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Project Progress

This report summarizes our progress in establishing the W. M. Keck Cosmochemistry Laboratory at the University of Hawaii. The heart of this laboratory is a state-of-the-art Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe. The ion probe is intended to be a catalyst for interdisciplinary research into the origin of the solar system and the origin of life. Funding for the instrument came from the W. M. Keck Foundation, the NASA SRLIDAP program, and the University of Hawaii.

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June 23 marked the one-year anniversary of the acceptance of the ion probe. Over the last year we have worked to demonstrate verify the performance of the instrument and to demonstrate analytical capability. Although there have been some teething pains, we have been able to demonstrate analytical capability in several areas and have obtained publishable data.

Oxygen isotopes: We have demonstrated the ability to collect oxygen isotope data with a precision and accuracy of ±0.5‰ (Fig. 2). This is considerably better than ion probe data collected by earlier generations of instruments. We have had some problems with the electron flood gun (used for charge compensation) and we have had to develop a reliable run protocol. We think we have solved these issues and will be able to collect data precise to ±0.2‰ in the near future.

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Short-lived radionuclides (60Fe, 53Mn, and 26Al): We have been able to gather new data on the abundances of the short-lived radionuclides 60Fe, 53Mn, and 26Al in chondritic materials. The 60Fe data (e.g., Fig. 3), reported at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, nearly doubled the database of chondrules from which 60Fe has been reported. New data on the abundance of 53Mn in pallasite olivines was collected. Precise data for 26Al in CAIs from Kaba demonstrated the potential for high-precision measurements of this nuclide.

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Hydrogen isotopes: We complete a proof-of-principle study of deuterium abundance patterns in experimental charges in support of a new NSF proposal by Stephanie Ingle. This provides an experimental base from which to develop our hydrogen isotope (D/H) measurements of primordial water trapped in Hawaiian and Icelandic lavas. As we start our second year, we have eliminated many problems with the instrument and are able to make many different kinds of measurements. We still need to install our solid-state SCAPS detector, which will be important for Astrobiology work.