Hydrogen Isotopic Biogeochemistry

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ABSTRACTOCE-9986727Although the fields of organic geochemistry and biogeochemistry have advanced significantly through studies of stable isotope distributions and exchange, the isotopes of hydrogen have not received a level of research attention commensurate with the abundance of hydrogen in organic compounds. In this project, the principal investigator will develop instrumentation and new research techniques to study processes affecting the distribution of hydrogen isotopes in natural organic molecules. By study of compound-specific distributions of common hydrogen and deuterium, he expects to disentangle the processes responsible for isotopic fractionation during decomposition and to follow initial plant lipids through decomposition and accumulation in marine sediments and food chains. A variety of source plants would be included in the study.