9413957 Williams This award provides partial funding for the acquisition of an isotope ratio mass spectrometer and an inductively- coupled plasma mass spectrometer to be installed and operated in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of South Carolina. The University of South Carolina is committed to providing the remaining funds necessary for the acquisition of the equipment. The Principal Investigator and a large multi-disciplinary group of colleagues require the analytical capabilities (accurate isotope ratios for light stable elements, and rapid multielement analysis of geological samples) of these instruments to carry out a significant number of research projects in the area of Global Change, including research on past temperature variations in ancient oceans and lakes, the geologic history of CO2 in the atmosphere, geochemical cycles in the oceans, and the chronology of non-carbonate sediments in marine and fresh-water basins. ***
