Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers for Environmental Research

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This award is for the acquisition of an isotope ratio mass spectrometer with extended plane optics and several peripherals for automated, small sample, and compound-specific analyses. These instruments will become part of the university's Stable Isotope Ratio Facility for Environmental Research (SIRFER). Natural variations in the stable isotope abundances of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur are used to study biological, ecological, hydrological, and geochemical problems at and near the Earth's surface; these analyses are applied as well to human-related research from anthropology through forensic sciences. Current research projects include: Determination of isotope turnover times in animal tissues, leading to understanding metabolic routing and dietary histories of wildlife; Forensics applications determining the origins of unidentified humans; Reconstructing the migration routes of whales through their dietary inputs; Metabolism of toxins; Cycling of carbon within ecosystems; Estimates of stress responses in plants at the stand level; Reconstructing climate through tree rings; Determination of precipitation inputs relative to evaporative losses in river systems; Determination of nitrogen input sources and nitrogen transformation in rivers; and, in urban environments, Understanding both nitrogen deposition and partitioning of carbon dioxide sources from fossil fuels used in energy production versus biogenic activities. In addition to valuable ecological research, this mass spectrometer will be used for undergraduate research and education, including the course, "Stable Isotopes in Ecosystems. There is also an annual short course in Stable Isotope Ecology for students and faculty from other universities. Many of the students trained in these courses have gone on to establish their own stable isotope laboratories at other universities.