Facilities Improvement at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies

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9311411 Weathers Growth in research activity at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies during the past nine years has put increasing pressure on the analytical laboratory to process rapidly samples from a wide variety of ecosystems whose chemical concentrations vary by several orders-of-magnitude. This project will upgrade analytical capabilities by purchasing a new ion chromatograph, total organic carbon analyzer, and high performance liquid chromatograph. The laboratory currently analyzes samples for major inorganic and organic ions for approximately 14 NSF- supported projects. These projects are done by scientists from this institution, as well as outside collaborators. In addition, the laboratory serves as the primary analytical center for projects funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, the USDA, the Hudson River Foundation and others. Extensive graduate and undergraduate (through an NSF site and supplementary REU grant) student research is also done in the laboratory. The laboratory currently operates older models of the instruments with severely limited sample capacity. Some are operational but incapable of meeting the demands of the scientists because they are either slow, have limited sensitivity, or cannot give accurate results for sample matrices. Currently, one (the inductively coupled plasma spectrometer) is only intermittently operational. The instruments to be acquired will make the analytical laboratory more efficient and allow data to be downloaded directly to a PC. ***