TRIPOLI: CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY

Isotope geochemistry relies on the measurement of isotope ratios, or the relative abundances of isotopes in a sample. Two types of mass spectrometer, the thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS), are used to make many of the most precise isotope ratio measurements that underpin the study of geochronology and radiogenic isotopic systems. Our new software, Tripoli, is designed to ingest TIMS and MC-ICPMS data, process the data using modern statistical techniques, and create informative, interactive data visualizations. After data review, Tripoli exports formatted results that fit into established laboratory workflows.

This presentation describes the approach taken in developing Tripoli as sustainable, equitable, and usable cyberinfrastructure. First, data reduction algorithms are both open source and thoroughly documented. Online documentation includes formatted math and equations as well as interactive Jupyter notebooks that demonstrate the algorithms in action. Synthetic data are used for testing as well as distributed for intercomparison with alternative mass spectrometer data reduction implementations. Second, we describe efforts to foster user feedback and community-building within the isotope geochemistry and geochronology user base. Our efforts include maintaining supportive and productive GitHub Issues and Discussions pages for users with varying levels of expertise, as well as brainstorming and design sessions with small user groups over Zoom. Finally, we describe our collaborative development model that brings together professional software engineers and diverse domain scientists, with everyone learning about the others’ expertise. While our approach has produced successful cyberinfrastructure products, we also wish to explore open, challenging questions about the sustainability and equitability of our efforts.