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Cosmochemistry at FSU
RESEARCH AREAS
Origin and evolution of the Solar System by means of compositional studies: composition of the solar system; formation of meteorites
and planets; the origin and evolution of comets and the interstellar medium. Analysis of cosmic abundances, trace element microanalysis
of meteorites, particularly the distribution of siderophile elements; analysis of returned spacecraft samples including the composition
of the solar wind from the GENESIS mission and of cometary and interstellar dust returned by the
STARDUST mission; processes of planetary differentiation, particularly chemical partitioning between
core and mantle. Isotopic studies of mass fractionation during evaporation and condensation, nucleosynthetic anomalies, chronology of
the solar system.
FACILITIES
The newest departmental facility is the Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory, located at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory,
NHMFL. This laboratory includes an 800 sq. foot ultra-clean chemistry laboratory, and supporting
wet labs and mineral preparation equipment, a Finnigan MAT 262RPQ solid-source mass spectrometer used for the measurement of Sr, Nd,
Pb, Os and U isotope ratios and associated element concentrations, a high-abundance-sensitivity, multi-collector ion probe, the Lamont
Isolab, used to measure Th, Hf and Hg isotope ratios in limited amounts of material via secondary ion mass spectrometry, a Finnigan
ELEMENT high resolution ICP-MS used to measure elemental concentrations in meteoritic and terrestrial materials, a CETAC LSX-200 laser
ablation system for microanalysis of trace elements by ICP-MS, a Finnegan Delta plus XP for the analysis of light stable isotopes and
an Agilent quadrupole ICP-MS for Li-isotope as well as trace metal analysis. The NHMFL also supports a scanning (SEM) and
transmission (TEM) electron microscopy facility.
FACULTY
Munir Humayun
Cosmochemistry: formation of the solar system; chemical and isotopic studies of spacecraft returned
samples, meteorites and lunar samples; laser ablation microanalysis. Geochemistry of siderophile elements; geochemical interaction
between core and mantle; cosmic bombardment history of the Earth and planets; Early differentiation of the Earth and planets.
Vincent Salters
Trace element and isotopic composition of meteorites and how their composition relates to the composition
of Earth.
Leroy Odom
Isotope geochemistry, isotopic tracers for geologic processes, electron spin resonance dosimetry and thermometry.
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