9316937 Grossman This award provides 35% of the funding required to purchase an automated carbonate reaction system for the preparation of samples prior to mass spectrometric analysis. The equipment is to be installed and operated in the mass spectrometry laboratory in the Department of Geology at the Texas A & M University. Texas A & M University is committed to providing the remaining funds needed for the purchase. The Principal Investigator and colleagues are engaged in research to understand the relations between climate changes and isotopic variation signals as seen in the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of carbonate shelled organisms living in the ocean. The work requires analysis of large numbers of small carbonate samples for which the new automated sample preparation system is needed. ***