Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Analysis of 15n/13C Enriched Biological Materials and Development of 15N Trace Gas Analysis

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This proposal includes both the purchase of an instrument and the development of a new analytical capability for direct analysis of 15N gases. A primary group of four investigators at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University Stanford proposes to acquire an isotope ratio mass spectrometer with a direct combustion unit for automated analysis of 15N-and 13C-enriched materials. The research projects in which the stable isotope analysis will be used include terrestrial nutrient cycling, soil microbial ecology, plant physiological ecology, trace gas interactions between soil and atmosphere, and analysis of metabolic pathways. The immediate availability to these research programs of this recently developed, high sample capacity, small sample size, stable isotope/total N and C analysis system will provide a powerful analytical capacity for routine application in a number of very active ecology and physiology research programs in Northern California. The development of the mass spectrometer for direct quantification of 15N N20, N2, and NO (separated by capillary chromatographic methods) will facilitate major new research investigations in the origin and control of trace nitrogen gases involved in global ozone depletion and climatic change.