MRI: Acquisition of ICPMS Instrumentation for Interdisciplinary Research

Intellectual Merit

The PIs request funding to acquire single and multi-collector ICP-MS instrumentation, complemented by a solid-state laser-ablation sample introduction system. The proposed instrumentation will serve research efforts covering four academic units at the institution: geological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, marine science, and public health. These research efforts include investigations into solid earth geochemistry including: mantle geochemistry, subduction magmatism, and U-Pb detrital-zircon geochronology; paleoceanography and paleoclimatology: past ocean circulation and sediment provenance, climate proxy development (Si isotopes), and proxy validation; climate change research: iron fertilization, classification of bloom-forming phytoplankton, and upper ocean particle formation and export; and phase partitioning, transport, and biological uptake of nano-materials in environmental systems.

Broader Impacts

The proposed instrumentation will be incorporated into a suite of education efforts, including inclusion in undergraduate and graduate courses, informal training of undergraduates and graduates as part of research efforts, inclusion in summer programs, including the TRIO Programs Upward Bound (focusing on economically disadvantaged students without a family history of college attendance) and the SPRI program (mentoring high school students in faculty labs). The proposed instrumentation will also support the research efforts of two new hires, including one early career scientist. Cross-institution collaborative efforts with the University of Georgia, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Skidaway Institute of Oceanography would also be enabled should the proposed instrumentation be acquired.