9727589 Bebout This grant provides two-years partial salary support for the stable isotope/Noble gas mass spectroscopy laboratory technician at Lehigh University. This is a Phase II technician support grant under the Instrumentation and Facilities (IF) Program and follows three years of Phase I support (EAR-9406135). The isotope geochemistry technician at Lehigh University, Dr. Bruce Idleman, provides support for both the 40Ar/39Ar geochronology lab and the stable isotope geochemistry lab under the directions of Dr. Peter Zeitler and Dr. Gray Bebout, respectively. Under Phase I support, Dr. Idleman brought on-line a new laser system for both step-wise heating and direct laser ablation of samples for 40Ar/39Ar dating and has constructed a novel extraction line for preparing samples for nitrogen isotopic analysis. As a result, these labs offer some unique analytical methodologies including feldspar thermochronology and nitrogen isotopic analyses of N2 extracted from igneous phases that are now available to outside members of the community. Continued support of this technical position will allow for expanded collaborative work with outside investigators using these newly developed geochronologic and stable isotopic techniques and will support inhouse research in tectonics, fluid/crust interactions, igneous petrogenesis and thermal evolution of the crust. ***
