Development of a high-throughput/high-sensitivity, in situ 14C extraction line for US earth sciences

该奖项将资助下一代提取系统的开发和建设，该系统将从矿物石英中原位分离14 C。下一代原位14 C提取系统将安装在哥伦比亚大学的Lamont-Doherty地球观测站（LDEO），并向美国研究界开放。新的原位14 C提取系统的实施将为LDEO科学家，早期职业调查员和美国研究人员提供新的研究途径，旨在在自己的研究计划中利用原位14 C。新的原位14 C测量能力将解决美国地球科学的重要研究途径，包括：1）冰盖稳定性和确定冰盖在地质学上比今天小的时候是如何构造的，2）过去冰盖和冰川何时以及以多快的速度退缩，以及3）冰盖和冰川以多快的速度改变它们所依赖的景观。解决所有这些问题对于准确预测未来几个世纪的海平面上升非常重要。这种新的，更用户友好的原位14 C提取系统将用于招募学生，并吸引来自种族代表性不足的人口的年轻科学家，研究人员将前往年度科学促进学会（SACNAS）会议作为该倡议的一部分。下一代提取线将使LDEO能够通过LDEO暑期实习生计划更好地招募和教育本科生，并使LDEO能够继续吸引研究生，博士后学者和年轻科学家，从而为美国的免费研究轨迹奠定基础。原位14 C已经成为量化地球表面过程的强大工具，但从石英中提取微量14 C的方法学困难限制了其潜力和广泛使用，尽管其具有科学潜力。需要在方法开发和原位14 C的应用方面取得进展，以解决需要低水平分析测量的突出研究问题;反过来，低水平原位14 C测量需要被美国地球科学界广泛使用。PI将在哥伦比亚大学的Lamont-Doherty地球观测站（LDEO）建立下一代高灵敏度/高通量原位14 C提取系统，并向美国研究界开放。新的不锈钢提取线通过无焊剂加热从石英中原位释放14 C，并产生比当前一代14 C提取线降低约5倍的空白水平，从而显着提高14 C检测限。该萃取系统设计将完整的样品处理时间从3-4天缩短到约10小时。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award will fund the development and construction of a next-generation extraction system that will isolate in situ 14C from the mineral quartz. This next-generation in situ 14C extraction system will be housed at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University and open to the US research community. Implementation of a new in situ 14C extraction system will make available new research avenues for LDEO scientists, an early-career investigator, and US researchers aiming to utilize in situ 14C in their own research programs. New in situ 14C measurement capabilities will address important research avenues in US earth sciences including: 1) ice-sheet stability and determining how ice sheets were configurated in the geologic past when they were smaller than today, 2) when and how quickly ice sheets and glaciers retreated in the past, and 3) how quickly ice sheets and glaciers modify the landscapes they rest upon. Addressing all of these questions are important for developing accurate predictions of sea-level rise for the upcoming centuries. This new, more user-friendly in situ 14C extraction system will be used to recruit students and attract young scientists from ethnically underrepresented populations and the investigators will travel to the annual Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) meeting as part of this initiative. A next-generation extraction line will allow LDEO to better recruit and educate undergraduate students through the LDEO Summer Intern program, and allow LDEO to continue to attract graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and young scientists, in turn laying the foundation for complimentary research trajectories in the US.In situ 14C has emerged as a powerful tool for quantifying earth-surface processes, but methodological difficulties in extracting tiny amounts of 14C from quartz has limited its potential and widespread use despite its scientific potential. Advances in method development and the application of in situ 14C are needed to tackle outstanding research questions that require low-level analytical measurements; in turn, low-level in situ 14C measurements need to be available for widespread use by the US earth science community. The PIs will build a next-generation, high-sensitivity/high-throughput in situ 14C extraction system housed at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University and open to the US research community. The new stainless-steel extraction line releases in situ 14C from quartz by flux-free heating and yields blank levels reduced by a factor of ~5x versus current-generation 14C extraction lines, thereby significantly improving 14C detection limits. This extraction system design reduces complete sample processing time from 3-4 days down to ~10 hours.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.