Acquisition of Gas Chromatograph-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer

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This award provides for approximately 22% of the total amount needed to acquire a gas chromatograph-isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The additional funding necessary for this acquisition has been committed by DOE and the University of Oklahoma. This instrument will be used to determine the isotopic composition of individual components in complex organic mixtures in sedimentary detritus derived from diverse geologic source materials. Individual components in Recent sediments, oil, source rock extracts, or pyrolysis products can be separated via GC, combusted to carbon dioxide, and their isotopic composition determined in real time. Isotopic data currently in the literature for organic matter in sediments of varying age are typically average values of all organic components in the mixture;it has been impossible or exceedingly difficult and expensive to determine the isotopic composition of individual components using traditional techniques. The isotopic composition of the individual components will be used as biomarkers and may be valuable in reconstructing the paleohistory of sediments containing these materials.