Introduction

The Isotope Community Support Facility (ICSF) is funded by competitive bid through the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Services and Facilities. Our Facility offers access to all UK University and Institute departments to SUERC's international-class suite of stable isotope systems, through NERC peer-reviewed application or approved pilot study. Dr. Adrian Boyce manages the facility. One of his principal tasks is to train PhD students who undertake extensive programmes of stable isotope analyses resulting from approved projects. In this effort, we are fortunate to be aided by Ms Alison McDonald, who is ICSF's dedicated technician.

What does the Isotope Community Support Facility (ICSF) do?

ICSF meets the need in the Geoscience Community for isotopic analyses and training primarily in support of high quality research related to the NERC Priority Areas - Sustainable Economies and Earth’s Life Support Systems, with two new projects contributing to Climate Change.

Training of postgraduate students in the principles and practice of stable isotope geochemistry lies at the core of ICSF support (every approved project from 1999-2005 has a student undergoing training). Being embedded in SUERC, with its complementary expertise, offers a unique environment (2006 NERC Review marking a4) with the highest level of service (a5), as reflected in our formal user survey (>93% users think overall service and student training is excellent). We currently work on 25 projects with colleagues from 12 Institutions around the UK.
Our Community focus has been on the full cycle of the Applied Minerals research, from genetic modelling informing exploration and exploitation, through to remediation. From approved projects addressing fundamental ore genesis, to dealing with remediation strategies for acid mine drainage, ICSF supports the NERC Strategy through its commitment to revealing and explaining the Earth's resources and supporting their sustainable use in an environmentally conscious manner.
18 of our current portfolio of 21 student projects operate at the industrial research interface, with 10 of them supported by NERC CASE awards. Our remaining four projects support Principal investigators with NERC (n=3) or Leverhulme grants.

Take a look at our current Publications List, and recent Annual Reports for a more in-depth look at our Facility.

How to apply