| The rationale of this proposal is two-fold: i) the introduction of innovative techniques that are not available within The Netherlands; ii) replacement of a failing but vital piece of equipment that is in demand by a large scientific community. Recent technological developments have resulted in a major improvement in TIMS capability allowing areas of research to be explored for the first time. For example, new applications of short-lived radiogenic isotopes (e.g., 146Sm-142Nd) and very long-lived systems (e.g. 190Pt-186Os) are now being used to question some of the fundamental assumptions about how the Earth formed and place constraints on the accretion mechanisms of the terrestrial planets (e.g. Carlson & Boyet 2009; Kleine et al 2009). In addition, the improved sensitivity and precision (e.g., <10 ppm 2 st. dev. on Sr isotopes) allows the use of material for the first time to explore new research questions. TIMS isotopic studies traditionally have played a major role in the quantification of Earth and Environmental Sciences by constraining rates of change and fluxes. The national TIMS facility at the VU is unique within The Netherlands and has been highly productive, making important contributions to the success of the Dutch geological community through participation in National Research Schools (NSG and VMSG), the Top Research School ISES and numerous NWO and EU funded projects. Recently TIMS techniques have become important in Archaeology, Art History, Biology and Ecology, Forensic, Material, Medical, Nutrition, Planetary and Space Sciences. Research expansion in The Netherlands is resulting in increasing demand, but the research TIMS instrument used at the VU, ThermoFinnigan 262 RPQ-plus, is 15 years old and no longer able to achieve all desired performance levels. This application is on behalf of 20 research groups from eight Universities, two National Research institutions, a National Museum and industrial collaborators. These internationally renowned groups apply isotopic techniques to a variety of problems in several scientific disciplines (e.a., Archaeology, Art History, Ecology, Earth and Environmental, Forensic, Planetary Sciences). For example, igneous petrologists and planetary scientists are determining the timescales and processes involved in planetary formation and differentiation into distinct geochemical reservoirs such as the lithospheric mantle on Earth that helped stabilise the early continental crust that provided the environment for the evolution of life. Palaeoclimatologists and sedimentologists are using multiple proxies to quantify fluxes and rates of change to place innovative constraints on the complex feed-back mechanisms that operate within the climate-tectonics-erosion system. Novel applications of Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes are being applied by ecologists and archaeologists to monitor bird and human migration, which will provide key data to understand the influence of climate change on the environment, the dispersion of zoonotic diseases as well as cultural evolution. As part of the Dutch government?s requirement for greater capability to respond to the increased terrorist threat, projects are being initiated to validate the use of isotopic techniques as provenance indicators in Forensic Science. The low blank clean laboratories at the VU are currently being upgraded to provide the increased capacity demanded by the scientific community but a state-of-the-art TIMS in The Netherlands is urgently required to support the proposed cutting edge research and the growing analytical demand. |
