Upgrade of the Scanning Electron Microscope Lab at the Arizona LaserChron Center

该奖项为购买三种新仪器提供资金，用于确定记录各种地质事件和过程的矿物的化学和结构。这些仪器将被用于亚利桑那激光计时中心（ALC），这是一个由美国国家科学基金会支持的社区设施，支持地球科学研究。ALC研究人员解决的科学问题集中在重建火成岩活动的历史（如火山爆发）、矿床的形成、山脉的隆起、沉积物的积累和相关碳氢化合物资源的形成、演化变化、地球、月球、陨石和火星的早期演化、地球气候的历史（如冰盖的模式）和考古贸易路线。这些新仪器将用于支持每年约350名教职员工、专业地质学家和学生的研究。支持的活动包括为nsf资助的项目生成所需的图像和分析，为研究人员提供学习仪器操作理论和方法的机会，并为未被充分代表的少数民族参与者提供教育和推广活动。要求的仪器包括(1)能量色散光谱（EDS）探测器，(2)电子背散射衍射（EBSD）探测器和(3)拉曼光谱系统。EDS和EBSD检测系统将取代我们在2009年购买的过时的扫描电子显微镜（SEM）系统。这些仪器与仪器中包含的新的“AZtec Live/HKL”软件相结合，将为ALC研究人员提供在地质年代学、岩石年代学和热年代学方面进行前沿研究所需的化学和结构信息。微观结构分析的新功能也将被启用。拉曼系统与制造商提供的“关联”软件包相结合，将为化学制图和相识别提供强大的新功能。总的来说，这些增强的功能将以更低的成本和更高的分辨率更有效地为ALC研究人员提供所需的图像和分析，并且还将允许ALC研究人员探索令人兴奋的新的科学应用，包括：(1)原位地质年代学矿物的空间背景；(2)剪切带的四维演化；(3)利用baddeleyite进行基性岩石的年代学和化学研究；(4)矿物中Pb损失的过程；(5)碎屑矿物的来源；(6)控制各种岩石类型中矿物丰度、大小、形状和取向的多种过程；(7)应用弹性温压计研究各种地质过程。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 provides funding to acquire three new instruments that will be used to determine the chemistry and structure of minerals which record a variety of geologic events and processes. The instruments will be utilized in the Arizona LaserChron Center (ALC), which is an NSF-supported community facility that supports research in Earth Sciences. Science questions addressed by ALC researchers focus on reconstructing the history of igneous activity (e.g., volcanic eruptions), formation of ore deposits, uplift of mountain ranges, accumulation of sediment and formation of associated hydrocarbon resources, evolutionary changes, early evolution of the Earth, Moon, meteorites, and Mars, history of Earth’s climate (e.g., patterns of ice sheets), and archaeological trade routes. The new instruments will be utilized to support the research of ~350 faculty members, professional geologists, and students per year. Supported activities include generating the images and analyses that are needed for NSF-funded projects, providing opportunities for researchers to learn the theory and methods of instrument operation, and offering educational and outreach activities for under-represented minority participants. The requested instruments consist of (1) an Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) detector, (2) an Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) detector, and (3) a Raman spectroscopic system. The EDS and EBSD detector systems will replace the outdated systems which were acquired with our Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM) in 2009. These instruments, combined with the new “AZtec Live/HKL” software included with the Instruments, will provide the chemical and structural information needed for ALC researchers to conduct cutting-edge research in geochronology, petrochronology, and thermochronology. New capabilities in microstructural analysis will also be enabled. The Raman system, combined with the “Correlate” software package offered by the manufacturer, will provide powerful new capabilities of chemical mapping and phase identification. Collectively, these enhanced capabilities will provide the images and analyses needed by ALC researchers more efficiently, at lower cost, and with enhanced resolution, and will also allow ALC researchers to explore exciting new science applications regarding: (1) the spatial context of in situ geochronometric minerals, (2) 4D evolution of shear zones, (3) use of baddeleyite for chronologic and chemical studies of mafic rocks, (4) processes of Pb loss in minerals, (5) provenance of detrital minerals, (6) many processes that control modal abundances, sizes, shapes, and orientations of minerals in various rock types, and (7) application of elastic thermobarometers to study a variety of geologic processes.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.