This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program grant supports acquisition of a state-of-the-art x-ray diffractometer by the Division of Atmospheric Science at the University of Nevada's Desert Research Institute for research on the mineral component of aerosols. Nearly twenty faculty members and their students will benefit from the XRD for phase identification and crystallographic analysis of fine grained materials trapped in ice cores and snow, found in soils and sediments, and collected from the atmosphere. A wide range of research spanning disciplines of earth, environmental, atmospheric and polar sciences will benefit from the XRD facility, including investigations of aerosol provenance and transport mechanisms, human health effects of airborne dusts, ice core and snow pack paleoclimate investigations, studies of the role of carbonaceous aerosols in the global carbon cycle, and research on the effects of dusts on planetary albedo and importance of eolian processes in pedogenesis and soil fertility. The XRD will also facilitate research training in the University of Nevada system and at local community colleges (e.g., Truckee Meadows). ***
