RUI: Acquisition of a Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer

Colgate University, Hamilton NY

Investigators

Abstract

0216179 Peck Funds from this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant will be used to acquire a dual-inlet stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer for the Department of Geology at Colgate University. The instrument will be used primarily in the analysis of oxygen isotope ratios in silicates by on-line laser fluorination, in addition to analyses of gases prepared by combustion or reaction with acid off-line. Laser fluorination is the method of choice for analysis of refractory mineral separates for oxygen isotope ratio, has short analysis times (15-20 minutes per sample), and yields routine precisions of +/-0.1 per mil or better for samples as small as 1 mg. A mass spectrometer at Colgate will allow new and continuing interdisciplinary research projects in the Geology Department, including studies of granulite facies stable isotope thermometry and hygrometry, tectonic, magmatic, and fluid studies of the Grenville orogen, plume-ridge interaction in the Galapagos, and studies of paleoclimate in Alaska, New York, and Antarctica. All of this research will expose undergraduate students at Colgate to the use of stable isotopes in the geosciences, allowing hands-on exposure to modern instrumentation. ***