The movement of elements through ecosystems: Major research instrumentation for the integration of research and education.

密歇根理工大学的一群生态学家、生物学家和化学家正在积极研究陆地和水生生态系统的过程。这些教师将使用几种新的研究工具来推进他们在生态系统中元素转移的基础研究，并将他们的研究与MTU的基础科学教育使命相结合。两台质谱仪将用于帮助在大气-陆地-水界面内和跨界面以及通过天然食物网追踪碳、氮和痕量金属的同位素。便携式涡旋协方差系统将使研究人员能够测量大气与陆地和水生生态系统之间的碳、水和能量交换，极大地促进了实验全球变化工作对自然生态系统的外推。MTU现有的多学科研究项目有一个统一的主题，即通过大气、土地和水界面追踪元素和能量的流动，目标是对控制元素转移、生态系统化学计量学和生物群落组成和多样性的过程有更基本的了解。在过去十年中，随着能够快速测量组织、水、土壤和沉积物的元素和同位素组成的仪器的出现，对自然界化学转化途径的阐明取得了巨大进展。新的仪器将加强正在进行的组成项目，并使各个工作组能够将它们对元素通量的测量和对生态系统食物网内影响化学计量的过程的研究联系起来。这些仪器还将用于MTU的课堂活动，让研究生和本科生有机会使用最新的最先进的工具来研究生态系统过程。为了更好地理解调节生态系统过程的机制，人们必须能够通过大气-陆地-水界面和在大气-陆地-水界面之间跟踪来自特定来源的化合物。新仪器将允许MTU研究团队跟踪化合物和元素从来源到最终目的地的各个阶段。研究人员将能够阐明在生态系统内部和跨生态系统的化合物的转化和运输的机制。为了从描述已经发生的事情到预测未来不断变化的环境中会发生什么，这些知识至关重要。

A cadre of ecologists, biologists and chemists at Michigan Technological University are actively investigating terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem processes. These faculty will use several new research instruments to advance their fundamental studies of element transfers through ecosystems, and to integrate their research with the basic science education mission of MTU. Two mass spectrometers will be used to help trace isotopes of C, N and trace metals within and across atmosphere-land-water interfaces, and through natural food-webs. A portable Eddy-Covariance System will allow the researchers to conduct measurements of C, H2O and energy exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, greatly facilitating the extrapolation of experimental global change work to natural ecosystems.Existing multidisciplinary research projects at MTU have the unifying theme of tracing the flow of elements and energy through atmosphere, land, and water interfaces, with the goal of a more fundamental understanding of the processes that govern element transfers, ecosystem stoichiometry, and biological community composition and diversity. Elucidation of chemical transformation pathways in nature has advanced tremendously in the past decade with the advent of instrumentation capable of rapidly measuring elemental and isotopic composition of tissues, water, soils and sediments. The new instrumentation will enhance ongoing component projects and allow the separate working groups to link together their measurements of element fluxes and studies of processes that influence stoichiometry within ecosystem food webs. The instruments will also be utilized in classroom activities at MTU, giving graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to use the latest state-of-the-art tools for studying ecosystem processes.To better understand mechanisms that regulate ecosystem processes, one must be able to follow compounds from specific sources through and between atmosphere-land-water interfaces. The new instruments will allow the MTU research team to follow compounds and elements at all stages from their source to their final destination. The researchers will be able to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the transformation and transport of compounds within and across ecosystems. Such knowledge is crucial in order to make the step from describing what has already happened to predicting what will happen in a future, changing environment.