Award Abstract # 2121832
Acquisition of Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometers for Geoscience Research at North Dakota State University

NSF Org: EAR
Division Of Earth Sciences
Recipient: NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: July 25, 2021
Latest Amendment Date: July 25, 2021
Award Number: 2121832
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Luciana Astiz
lastiz@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4705
EAR
 Division Of Earth Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: September 1, 2021
End Date: August 31, 2023 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $202,374.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $202,374.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2021 = $202,374.00
History of Investigator:
  • Benjamin Laabs (Principal Investigator)
    benjamin.laabs@ndsu.edu
  • Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Scott Wood (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: North Dakota State University Fargo
1340 ADMINISTRATION AVE
FARGO
ND  US  58105
(701)231-8045
Sponsor Congressional District: 00
Primary Place of Performance: North Dakota State University
Department of Geosciences
Fargo
ND  US  58108-6050
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
00
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): EZ4WPGRE1RD5
Parent UEI: EZ4WPGRE1RD5
NSF Program(s): Instrumentation & Facilities,
EPSCoR Co-Funding
Primary Program Source: 01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 9150
Program Element Code(s): 158000, 915000
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

This award provides funds to purchase two new analytical instruments, an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) and an X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF), for geoscience research at North Dakota State University (NDSU). The instruments will support studies of the chemical properties of North Dakota?s natural resources, focusing on water, rock, sediment, and soil. In addition to providing funding for the new instruments, the award will support an outreach program involving students and faculty at NDSU and Tribal Colleges in North Dakota. The program will involve research experiences for students interested in understanding water and soil quality in North Dakota, and is designed to broaden participation in geoscience research.

Acquisition of an ICP-OES and XRF will expand the analytical capabilities of the Department of Geosciences at NDSU, which emphasizes field and laboratory-based research with undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty researchers in the department will use the instruments to support research in a variety of geoscience disciplines, including Quaternary glaciation and climate change, soil and water-quality changes in oil-and-gas producing regions in North Dakota, and chemical processes in involving rare Earth elements and metals in natural waters. Additionally, the ICP-OES and XRF will enable new research in soil science, chemistry, and natural resource management at NDSU, and will significantly augment ongoing, collaborative research between NDSU faculty and colleagues at neighboring institutions in Minnesota and Montana. This award received co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) office at NSF.

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.

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 award supported acquisition of two analytical instruments in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Sciences at North Dakota State University. The instruments, an inductively coupled plasma optical-emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) and an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), were purchased to support research of faculty and students in three disciplines, (1) glaciation and climate change in the geologic past, (2) chemistry of economically valuable rocks and minerals in the subsurface in North Dakota, and (3) chemical reactions in natural waters bearing Rare Earth Elements. The instruments support research in these areas by providing a means of measuring trace amounts of elements found in water, minerals, and rocks.

 

Intellectual Merit. The ICP-OES augmented research in glaciation and climate change by enabling a method of geologic dating – cosmogenic exposure dating – which is used to reconstruct the rate of glacier decay during the end of the last ice age, 19,000-11,500 years ago. Reconstructing the pattern of glacier decay during this time interval improves the understanding of temperature and surface water changes in the west during an interval when Earth transitioned from the last ice age to the current warm period.

            The XRF was used to study chemical properties of Precambrian rocks found deep in the subsurface in eastern North Dakota. These rocks are a product of ancient mountain building in the interior of North America. The research enabled by the instrument is improving the understanding of the rocks involved in mountain building and their origin an in an early Earth environment.

            The ICP-OES was used to examine the behavior of the economically valuable Rare Earth Element neodymium in natural water. Experiments considered range of water conditions under which dissolved neodymium will bind to clay to reduce water contamination. The experiments revealed that kaolinite is effective binding to neodymium at a range of water conditions, including metal-laden acidic waters typical of runoff from mines.   

 

Broader Impacts. North Dakota State University (NDSU) is known for exceptional research experiences for students studying geology and geography. Augmenting student research is necessary to keep up with the demand for highly trained geoscientists in the U.S. and abroad. The ICP-OES is enabling high level research experiences for undergraduates while addressing important environmental and geological problems through faculty-led research programs.  Additionally, the award supported educational experiences for faculty and students at NDSU and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in western North Dakota. This provided the foundation for new research examining the effects of oil and gas drilling on lakes and rivers in western North Dakota and the contents of a new class in analytical chemistry at NDSU.

 


Last Modified: 12/29/2023
Modified by: Benjamin J Laabs

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