Equipment: MRI Track #1: Acquisition of a state-of-the-art 193nm laser ablation and time-of-flight mass spectrometer system for imaging and abundance measurements.

This award supports acquisition of a laser ablation time-of-flight inductively coupled mass spectrometer (LA-TOF-ICP-MS). This instrumentation will enable development and application of cutting-edge geochemical methods to understand processes preserved in earth, planetary, and biological materials. The instrumentation enables mapping/imaging of chemical variations at small scales (<0.01mm) within individual crystals, rocks, or biological materials such as corals or teeth. These images will be used to examine ages, chemistry, and distribution of elements within materials facilitating the study of processes acting to create or modify materials with applications in Earth and planetary science, biology, archeology, and human health fields. The project team will acquire a 193nm excimer laser ablation system and TOF-ICP-MS to conduct high-resolution chemical mapping. Chronological and elemental mapping of earth materials will enable studies in petrochronology, igneous system crystallization and post-crystallization processes, mineral deposit genesis, tectonics, and Earth surface processes. It will also be used to study planetary materials from the Moon, Mars, and other solar system bodies. Interdisciplinary capabilities of the instrumentation will also be utilized to understand natural and anthropogenic artifacts, expansion in human health research, the role of airborne particulate matter in California air quality assessment, and biomineralization and the role of environmental factors such as ocean acidification on corals, crustaceans, fish otoliths, and fecal materials. The instrument will be integrated into training an increasingly large, diverse, and talented pool of graduate and undergraduate students, and the next generation of instrumentalists in the STEM workforce at SIO, UCSD, and the wider San Diego area. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.