they are most effectively found. They are also essential for providing the baseline information on the geological variability of natural materials that forms the context of archaeological and forensic studies.This instrument can also be used to determine the sources of lead contamination in soils and blood in urban areas of Miami-Dade County. Recent studies have shown that blood lead poisoning of children is a serious problem in some older areas of urban Miami-Dade County. Potential sources of this lead contamination include soil contamination from leaded gasoline, lead-based paint, and atmospheric fallout from incinerators and other remote sources. Measurement of lead isotope ratios in soils, paint, Everglades peat samples, and blood samples will allow us to determine the isotopic fingerprint of each source, and which source is the dominant contributor to blood lead contamination.