This grant provides a continuation (Phase II) of partial salary support for technical oversight of the UCLA 40Ar/39Ar lab by manager, Dr. Marty Grove. This support follows three years of 'Phase I' (EAR-9627980) funding at the same level. Direct facility support of this kind is justified by the explosive growth in the demand for 40Ar/39Ar analyses over the last decade, reflecting both the maturity of the dating technique and the recognition of its unique contribution in the realms of thermochronology and volcanic stratigraphy. This 40Ar/39Ar laboratory has played a significant role in this growth by encouraging a broad spectrum of geologists to participate directly in analysis programs of their samples and by training many of the scientists that have commissioned these new laboratories. Since 1991, the lab was utilized by 84 scientists from 51 different institutions resulting in the production of over 70 papers and significantly contributing to 16 graduate dissertations. These interactions with visiting scientists both added to a growing data base from which to anticipate the response of mineral systems in differing geological environments and encourage the transmission of ideas during this period when interpretive models are rapidly evolving. Under Phase I funding, Dr. Grove developed an automated extraction system which is fully integrated with the mass spectrometry. Continued funding of this position will allow this group to remain at their most productive in tectonic studies of orogenesis and landform evolution and will continue to benefit a broader community through training of visiting scientists with state-of-the-art techniques in 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology.
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