Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Analyses of Aquatic, Geologic, and Atmospheric Sciences

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This project consists of the acquisition of an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) and sample preparation equipment for stable isotopic analyses of atmospheric, marine, geologic, and groundwater samples. The IRMS permits extremely precise measurements of stable isotope abundances (such as those of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, etc.) with respect to a chosen reference standard. Analysis of stable isotope ratios in various natural substances has numerous geophysical and ecological applications. The applicability of IRMS technology therefore crosses the boundaries among many of the major disciplines, including the geosciences, chemistry, biology, and physics. The principal uses of the SUNY Stony Brook IRMS facility will be to further strengthen Stony Brook's expertise in atmospheric chemistry, specifically with regard to oceanic, terrestrial, and atmospheric interactions, and to complement the institution's existing expertise in the marine and earth sciences. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry is an extremely valuable way to quantify the relative source strengths of trace gas species in the atmosphere and to use this information to evaluate the extent of anthropogenic influences on those species. There are also numerous applications where stable isotopes may be used as tracers of biological, chemical, or physical mechanisms, and the mass spectrometer facility will also permit the analyses of marine and groundwater samples (organic carbon, water, carbonates). Many Stony Brook faculty from several departments and institutes have interests in the stable isotopic composition of a variety of substances, including dissolved organic compounds, marine carbonates, carbonate rocks, and organic carbon in marine sediments. This IRMS facility will represent a major improvement to the general scientific research capability of SUY Stony Brook.