This award will provide 52% of the funds required to acquire and install a gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometer in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Lehigh University. Lehigh University is committed to providing the remaining funds needed. The mass spectrometer system is necessary to carry out the PI's research program supported in part by the National Science Foundation. The main thrust of this research is a study of the processes of crustal mass and energy transfer using field observations integrated with analytical data on the distribution of the stable isotopes of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur and nitrogen. Emphasis will be placed on the distribution of nitrogen in metamorphic rocks of the Earth's crust, an area of research pioneered by the Principal Investigator. The stable isotope analytical capabilities of the new instrument will also be used in biochemical and environmental studies programs at Lehigh.
