Acquisition of a Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometer for Automated Carabonate Analysis: Analytical Instrumentation for Earth Science/Global Change Research

这笔拨款提供了113,487美元，作为购买稳定同位素比质谱仪（SIRMS）的一半费用支持，该质谱仪具有双进气系统和用于自动碳酸盐样品导入的Kiel设备。PI的研究包括破译高分辨率的气候变化记录，这些记录是由生物碳酸盐（包括珊瑚、有孔虫和软体动物壳）中记录的碳和氧同位素特征的变化所指示的。利用这种质谱仪进行的研究的主要重点将是分析大块硬核珊瑚骨架中记录的del - 18-O，作为热带海洋表面温度变化的高分辨率指标。这些珊瑚生长迅速，寿命长达800年，因此提供了一个独特的、高分辨率的记录，记录了十年到百年的时间尺度上的气候变化，并有助于我们了解海洋-大气耦合系统，如厄尔尼诺/南方涛动，它在确定降水模式方面具有全球意义，因此与全球农业和减轻洪水灾害有关。为了有效和高效地分析亚月分辨率的生物碳酸盐中记录的碳和氧同位素比率，需要一台能够高通量分析100-600微克样品的灵敏质谱仪。每年分析超过10,000个样本，包括足够的重复，以确保世纪尺度记录的区域保真度。在此次采集中包含Kiel设备，将允许独立和顺序的样品导入多达74个样品，从而允许夜间操作，这对于维持这些高分辨率研究所需的高通量至关重要。＊＊＊

9628080 Cole This grant provides $113,487 as one-half support of the costs of acquiring a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (SIRMS) with a dual inlet system and a Kiel device for automated carbonate sample introduction. The PI's research involves deciphering high resolution records of climate change indicated by variations in the carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures recorded in biogenic carbonates including corals, foraminifera and mollusc shells. The primary focus of research to be conducted utilizing this mass spectrometer will be on analyses of the del 18-O recorded in massive, scleractinian coral skeletons as high resolution indicators of variability in tropical sea surface temperatures. These corals grow rapidly and can live for periods as long as 800 years and thus offer a unique, high resolution record of climate variability over decadal to centurian time-scales and can aid our understanding of coupled ocean-atmospheric systems such as the El Ni o/Southern Oscillation that has global significance in determining patterns of precipitation and thus is relevant to worldwide agriculture and flooding hazard mitigation. To effectively and efficiently analyze the carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios recorded in biogenic carbonates at sub-monthly resolutions requires a sensitive mass spectrometer capable of analyzing samples in the 100-600 micro-gram size range with high throughput. Analyses of upwards of 10,000 samples per year including sufficient replicates so as to ensure regional fidelity can be required for century-scale records. The inclusion of a Kiel device in this acquisition will allow unassisted and sequential sample introduction of up to 74 samples, thus allowing for nighttime operations which are essential for maintaining the high throughput necessary for these high- resolution studies. ***