SGER: Collaborative Research: Development of a Prototype Field-deployable Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer for Biogeochemistry

0756939Ostrom该项目将开发一种原型现场部署同位素比质谱仪（FIMS），它将能够快速原位测定CO2和N2O的同位素组成。 FIMS 仪器由微量气体样品引入系统 (TGSIS) 组成，该系统与摆线聚焦质谱仪 (CFMS) 连接，可在由 24 伏电池供电的便携式仪器包内进行精确的同位素测量。 该项目将为西南研究院空间科学与工程部的CFMS制造微法拉第阵列探测器，并将通过参与TGSIS的开发来培养新一代生物地球化学家。该项目的目标是测定 CO2 和 N2O 的同位素组成。 然而，法拉第收集器阵列可以测量其他对环境重要的化合物，例如 CH4 和 H2O。从本质上讲，FIMS 将通过提供广泛的同位素分析以及扫描挥发性有机化合物丰度的能力来补充并超越基于激光的系统的能力。稳定同位素分析已成为自然环境广泛生物地球化学研究的一个组成部分，包括动物迁徙、食物资源、生态系统代谢、微生物动力学和生物圈-大气耦合。虽然对稳定同位素数据的需求在生物地球化学中几乎无处不在，但我们尚未实现一种可以在偏远环境中原位部署的仪器，以近乎实时地测量各种材料的同位素丰度。微量气体的生物圈-大气交换就是这样一个领域的一个例子，它将受益于微量气体的快速和连续同位素测定。这些措施将能够将净生态系统交换划分为光合通量和呼吸通量，确定呼吸二氧化碳的来源，并对硝化和反硝化作用产生的土壤中 N2O 的比例进行量化。在开发 FIMS 系统时，PI 通过对尚未实现的各种化合物进行同位素分析，预测了 NEON 和其他大规模监测网络的基础设施需求。该项目将由来自机电工程系的 7 名高年级本科生组成的团队负责设计和构建 TGSIS 的电子控制系统。 因此，将满足该项目的仪器设计需求，同时增强本科生的教育体验。

0756939OstromThis project will develop a prototype Field-deployable Isotope-ratio Mass Spectrometer (FIMS) that will enable rapid, in situ determinations of the isotopic composition of CO2 and N2O. The FIMS instrument consists of a Trace Gas Sample Introduction System (TGSIS) interfaced to a Cycloidal-Focusing Mass Spectrometer (CFMS) that enables precise isotope measures within a portable instrument package powered by 24 volt batteries. The project will fabricate a micro-faraday array detector for the CFMS at the Space Science and Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute and will train a new generation of biogeochemist through their participation in the development of the TGSIS. The project is targeting determinations of the isotopic composition of CO2 and N2O. However, the Faraday collector array enables measurement of other environmentally-important compounds, such as CH4 and H2O. Inherently, FIMS will compliment and exceed the abilities of laser-based systems by offering a wide range of isotope analyses as well as the capability of scanning for the abundances of volatile organic compounds. Stable isotope analyses have become an integral component of a wide range of biogeochemical studies of the natural environment including animal migration, food resources, ecosystem metabolism, microbial dynamics and biosphere-atmospheric coupling. While the need for stable isotope data has become nearly ubiquitous in biogeochemistry, we have yet to realize an instrument that can be deployed in situ in remote environments to effect near real time measures of isotopic abundances of a wide range of materials. The biospheric-atmospheric exchange of trace gases is an example of one such area that would benefit from rapid and continuous isotope determinations of trace gases. Such measures would enable partitioning of net ecosystem exchange into photosynthetic and respiratory fluxes, determination of the origins of respired CO2, and quantification of the proportion of soil derived N2O from nitrification and denitrification.In developing the FIMS system, the PI?s are anticipating the infrastructure needs of NEON and other large-scale monitoring networks by providing isotope analyses for a wide range of compounds at a scale not yet realized. The project will involve a team of 7 senior undergraduate students from the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Departments to design and construct the electronics control system for the TGSIS. Thus, the instrumental design needs of the project will be met while enhancing the educational experiences of undergraduate students.