9406248 Halliday This award provides funding for personnel costs associated with the development of a prototype inductively- coupled plasma magnetic sector multicollector mass spectrometer to be operated in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Michigan. The instrument combines the advantages of very efficient plasma ionization with the precision of multicollector magnetic sector mass spectrometry. The University of Michigan instrument is the first of its kind in the world, and the analytical chemist that will be supported through this award will assist the Principal Investigator and colleagues in exploiting the full capabilities of the instrument. Specifically, the person will assist in developing new methods of chemical preparation of samples, understanding the chemical speciation involved in laser ablation and the effects of the processes acting within the plasma that affect transmission, molecular interferences, ionization efficiency, mass discrimination, and matrix effects. The scientific applications for which this instrument and technique development is intended include isotopic studies of natural fluid inclusions, high precision Rb-Sr geochronology, In-Sn geochronology of sulfides, U-Th disequilibirum dating of small samples, and Lu-Hf isotope geochemistry of atmospheric particulates. ***
