MRI RAPID: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Acquisition of cavity ring-down spectroscopy systems to quantify concentration and stable isotopic composition of multiple carbon species.

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The PI requests MRI RAPID funding to purchase three cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) systems to quantify the isotopic composition and concentration of methane, dissolved inorganic carbon, and dissolved organic carbon in seawater samples. These instruments will be used to characterize the concentration and isotopic signatures of carbon species in the seawater and sediment samples collected in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. These instruments will improve the ability to trace oil and gas derived from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill as it is processed and transformed into dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass. The MRI RAPID investment is timely and critical in light of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Broader Impacts: These instruments will substantially improve the PI's ability to analyze the current and future samples collected with current Gulf oil spill RAPID funding. This research has the potential to advance our understanding of oil and gas derived carbon flow in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and potentially improving global models of the oceanic carbon cycle.