Center for Applied Isotope Studies

Center for Applied Isotope Studies
Name	Center for Applied Isotope Studies
Established	1977
Type	Research center
City	Athens
State	Georgia
Country	United States
Affiliation	University of Georgia

Contents

Center for Applied Isotope Studies The Center for Applied Isotope Studies is a research center at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia that provides laboratory services in isotope geochemistry and radiometric analysis for investigators across United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and the European Union. It supports investigators from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States Geological Survey, and the Smithsonian Institution, while collaborating with academic units including the Department of Geography, the Department of Anthropology, the Odum School of Ecology, and the Department of Geology. The center serves applied work in fields connecting to the Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and international programs like the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Overview

The center operates multidisciplinary programs integrating isotope ratio mass spectrometry with sample preparation for studies in Paleoclimatology, Archaeology (discipline), Forensic science, Hydrology, and Ecology (academic discipline), and supports investigators from institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. Its clientele includes researchers from the British Geological Survey, the Max Planck Society, the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in addition to federal laboratories like the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The center provides services relevant to projects funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Packard Foundation.

Founded in 1977 during a period of growth in isotope technologies, the center was established with initial support from the National Science Foundation and benefactors linked to the University of Georgia administration and the State of Georgia. Early development connected to collaborations with the United States Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution for radiocarbon dating and stable isotope applications used by researchers at Yale University, Princeton University, Duke University, and the University of Florida. Over time the center expanded equipment and staffing through grants from the National Institutes of Health and cooperative agreements with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. Institutional milestones included partnerships with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory isotope programs and visiting scientist exchanges with the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and the British Antarctic Survey.

Facilities include clean laboratories and climate-controlled sample preparation rooms that enable work for projects across Paleoclimatology, Archaeology (discipline), Forensic science, Hydrology, and Ecology (academic discipline). The center supports analyses for researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, the Natural History Museum, London, and the National Museum of Natural History (France). On-site infrastructure facilitates collaborative programs with the Southeastern Climate Consortium, the International Ocean Discovery Program, the NOAA Paleoclimatology Program, and the European Research Council. The facility’s staff have hosted visiting scholars from Princeton University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, ETH Zurich, Tokyo University, and the Australian National University.

The center operates multiple isotope ratio mass spectrometers, including instruments for radiocarbon dating, stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), oxygen (δ18O), hydrogen (δ2H), strontium (87Sr/86Sr), and lead isotopes used in provenance and tracing studies with users from University of Michigan, Pennsylvania State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Cornell University. Techniques encompass accelerator mass spectrometry workflows comparable to those at the W. M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility and gas-source mass spectrometry methods used in labs at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Sample preparation capabilities include elemental analyzer interfaces used by researchers from Rutgers University, Ohio State University, and University of Texas at Austin, and micro-sampling approaches analogous to those practiced at the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London.

Major projects have included radiocarbon calibration and reservoir correction programs aligned with the IntCal Working Group and collaborations on paleoclimate reconstructions with the International Ocean Discovery Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). Collaborative forensic isotope provenance work has supported investigations with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, while archaeological applications have been integrated into field projects with the American Antiquity Society, the Society for American Archaeology, and museums such as the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The center participates in international consortia with the International Atomic Energy Agency and contributes to workshops organized by the Royal Society and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The center provides training for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from the University of Georgia and partner institutions including Yale University, University of California, Los Angeles, Brown University, and Vanderbilt University. It hosts short courses and workshops in isotope techniques co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and professional societies such as the Geological Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, and the Society of American Archaeology. Outreach initiatives have connected with K–12 programs administered by the Smithsonian Institution and public events coordinated with the Athens-Clarke County Library and the Georgia Museum of Natural History.

Staff and affiliates have authored peer-reviewed articles in journals including Nature, Science, Quaternary Research, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, and Journal of Archaeological Science and have contributed data to community resources such as the NOAA Paleoclimatology Database and the PANGAEA Data Publisher. The center’s analyses have informed high-profile studies cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports and have been acknowledged in policy-relevant documents produced by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations Environment Programme.

Category:Research institutes in Georgia (U.S. state)