This grant supports upgrade of an existing electron microprobe (EMP) in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama (UA). An existing JEOL 8600 EMP (vintage 1990) will be configured with a new PC-based data analysis and imaging system and current degraded diffraction crystals in the spectrometers will be replaced allowing for higher precision microchemical analysis and faster analysis times. The upgraded EMP will support a range of NSF funded research spanning the fields of metamorphic petrology, paleoclimatology, geochronology and carbonate petrology and will invigorate an important research training and analytical facility in the southeastern U.S.
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