Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Research and Education in Geological and Paleoclimate Studies at the University of Houston

University Of Houston, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support the acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS) in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston. The instrument will expand analytical capabilities, enhance analytical accuracy and precision, increase sample throughput, and enable currently unavailable analyses at the University of Houston. Its highly improved sensitivity and precision allow measurements of clumped isotopes in carbonates, as well as traditional stable isotope characterization of light elements (C, H, O, N, and S) in gases, rocks, and other matrices. It will improve the research program of each PI, which covers a wide range of areas in geological and paleoclimate studies, their abilities to mentor and teach graduate and undergraduate students, and collaborations with other institutions. Postdocs, undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in hands-on training opportunities with this instrument, which are fully integrated with novel scientific projects and other educational activities. Through hands-on trainings and related courses, the instrument will be an invaluable tool for engaging undergraduate and graduate students in stable isotope geochemistry, in particular those historically underrepresented students (women and minorities) in STEM fields. It will infuse undergraduate and graduate students with interdisciplinary knowledge, and serve students, postdocs, and faculty from different departments and colleges at the University of Houston, local educational institutions, and research organizations. More importantly, through outreach activities, it will enhance geoscience education for local K-12 students, motivate them to consider building careers in geoscience, and raise public awareness of science in general in the greater Houston area. The requested IRMS instrument will form an integral component of research into fundamental geological processes on Earth and other planetary bodies, paleoclimatic effects on human evolution and migration, paleoenvironment and glacial history. It will foster current and future exciting interdisciplinary research by making precise isotopic measurements, and enable new fields of discovery in broad areas of Earth sciences. In organic geochemistry and astrobiology, isotopic signatures of light alkanes and clumped isotopes of carbonates from geological environments and laboratory experiments are used to elucidate their reaction pathway and formation condition, and constrain their origin. In geoarchaeology and soil science, clumped, triple oxygen, and traditional stable isotopes are used to reconstruct past climate and past environments to better understand the context in which humans and hominins evolved. In speleothem science and limnology, the use of conventional stable isotopes of speleothem and lake sediments with two recently developed proxies can provide a comprehensive understanding of paleoclimate and paleoenvironment. In marine and glacial geology, past ocean water temperatures in west Antarctica are calculated using the stable isotope records from foraminifera, collected from sediment cores in locations where circumpolar deep water may be melting the base of major ice sheets, to better understand glacial history. Through current collaboration, the isotopic signatures of prehistoric skeletons will be combined with archaeological details and genetic analyses to identify the kinship system and origin of social inequality within ancient populations in Europe and Southeast Asia. Altogether, the related research projects point to the potentially high-impact science that a state-of-the-art IRMS with appropriate peripherals would allow at the University of Houston. The scientific findings will place the University of Houston on the leading edge of stable isotope geochemistry research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.