Acquisition of Capability for Single-Compound AMS Measurement of Organic Matter at the W.M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility at UC Irvine

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EAR-0447323DruffelThe goal of this project is the development of a preparative capillary gas chromatograph (PCGC) that can be used to separate individual organic compounds from environmental samples. We will develop techniques to measure the radiocarbon (14C) in very small amounts (4 micrograms carbon) of these compounds using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). We will use an existing AMS that is operable for measuring small samples (15 micrograms carbon). Funds from this grant will be used for the PCGC and high vacuum lines, and to support a full-time postdoctoral researcher and part-time technician. The cycling of organic matter in soils, rivers and oceans remains a major uncertainty in the global carbon cycle. Measurement of the 14C in individual organic compounds is an essential tool to study the sources, preservation and cycling of carbon in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine organic matter. The graduate students involved in this project will obtain a strong background in organic biogeochemistry, as well as earth system science. It is anticipated that the techniques that we develop will become widely used throughout the environmental ecology and biogeochemical community.