Today we visited Macquarie University, and we learned about the ICP-MS, which stands for Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. I was so surprised at the big inviting event for newcomers. We gained an insight in the diverse culture in the University.

Using Isotope is a good strategy to find out past climate. There are three types of oxygens; O-16, O-17, and O-18. The lighter oxygen is, the more likely it is to evaporate from water. In the clouds, heavier oxygen has more energy to move around, and more easily to condense in clouds, so O-18 is likely to fall down as rain. When it comes to the pole area, most of the molecules left behind in the cloud is O-16. Therefore, snow contains a lot of O-16. The earth experienced a glacial period, when there was more ice than now, so the amount of O-16 in the sea water was relatively less than now, and sea water was heavier compared to the present sea. The difference of the weight of Oxygens in CO₂ has an influence on the behavior in the IRMS.  For example, the heavier CO₂ is, the larger the curve it makes. In this way, analyzing isotopes is useful to identify what has happened on the earth.　

I have learned the way of analyzing fossil isotopes, but I didn’t know of such a way related to ice or sea water.

I was surprised to hear the electron microprobe (EMP) machine referred to as a “spider 🕷️”. The EPMA which I had seen at our university had silver probes (or legs, in this case), which did not resemble a spider in any way. We also saw a huntsman spider on the wall, which was a little frightening. We were relieved to hear that it does not attack humans but was quite astonished to hear that it might have the ability to drag a mice across a wall and eat it!

 

At Sydney Institute of Marine Science, or SIMS, scientists breed marine organisms to conduct many kinds of experiments to understand marine lives. In the tank outside, sea weeds grow. Some sea plants cannot live without physical movement such as waves or tide, thus sea water is poured into tanks constantly from buckets. Inside a building, sea animals are in highly controlled tanks. Marine animals are vulnerable to changes in chemical and biological situations and need continual flow of sea water.

I was interested in the accurate control over the environment in the fish tank, and the wide and deep knowledge needed to operate tanks.

I found it interesting that the difference in the shapes of the teeth of sharks. It has a relationship with their food.