This award will provide 45% of the funds required to purchase a noble-gas mass spectrometer and construct a low-blank gas extraction system. Lehigh University will provide the remaining 55% and is pledged to supporting the necessary laboratory renovations in their Department of Geological Sciences where the system will be housed and operated. Planned research for the next several years includes theoretical studies aimed at providing a better understanding of the argon 40/39 technique for dating rocks and minerals as well as applied research to exploit the technique to rock masses that have undergone complex thermal histories.
