Research Technician Support

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

0091771 Derry This grant provides technical support for operations of the thermal ionization mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry facilities in the Department of Earth and atmospheric sciences, Cornell University. NSF funds and Cornell University funds will be used to support the salary of Dr. Linda Godfrey, laboratory manager. Dr. Godfrey has the primary responsibility for overseeing the operation and maintenance of the instrumentation and associated clean laboratory facilities. Currently implemented analytical techniques include strontium, neodymium and lead isotope analysis by TIMS, and a variety of trace element analyses by ICP-MS, including hydride generation. In addition to supporting a range of ongoing projects funded by NSF and other sources, Dr. Godfrey will be improving or developing analytical protocols for the new high resolution magnetic sector ICP-MS for Pb isotope analyses (current applications include tracing anthropogenic and aerosol inputs of Pb in soils), Ca isotope dilution analysis (current applications include tracing Ca transfer across the placenta in pregnant mammals), and U isotope analysis (current applications include understanding weathering processes and mass balance for U in soils). Current research projects (funded) that will be supported include 1) application of trace element and Sr, Nd and Pb isotope data to delineate atmospheric(including anthropogenic) vs. weathering inputs to Hawaiian ecosystems; 2) chemical and isotopic study of geothermal and stream waters along the Main Central Thrust, Nepal, to study role of geothermal circulation in extracting heat and volatiles from tectonically active crust and their impact on stream fluxes; 3) use of Ge/Si ratios to estimate aerosol fluxes of silica to the global oceans; 4) Ge/Si ratios as a tracer of weathering fluxes and plant-soil interactions; 5) Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic data on subduction-related volcanism in Patagonia; 6) trace element distributions in archaeological wood as an indicator of eruptive chronology in the eastern Mediterranean; 7) fate and transport of metals (Cu, Zn, Ag) in peatland soils; 8) speciation and behavior of dissolved Al in tropical soils.; 9) authigenesis of silicate phases during early diagenesis; 10) isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb) constraints on sources of plume volcanism, Galapagos hot spot. ***