The PI is requesting funds to acquire a COX Analytical XRF Core Scanner which is capable of ultra-fine, non-destructive measurements of elemental composition, line scan color images, and x-radiography in core materials. The instrument would be dedicated to the analysis of sediment cores and potentially hard rock samples. The proposed instrument would be operated at the SIO Geological Collections facility which houses a major, NSF-funded sediment core archive. The proposed instrument will be used to support research efforts into marine ecosystem history, marine sedimentation processes, gas hydrate geochemistry, and climate archives in laminated sediments in lakes and marine anoxic basins. The proposed instrument will be one of three in the United States (as of this writing); the other two are located at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Broader Impacts: The proposed instrument will be one of three in the United States (as of this writing); the other two are located at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The proposed instrument will be used as a community asset, operating as a cost center for special projects, with on-line open scheduling (first come, first serve) and open posting of acquired data. The use of the proposed instrument will be incorporated into an existing undergraduate/graduate course on Paleoecology and be demonstrated/displayed as part of tours currently being conducted of the core repository for area high schools, junior colleges, and the public.
