Synchrotron Radiation, Neutron, and Mass Spectrometry Techniques at User Facilities

User research facilities around the world offer tremendous opportunities for scientific experimentation by members of the Earth science com- munity. Synchrotron radiation sources, neutron sources, mass spec- trometers, and others represent a powerful force in tackling complex scien- tific problems. In these techniques, Earth materials are bombarded with beams of ions, subatomic particles and/or photons to learn the secrets of their properties and histories. Some of these methods can be applied to nanoscale materials with “desktop” instruments while others require macro- scopic samples and utilize large-scale devices residing in multiple buildings; and there is everything in between.