SCEC Award Number 11096 View PDF
Proposal Category Individual Proposal (Data Gathering and Products)
Proposal Title Geochronlogy Infrastructure
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Michael Oskin University of California, Davis
Other Participants Tom Guilderson, John Southon, Lewis Owen, Tammy Rittenour
SCEC Priorities A1, A2, A9 SCEC Groups Geology, FARM, EFP
Report Due Date 02/29/2012 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
The geochronology infrastructure provides a community resource for SCEC researchers to draw from for their dating needs. It provides laboratory support and access to expertise for 14C, OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) and cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al methods. By pooling resources, the infrastructure saves SCEC funds while simultaneously increasing flexibility. Researchers cannot precisely predict the amount of geochronology resources needed at the outset of a project. Instead, the SCEC RFP asks for an estimate of needs from each project, and then these needs are drawn from the infrastructure resources. The leader and co-leader of the Geology Disciplinary group coordinate these dating requests with the participating laboratories. This approach avoids wasting resources for the cases where a project ends up not needing as many dates as planned. Likewise, in other cases where important, higher-precision results could be obtained with more geochronology resources, the infrastructure budget allows SCEC to move quickly to take advantage the opportunity. Over the lifetime of SCEC3, funding of the geochronology infrastructure program at approximately 80% of requests has been sufficient to meet the collective needs of the SCEC research program, yielding an estimated savings around $90,000. Another advantage of the geochronology infrastructure program is that it streamlines collaboration with participating laboratories. Under SCEC3, this arrangement brought the addition of the local UCI 14C lab to the program, which has grown quite popular within the community and has also brought new opportunities for students to participate in dating of their samples.
Intellectual Merit The geochronology infrastructure provides a community resource for SCEC researchers to draw from for their dating needs. It provides laboratory support and access to expertise for 14C, OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) and cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al methods. By pooling resources, the infrastructure saves SCEC funds while simultaneously increasing flexibility. Researchers cannot precisely predict the amount of geochronology resources needed at the outset of a project. Instead, the SCEC RFP asks for an estimate of needs from each project, and then these needs are drawn from the infrastructure resources.
Broader Impacts Students are encouraged to participate in the preparation and analysis of their samples. This is very convenient at the UCI 14C facility, and also possible at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory once clearance is granted. This experience has proven valuable for young researchers in the field, some of whom have recently moved on to faculty positions.
Exemplary Figure None