EAG Short Course 2012: Nuts and bolts of isotope ratio mass spectrometry
This short course took place on 9-11 January 2012 at the
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, UK
Post-course lecture notes:
You can find lecture notes from this short course here. The lecture notes cover the following subjects:
- Mass Spectrometry
- Ion Exchange Chemistry
- Mass Fractionation and Calibration
- Statistics
- Uncertainty in Boron Isotope Measurements
Program:
The short course is designed to develop understanding and key practical skills for early stage researchers in Earth Science who use sector-field, isotope ratio mass-spectrometry (i.e. multi-collector plasma, and thermal ionisation instruments). The course will be consist of lectures, discussion sessions and some paper-data handling exercises. Participants will be expected to share their own experiences in measurements and gain insight not only from from the taught components but also by discussion with other users with a wide range of experience. Each day deals with different main topics:
- Day 1: hardware
- Day 2: sample preparation and calibration
- Day 3: data handling and uncertainties
The course is delivered by staff and researchers from the Bristol Isotope Group and the NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory. There are also invited contributions from Stephan Richter from the Institute for Reference Material and Measurement, Marian Scott (University of Glasgow) and Noah McLean (MIT, USA).
Logistics:
The course is free, but participants have to cover travel, accommodation, breakfast and evening meals. Information on travel to Bristol and the university, suggested accommodation and contacts for registration can be found at: http://nutsandboltsshortcourse.blogspot.com/
The course is organised by Dan Condon (NIGL) and Tim Elliott (University of Bristol) and sponsored by EAG and NIGL.
Interested in organizing a short course sponsored by the EAG?
Short courses for PhD students and postdocs should be 3-5 days in length with at least 10 participants and focus on special topics or techniques from the broad field of geochemistry. The short courses should be based in Europe and organized in conjunction with a Goldschmidt conference when possible. Courses can be sponsored by the EAG up to 5 000 Euros for EAG members participating or presenting at the short course.
If you are thinking of developing an EAG short course for the year 2012, your proposal should be submitted by 1st December 2011 to the EAG business office at office@eag.eu.com.
For proposal submission, please provide:
- a brief description of the goals of the short course
- a proposed short course schedule
- a list of suggested presenters
- a preliminary budget plan
- information regarding the location and infrastructure
Former short courses
- Advanced Tools in Environmental Biogeochemistry, 7-11 August 2011, University of Tuebingen, Germany See article and photos on the short course.
