Collaborative Research: Development of Tunable Infrared Laser Direct Absorption Spectroscopy (TILDAS) for clumped isotope analysis of CO2

该项目使亚利桑那大学、华盛顿大学和私营部门合作伙伴Aerodyne Research能够开发下一代激光光谱系统，以测量被称为“成团同位素”的碳和氧同位素的组合。“新技术将使研究人员能够以更低的成本研究地球过去的气候，样本量更小，并且比目前质谱法可能的数量更多。新仪器将使过去地球温度的代理测量数量大幅增加成为可能，因为它消除了对氧同位素单独估计的需要。这样的系统有望被世界各地的实验室迅速采用，应用于地质、海洋、生物和大气样品。该项目将亚利桑那大学和华盛顿大学与Aerodyne Research联系起来，以提高Aerodyne的可调谐红外激光直接吸收光谱（TILDAS）系统的精度，从而对二氧化碳进行聚集同位素测量，与当前使用质谱法的技术竞争。关键的测量是二氧化碳的不同同位素组合，如碳13，氧18和氧16。能够分析30至80倍小的样品意味着可以获得更高的空间分辨率，以便研究更好的时间分辨率，例如季节性带状贝壳所提供的分辨率。其他研究机会包括利用来自安第斯山脉和美国西北部的层状土壤碳酸盐研究土壤过程和全新世古气候的能力;从湖泊和土壤碳酸盐研究早始新世气候适宜期和白垩纪温室的季节性和碳循环;以及流体与断层相互作用的详细历史方解石脉中保存着来自古断裂带、活动断裂带和热液系统的多种流体。

This project is enabling the University of Arizona, University of Washington, and private sector partner Aerodyne Research to develop a next-generation laser spectroscopy system to measure combinations of carbon and oxygen isotopes that are known as "clumped isotopes." The new technology will enable researchers to study the earth's past climate at lower cost, with smaller sample sizes, and in greater numbers than is currently possible by mass spectrometry. The new instrument will make possible a large increase in the number of proxy measurements of past earth temperatures because it eliminates the need for separate estimates of oxygen isotopes. Such a system is expected to be adopted quickly by laboratories around the world for application to geologic, oceanographic, biologic, and atmospheric samples. This project links the University of Arizona and the University of Washington with Aerodyne Research in improving the precision of Aerodyne's Tunable Infrared Laser Direct Absorption Spectroscopy (TILDAS) system to make clumped isotope measurements of carbon dioxide that are competitive with current techniques using mass spectrometry. The key measurement is of the different isotopic combinations of carbon dioxide, such as carbon 13, oxygen 18, and oxygen 16. The ability to analyze samples that are 30 to 80 times smaller means that higher spatial resolution can be obtained to allow research into better time resolution such as that afforded by seasonally-banded shells. Other research opportunities include the ability to study soil processes and Holocene paleoclimate using layered soil carbonates from the Andes and northwestern US; seasonality and carbon cycle during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum and Cretaceous greenhouse from lake and soil carbonates; and the detailed history of fluid-fault interactions, cross cutting relationships and multiple fluids preserved in calcite veins from paleo and active fault zones and hydrothermal systems.