Accessing user facilities and making your research experience successful

Access to many of the world's leading user facilities is easier than ever before, with web-based tutorials providing everything from instrumental overviews and example applications to online safety training. Submission of proposals for experiment time at large, heavily subscribed facilities, including synchrotron and neutron sources, has been streamlined with web-based submission. Support, which is commonly the key to successful experiments, is provided by facility staff and experienced users, allowing new users to begin experiments with minimal experience. Increasingly Earth scientists are taking advantage of the wide range of unique instrumentation at user facilities. Here, we explain how you can, too.