National Environmental Isotope Facility

Determining the isotopic composition of a breadth of environmental materials underpins our ability to constrain, track and understand a wide range of environmental science processes. Isotopes are used to determine the age of materials, constrain rates of change, integrate disparate environmental records, and assess cause/effects hypotheses. Isotopes are also used to track a range of natural and anthropogenic processes operating across the planet, from the hydrosphere to the biosphere. Isotope science requires infrastructure at the leading edge. This includes not only physical infrastructure such as state of the art equipment and well-established laboratories, but also experienced facility personnel who provide the expertise, drive development, explore new areas of application, and develop systems to ensure data are accessible, interoperable and reusable. The requirements for isotopes in environmental sciences necessitates national delivery of fundamental capabilities for the following reasons: (1) A compelling community need for fundamental and complex isotope analyses; (2) Continued investment in instruments and skilled people is required to remain at forefront of world isotope science; and (3) High demand and delivery required by the UK research portfolio. Where these requirements exist, national facilities are a demonstrably cost-effective mechanism to deliver and underpin environmental science research and innovation, now and into the future.

The National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF) is a single nationally distributed facility that comprises a range of analytical capabilities and staff expertise for isotope analyses that underpins an array of multidisciplinary, cross themed, environmental science areas. NEIF capabilities are subdivided into three categories: Chronology, and Environmental & Life Science Tracers and Organic Compound Analysis. Combined, these support research in the areas of biogeochemistry, archaeology, palaeoclimatology and climate change, solid Earth processes (inc. natural hazards), human-landscape evolution and interactions (inc. the Anthropocene), evolution of life, ecology, pollution, the hydrological cycle, applied minerals and energy research.

NEIF will underpin the UK's environmental research community in areas where isotope analyses are required, facilitating, supporting and encouraging the best research, technology and new ideas. The unified capabilities and expertise delivered by the NEIF team are technically unique within the UK and are delivered to the highest standard and quality. NEIF will deliver against a number of key objectives: to facilitate environmental research to support the provision of training for early career researchers, to deliver innovation, and to promote awareness of NEIF capabilities, their role in environmental sciences, related NERC activities, and public outreach.

The benefit of a single national facility is that we are ''greater than the sum of our parts''. The combined strategic nature of NEIF, with clear community input via the Strategy Group, acts as a catalyst for the areas of environmental science covered by NEIF. In addition to the direct support of projects and provision of training, the sustained support of NERC facilities has enabled their evolution to best fit the user community needs enable facility staff to deliver a longer-term perspective, identify challenges and opportunities, in order to best service the environmental science community. The NEIF represents a major evolution in the provision of isotope capabilities and expertise for the UK research community. It will provide increased community innovation and greater scope for flexibility, whilst retaining the core purpose of underpinning UK science, in addition to hosting internationally competitive state-of-the-art capabilities critically underpinned by a vastly experienced, unique staff assemblage.