This award provides one-half the funds required to purchase a multiple collector thermal ionization source mass spectrometer that will be installed and operated in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Rice University. The University is committed to providing the remaining funds required for the acquisition of this equipment. The instrument will be used for radiogenic and stable isotope analyses of lead, strontium, neodymium and boron isotopes and for high-precision uranium-lead system geochronology involving minerals such as zircon, monazite and sphene. The analytical results will be applied to the interpretation of the tectonic evolution of the western U.S. cordillera province. The boron isotope studies will be applied to the study of volcanic arc processes, in particular to investigate characteristic boron enrichment in arc magmas and its implications for sediment recycling in subduction zones.
