Facility Support: The Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

EAR-0242797 Caffee The Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory (PRIME Lab) measures 10Be (t1/2=1.5 Myr), 26Al (.705 Myr), 36Cl (.301 Myr), and 129I (16 Myr) in a variety of sample matrices, including rock, soil, water, and air. The goals of the proposal are to complete an upgrade program that will substantially enhance the capabilities of PRIME Lab. As an NSF facility our goals are 1) to measure 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl, and 129I for NSF-sponsored geoscience investigators; 2) to perform separation chemistries for those investigators lacking the facilities to do so themselves; 3) to improve the precision of all measurements, to increase the throughput of the facility, and to develop techniques allowing the measurement of radionuclides not routinely measured; 4) to host vibrant in-house research programs involving the application of these radionuclides to a variety of geoscience programs, including the development of new geoscience applications; and 5) to meet the educational requirements of our university mission by training both undergraduates and graduate students (from Purdue University and other universities) in all aspects of the measurement and application of these radionuclides. During the first year of the proposal our emphasis will be on completing the hardware improvements however we anticipate successful productive runs on all radionuclides. During the second year of the proposal we anticipate increased productivity in terms of the number of samples analyzed. ***