Acquisistion of a Gas Source Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester

EAR-0317825 GARIZ这笔赠款将用于购买一台气源同位素比质谱仪(IRMS)，用于分析水中的氧和氢同位素；碳酸盐、溶解的无机碳和二氧化碳气体中的氧和碳同位素；以及有机物中的碳和氮同位素。这种设备的主要用户将是罗切斯特大学地球和环境科学系的教职员工、学生和访问研究人员。该设备将帮助我们满足我们在地质和环境科学方面的研究和教学需求，同时继续发展在地球化学和构造学方面的优势。稳定同位素技术是古环境研究的基础。在山脉构造演化的背景下理解古气候、古海拔和/或古植被(P.I.S的主要研究重点)将有可能在理解构造对区域和全球气候的影响方面取得重大进展。拟议的设备将提供广泛的应用，使碳酸盐、有机物、水和气体样品的分析成为研究古代和现代环境、地幔过程、生物过程和古海洋学所必需的。这项提议的更广泛影响是，收购IRMS将使学生能够获得在地质和环境科学中广泛使用的设备的培训，从而极大地提高罗切斯特大学的本科生、研究生和博士后教育。这项建议是部门努力的一部分，该努力强调以本科生/研究生水平的实验室为基础的教学和独立研究。在地球和环境科学系内教授的课程中，特别强调稳定同位素在地质和环境科学中的应用。还有一门关于地球化学分析方法的课程，该课程为本科生和研究生提供关于系内现有设备的动手培训，使他们能够使用这些设备为高级论文或研究生研究项目收集自己的数据。

EAR-0317825GarizoneThis grant will be used to purchase a gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) for analysis of O and H isotopes in water; O and C isotopes in carbonate, dissolved inorganic carbon, and CO2 gas; and C and N isotopes in organic matter. Primary users of this equipment will be the faculty, students, and visiting researchers in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester. This equipment will help us meet our research and teaching needs in the geological and environmental sciences, while continuing to develop strengths in geochemistry and tectonics. Stable isotope techniques are fundamental to paleoenvironmental studies. Understanding paleoclimate, paleoaltitude, and/or paleovegetation in the context of the tectonic evolution of mountain belts (P.I.'s main research focus) will potentially yield great advances in our understanding of the impacts of tectonics on regional and global climate. The proposed equipment will provide a wide range of applications enabling the analysis of carbonate, organic matter, water and gas samples essential to studies of ancient and modern environment, mantle processes, biological processes, and paleoceanography. The broader impacts of this proposal are that acquisition of an IRMS will greatly enhance undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral education at the University of Rochester by enabling students to get training on equipment that is widely used within the geological and environmental sciences. This proposal is part of a departmental effort that emphasizes undergraduate/graduate-level laboratory based instruction and independent research. In the courses that are taught within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences there is a strong emphasis on stable isotope applications in the geological and environmental sciences. There is an additional course on Analytical Methods in Geochemistry, which gives both undergraduate and graduate students hands-on training on existing equipment within the department, enabling them to use the equipment to collect their own data for senior thesis or graduate research projects.