A triple quadrupole ICP-MS for earth, ocean, environmental and chemical science

地球、海洋、环境和化学科学高度依赖于使用材料（固体和液体）的成分来理解在许多不同尺度上运行的过程。无论我们是在追踪环境中的污染物，了解矿床的形成，还是在量化海洋对大气气体（如二氧化碳）浓度的调节中营养限制的作用，确定所涉及的物质的组成都是一个非常有力的工具。在过去的25年里，电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）成为地球物质痕量元素分析的首选技术。无论是用于直接分析流体或溶解固体，还是与激光烧蚀系统一起直接分析固体，这些仪器都彻底改变了快速，精确和准确的地球材料分析。新一代ICP-MS仪器将这些仪器的能力提升到另一个水平，包括两个而不是一个质量分析仪。这有效地为科学界开辟了一个迄今为止不可能或不切实际的全新分析领域。常规分析可以确定元素周期表中大多数元素的丰度，检测限通常在万亿分之一范围或更低的水平。这项建议是为这一工具提供部分资金。它的安装将为地球、海洋和环境科学以及生物学、生物化学和化学等其他学科的广泛研究项目提供支持。

Earth, ocean, environmental and chemical sciences are highly dependent on using the composition of materials (solids and liquids) to understand process operating at many different scales. Whether we are tracking contaminants through the environment, understand the formation of ore deposits or quantifying the role of nutrient limitation in oceanic regulation of the concentration of atmospheric gases (e.g. CO2), determining the composition of the materials involved is a very powerful tool. The technique of choice for trace element analysis of Earth materials has become Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) over the last 25 years. Whether used to directly analyse fluids, or dissolved solids, or in conjunction with a laser ablation system to directly analyse solids these instruments have revolutionized the rapid, precise and accurate analysis of earth materials. The new generation of ICP-MS instruments takes the capabilities of these instruments to another level by including two, rather than one, mass analyser. This effectively opens up a whole new spectrum of analyses to the scientific community that have hitherto been either impossible or impractical. Routine analysis allows determination of the abundance of most elements in the periodic table with detection limits typically in the parts per trillion range or lower levels. This proposal is for partial funding for such an instrument. Its installation will allow a wide range of research programs to be supported both within the earth, ocean and environmental sciences and also within other disciplines such as biology, biochemistry and chemistry.