$265,000; NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI)

Acquisition of a Laser Ablation System for ICP-MS to Expand a Broad Range of Analytical Activities and Research Training in the Earth Sciences

Principal Investigator: David Gillikin, William D. Williams Professor and Chair of Geosciences; Co-Principal Investigators: Holli Frey, professor of geosciences, Kurt Hollocher, professor emeritus of geosciences, Matthew Manon, senior lecturer of geosciences, Donald Rodbell, Jane and John Wold Professor of Geology

This grant supports the acquisition of a Laser Ablation (LA) system that will be coupled to Union College’s existing Agilent 8900 ICP-MS to create an integrated LA-ICP-MS system. Acquisition of a LA system will contribute to both basic and applied research questions in paleoclimatology, paleoenvironment, and high-temperature geochemistry (including volcanology and geochronology) and their connection to related geological, geochemical, atmospheric, hydrologic, and ecological systems.

Research activities enhanced by the acquisition of this system include developing multiproxy paleoclimate, palaeoceanographic, and paleoenvironmental records, specifically to: a) utilize element-to-calcium ratios in stalagmites to develop hydroclimate records in temperate and tropical regions; b) investigate historical pollution events from trace elements in stalagmites and bivalve shells; and c) develop and investigate elemental proxies in biological carbonates including bivalve shells and corals. The LA system will also advance high-temperature geochemical research, with projects on trace element mapping in zoned volcanic crystals, the volatile content of magmas prior to eruption, zircon thermometry, and radiometric dating of zircon (and other minerals) in volcanic rocks and deeply eroded mountain belts.

Additionally, the LA system will enable advanced investigations and new research projects conducted by Union faculty and researchers from outside institutions, including Dr. Sujata Murty, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the State University of New York at Albany and Dr. Logan Brenner, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences at Barnard College, as well as scholars from a range of domestic and international institutions. Furthermore, the LA system will provide undergraduates students with hands-on experience using state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation and exposure to trace element geochemistry through their involvement in the research enabled through the acquisition, as well as through the incorporation of the LA system into at least five undergraduate courses.