The ALS Core Environmental Beamlines

The ALS Core Environmental Beamlines were selected based on the scientific demand of environmental researchers, (particularly EMSP and NABIR PIs). The presence of unique experimental capabilities and the potential for multi-beamline utilization and synergy. One of the most valuable components related to unique structuring of the ALS Core Environmental Beamlines will be the scientific cross-fertilization that will occur between beamline users and the synergies that develop betweenthe molecular environmental sicence programs.

The initial complement of beamlines composing ALS Core Environmental Beamlines includes:

• Infrared Spectromicroscopy (IR) Beamline 1.4.3,
• Microtomography (mTomography) Beamline 8.3.2,
• Environmental and Materials Science, Micro X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (MicroXAS) Beamline 10.3.2, (state-of-the-art mXAS, mXRF, and mXRD capabilities in the x-ray region)
• Advanced light Source Molecular Environmental Science (ALS-MES) Beamline 11.0.2. (scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), and NEXAFS)

Importantly, the capabilities and composition of the ALS Core Environmental Beamlines have been selected to overlay the scientific priorities and research needs of Environmental Remediation Science Division (ERSD) investigators. For instance, the IR and STXM capabilities offer revolutionary means to investigate microorganisms by spectromicroscopy and their interactions with the environment at the micron-to-nanometer scale. The MicroXAS and mtomography beamlines have special abilities to examine the speciation of contaminants by XAS from microns to millimeters and to x-ray image materials rapidly at high spatial resolution from the micron to the multi-centimeter level, respectively.

The beamline capabilities incorporated by the ALS Core Environmental Beamlines span an energy range from the sub-eV to near 30 keV with world-class performance, while covering a length scale from tens of nanometers to centimeters. This extraordinary diversity of techniques and length scales offers a true opportunity for the integration of scientific knowledge obtained from the molecular level through the field scale, and vice versa. This arrangement also provides opportunities to more thoroughly investigate a single sample via use of several complementary SR techniques within the ALS Core Environmental Beamline while maintaining complete spatial registry.