Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Ecological Research

该合同将为犹他大学环境研究稳定同位素比设施（SIRFER）采购带有元素分析仪和气体采样外围设备的同位素比质谱仪提供支持。该设施在将稳定同位素分析扩展到生态和环境科学方面处于领先地位，目前每年处理约16,000个样本。SIRFER目前操作4台同位素比质谱仪，用于生态和环境研究，可供犹他大学和全国其他机构的研究人员和学生使用。除了购买质谱仪外，该合同还将购买升级现有质谱仪的外围设备，用于碳酸盐烧蚀的紫外激光器，以及用于树木年轮高分辨率采样的微磨机。新设备将允许在比目前可能的浓度更小的浓度下进行化合物特异性分析，确定高分辨率时空信息，使用基于激光的高分辨率方法，并培训研究生和博士后研究人员使用这些最新的方法和仪器。同位素-比例质谱法在现代生态研究中发挥着重要作用，旨在测量现有和过去环境的化学成分，以及生物和化石生物的元素组成。

This award provides support for the acquisition of an isotope ratio mass spectrometer with elemental analyzer and gas-sampling peripherals for the Stable Isotope Ratio Facility for Environmental Research (SIRFER) at the University of Utah. The Facility is a leader in the expansion of stable isotope analyses into ecological and environmental sciences, currently processing approximately 16,000 samples a year. SIRFER now operates 4 isotope ratio mass spectrometers for ecological and environmental research that are available for use by investigators and students from the University of Utah and from other institutions throughout the nation. In addition to purchase of the mass spectrometer, the award will enable purchase of peripherals to upgrade an existing mass spectrometer, a UV laser for ablation of carbonates, and a micromill for high-resolution sampling of tree rings. The new equipment will permit compound-specific analyses at concentrations smaller than currently possible, determination of high resolution temporal - spatial information, use of laser-based high resolution approaches, and training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in these latest methods and instruments. Isotope-ration mass spectometry plays an important role in modern ecological research aimed at measuring chemical constituents of existing and past environments, as well as the elemental makeup of living and fossilized organisms.