This award will support the acquisition of a new noble gas mass spectrometer and construction of two new extraction lines ? one for crustal fluids and one for rocks and minerals in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. Current equipment at the University of Michigan is old and is now taking a toll in terms of measurement efficiency as well as its ability to reach greater levels of accuracy made possible with more modern equipment. As the PI and co-PIs?s research interests have also expanded, the current MAP215 and extraction system have been pressed into service analyzing samples that are far more challenging than the originally planned freshwater samples. Pursuing new directions of research requires new and more robust extraction and purification noble gas lines as well as a new, more capable mass spectrometer which will enable the analysis of a wider variety of samples.
The intellectual achievements made possible through the acquisition of a new mass spectrometer as well as the construction of two new extraction systems are multiple. For example, it will allow us to conduct routine studies of noble gases in old fluids in cratonic regions to further investigate their potential in holding and preserving solar noble gas signatures. It will also lead to an improved understanding of noble gas behavior in the unsaturated zone and thus, improved noble gas temperature models and more accurate paleoclimate reconstructions in continental areas. Acquisition of this new equipment will also lead to a better understanding of noble gases behavior in ice and glaciers allowing us to place constraints in the temporal evolution of covered ice lakes (e.g., in Antarctica) and thus, on the past climate in the region. Furthermore, analyses of noble gas isotopes in mantle rocks will allow new insights into mantle geochemistry. Overall, the improved precision and enhanced output resulting from this award will have a major positive impact on multiple fields, from Mantle Geochemistry to Paleoclimatology, Hydrogeology and the Environment.
