| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 27, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | March 27, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1128221 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
David Lambert
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | April 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2015 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
266 WOODS HOLE RD WOODS HOLE MA US 02543-1535 (508)289-3542 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
183 Oyster Pond Rd Woods Hole MA US 02543-1501 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Instrumentation & Facilities |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
This project will create a new, unique synchrotron-based user facility to examine geologic materials at the micron scale with a focused X-ray beam tuned specifically for lighter elements Na through Ti. This facility is designed and optimized for "tender" (1-8 keV energy) X-ray micro-spectroscopy and imaging applications for Earth Science research, and will complement existing and highly productive "hard" X-ray facilities operating above about 4.5 keV. It will extend to lower energies the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) capabilities typical of hard X-ray microprobes, as element-specific non-invasive probes of elemental distribution and local physical and electronic structures and states in crystalline and non-crystalline materials. In addition, it will offer advanced capabilities for microbeam extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS) for determination of more detailed local structure around the selected element.
This project will be undertaken by adding new micro-focusing capabilities at an established and proven macro-focused (~1mm spot size) tender-energy XAS beamline at X15B of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and will subsequently transition to the new Tender Energy Spectroscopy (TES) beamline under development at NSLS-II. Its key attributes will be the distinct 1 to 8 keV energy range, user-tunable spot size from about 50 microns to 1 micron, high flux and stability optimized for high-quality and extended XAS, options for both XRF and XAS mapping with rapid scanning, and a helium glove-box sample environment. Performance will improve when transferred to NSLS-II, a state-of-the-art new Synchrotron designed for high brightness applications. These new capabilities are critical for advancing our knowledge of geochemical and biogeochemical processes, in particular those involving lighter elements, and will be openly available for use through the NSLS General User program. Specific applications targeted include the mineral-water interface, nutrients and contaminants, carbonates, paleoclimate, redox processes, high-pressure mineralogy; and health effects of Earth materials.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project was to develop new instrumentation and analytical techniques for the "tender" x-ray energy range, that is, 1-8keV at the newly opened National Synchrotron LIght Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This is the U.S.'s newest synchrotron light source. A handful of beamlines have just become operational at the NSLS-II in 2015. The development of the Tender Energy Spectroscopy (TES) beamline at the NSLS-II that is supported by this project will bridge the gap between the many more "soft" x-ray beamlines (1-2 keV) and "hard" x-ray beamlines (>4.5 keV), and will open up possibilities for determining the chemical bonding structure of environmentally important lighter elements such as magnesium, aluminum, and silicon. The TES beamline is on track to begin user operations in early 2016, and will be of interest to a wide variety of researchers in Earth and environmental science. I was one of a dozen or so scientists representing a wide variety of fields in the Earth and environmental sciences that served in a scientific advisory capacity for this project. The types of projects that will be possible once the TES beamline is operational range from studies of the cycling of nutrients and contaminants, to paleoclimate research, to health effects of Earth materials.
Last Modified: 06/22/2015
Modified by: Phoebe J Lam
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