Acquisition of an Isotope Facility to Study Atmosphere- Ecosystem Interactions

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The focus of this project is to establish an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) in order to resolve very small differences in the isotopic compositions of elements - primarily carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen - in various materials. This will facilitate fundamental insights into the major ecosystem processes governing atmospheric composition at larger scales, and enable research into several major environmental issues, including global climate change and the carbon cycle, radiatively active trace gas exchange, ecosystem management, sustainable agriculture, soil and water quality, conservation biology, and atmospheric and terrestrial pollution. Some specific issues would include: (1) How are the processes governing soil carbon storage and chemistry modified by changes in climate and land use? (2) How are the known controls over methane biogeochemistry manifested in ecosystem-level methane flux rates and isotopic compositions? (3) What can the pedologic record tell us about past influences of climate on soil formation? (4) How is the hydrological cycle altered as a result of changing management, biota, and climate? (5) What is the functional dependence of ungulate diet on geographic variation in forage availability and quality, and how does this effect methane production during digestion? Ultimately, the facility will provide crucial data for developing and testing ecosystem-atmosphere models needed for the next generation of global and regional environmental models. This facility will complement existing facilities in an array of existing laboratories and research groups on the Colorado State University campus and nearby. The Colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources at CSU already support laboratories necessary for the preparation of soil, water, plant and air samples for mass spectrometric measurements, but these samples now are analyzed off- campus. The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory maintains facilities for quantifying trace gas co ncentrations. This facility will serve as a magnet to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among diverse research groups. Collaborators at NCAR, the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, and Carnegie Institute will provide complementary expertise and will continue to collaborate in research using the facility.