Ice cores provide detailed records of Earth’s recent geologic past, with the oldest records currently extending back in time six million years. Critically, ice cores preserve a direct sample of the atmosphere, allowing scientists to reconstruct its past composition. From such measurements we now understand past natural changes in greenhouse gas concentrations and their relationship to the ice age cycles. Ice core measurements of the major atmospheric gases (nitrogen, oxygen, argon) and their isotopic composition provide important information about past global photosynthesis, past conditions at the ice core site, and they can help determine the age of the ice samples. The US research community has lost the capability to perform these measurements over the last year due to retirements and recent instrument failure. The objective of the project is to retain these critical analytical capabilities for the US ice core community and to train the next generation researchers in their use. The work supports a graduate student, contributing to development of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce. The project centers around knowledge transfer from scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), where these techniques were perfected, to scientists at Oregon State University (OSU). OSU has a dual-inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometer with the correct cup configuration for the analysis, but no experience with the sample preparation and calibration