This award provides funding for the acquisition of instrument components that will serve to upgrade the analytical capabilities (improved sensitivity and decreased mass interferences from oxides) of an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) system installed in the Department of Geological Sciences at Cornell University. The PI and research group will also develop the use of a laser ablation source for the ICP-MS. The great promise of laser ablation sampling is its capability for in situ analysis with spatial resolution, but the application still requires much development as it applies to complex geological sample targets. The project will develop specific analytical techniques for microanalysis of trace elements in crustal and mantle minerals.
