Attom set to revolutionise geochemistry research
A R7.9 million mass spectrometer, funded by the national Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), has recently been installed in a Geological Sciences laboratory and will serve as a national facility for researchers in South Africa and Africa.
The BIOGeochemistry Research Infrastructure Platform (BIOGRIP) is a new initiative to promote South Africa’s biogeochemistry research by providing access to world class analytical facilities, various training opportunities and generating meaningful datasets by monitoring various biogeochemical environmental variables. BIOGRIP will consist of four nodes based at four universities across South Africa. Each node will focus on a different aspect of biogeochemistry including Stellenbosch University (Water and Soil Node), University of the Free State (Mineral Node), North-West University (Atmospheric Node) and the University of Cape Town (Isotope Node).
Funding for this initiative was provided by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR). The main goal of SARIR is to support the development of advanced infrastructure and cutting-edge analytical facilities to promote high quality and innovative research. BIOGRIP will enable researchers to gain a deeper insight into how human activities in the past have impacted the environment and will also enable us to evaluate the impact of current practices on these areas, in the future. The study of earth and the environment was listed as one of the national research priorities and strategic goals for SARIR. Prof Sarah Fawcett (Department of Oceanography) at UCT and Prof Jodie Miller (Department of Earth Science) at SU were the co-champions of the BIOGRIP proposal. The BIOGRIP hub, which will coordinate and manage the platform, will be based at UCT with Prof Judith Sealy as the Director.
Expanding Analytical Services
Currently, a selection of water and soil analytical services are offered by CAF units such as the ICP and XRF unit.
The water and soil facility will focus on providing standard analytical services and access to new state-of-the-art equipment. The unit will house an Ion Chromatography (IC) system from Metrohm. The unit will also feature advanced instruments for conducting the analysis of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes.
Training and research opportunities
The unit will focus on providing researchers and post-graduate students with technical support to perform research projects. Clients from higher education institutes and the private and public sector will be able to submit samples for routine analysis. Students will have the option to receive hands-on training on all instruments during various training opportunities. This will empower them with the necessary advanced skills to operate instruments, conduct experiments and to develop new analytical methods that are not currently available in South Africa.
We invite anyone interested to follow the CAF website or Facebook page or send an email to jcolling@sun.ac.za to receive updates and relevant information. We look forward to develop the new facility into an excellent training and research facility, which will enable world-class research that can compete and contribute on the global arena and advance our knowledge of biogeochemistry.
Pickering explained that this platform was a deliberate move on the part of the DSI to support research in South Africa by updating and diversifying the range of scientific instruments available for researchers.
“The idea behind BIOGRIP is to invest in infrastructure and equipment in order to keep bright young students and academics in South Africa and build capacity here, rather than lose people to overseas labs and universities,” she added.
The Attom is a national facility, so [it] will draw users from all over South Africa, and indeed Africa, as it’s the first machine of its kind on the continent.
“When the group of biogeochemists were writing the original proposal to send to the DSI, we had to start somewhere, so we structured the first three years of budget items around existing facilities in South Africa.”
History of excellence
UCT’s Geological Sciences department has existing facilities and a long-standing history of excellence in geochemistry. The department has also been the national leader in investing in new technology; it already has two older multi-collector mass spectrometers which have been instrumental in cutting-edge science for over a decade.
Pickering explained that while the new machine does similar analyses to the existing mass spectrometers, it does so at a higher resolution and is able to precisely identify more elements in less time. As a bonus, the newer machine is also easier to run. Comparing the technologies, she used the analogy of smart phones versus older cell phones. “Both can make calls, but a smart phone can do a great deal more in less time,” she said.
As the beneficiaries of this new equipment, Geological Sciences at UCT has the responsibility of setting up this new facility, maintaining it and growing its user base.
“This is daunting but also very exciting and is the beginning of a new era for my research group,” Pickering added.
This new instrument does not currently have a dedicated technician; however, the department is in the process of recruiting one. The appointed technician will receive initial training at the manufacturers, Nu Instruments, who are based in Wrexham, Wales, in the United Kingdom.
Research dream
As an isotope geochemist with specific interests in palaeonanthropology and archaeology, the new mass spectrometer is a dream come true for Pickering.
“My research in human evolution is all about ages and dating, working out how old rocks and, therefore, fossils are. This technology will be an incredible help in speeding up the currently lengthy process – we will be able to gather the same amount of data in an hour that used to take about a month!
“I am therefore looking forward to experimenting with samples and rocks which we didn’t think would be suitable for dating, which, in the old days, were literally a waste of time. Now, with the new machine, we can do some quick experiments and see if this is the case. In this way we will push back the limits of our current techniques, which is very, very exciting!”
This story was originally published by UCT News.