Control Lab (ERB-5116)

The hub of activity in the IGL is found in ERB-5116, where mass spectrometry control, data reduction and analysis take place on three enterprise computing workstations. The room also houses three optical petrographic and stereo-zoom microscope workstations for mineral hand-picking, optical photomicroscopy, and the preparation and polishing of mineral grain mounts. The IGL control laboratory also has direct access to the ERB-5114 mineral separations laboratory, and the ERB-5118 wet chemistry clean laboratories.

control_340 — Control room with access and viewing window into mass spectrometry room; room also serves as airlock to clean laboratory (door off-camera to left).

controlpicking_340 — Mineral picking and polishing workstations in the control room. Entry to the clean laboratory including sample pass-through also visible.

datareduction — Data reduction for ID-TIMS uses Jim Bowring’s Tripoli ratio selection software, and the UPbR data reduction spreadsheets of Schmitz and Schoene (2007).

Grain mount polishing with both carbide and alumina films and slurries is monitored via both transmitted and coincident reflected light at this workstation.