This award provides two years of support to construct vacuum extraction lines for stable isotope analysis of oxygen, carbon, sulfur and hydrogen in silicate, carbonate and sulfide minerals. The extraction lines will be constructed under the supervision of the Principal Investigator in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Southern California. A broad range of research projects utilizing stable isotopic data will be made possible with the use of the extraction lines. The main focus of the Principal Investigator's research will the role of fluids in metamorphic processes. A detailed oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotope study of the Whipple Mountain metamorphic core complex in southeastern California will be undertaken to evaluate the role of fluids in important crustal processes such as detachment faulting, mylonitization, heat transfer, and granitic melt generation.
