MRI: Acquisition of a PyroCube IsoPrime 100 EA-IRMS for Stable Isotope Research

授予新汉普郡大学(UNH)支持购买元素分析器同位素比质谱仪(EA-IRMS)。EA-IRMS系统将加强对各个年龄段的社会和经济多样化学生的科学和技术教育，并将极大地促进UNH教职员工正在进行的和未来的研究。具体地说，拟议的工具将加强北方本科生生态系统研究(NERU)计划，该计划将从代表性不足的群体中招募学生到北卡罗来纳大学学习不断变化的北方生态系统。稳定同位素工作在NERU的大多数项目中都是至关重要的，UNH增强的分析能力将扩大学生的项目范围，同时降低该项目的分析成本。通过与北卡罗来纳大学Joan和James Leitzel数学、科学和工程教育中心的合作，将为中学和高中的教师和学生提供EA-IRMS的访问机会，并将为化学、生物和地球科学教师提供使用尖端技术来增强他们的科学和技术准备的机会。拟议的文书还将通过开设两个新的稳定同位素课程并将其纳入最多13个其他的UNH课程来加强UNH课程，这些课程加起来每年将使1000多名学生接受同位素分析方面的培训。此外，稳定同位素分析将被整合到两个广泛的、正在进行的促进年轻人健康营养的项目中：大学健康和营养评估调查和美国农业部多州研究项目。这些项目旨在促进11个州不同社会经济背景和种族的学生的健康饮食习惯。近年来，由于依赖稳定同位素技术的研究学科的数量和广度增加，以及稳定同位素分析技术的快速改进，对稳定同位素分析的需求急剧增加。在UNH，来自不同学科的教员将使用EA-IRMS研究广泛的研究课题，包括：1)湿地中的甲烷循环；2)沿海氮污染；3)海洋甲基水合物生产；4)鳕鱼渔业的考古分析；5)温带和热带森林碳和水循环的长期趋势；6)湿地和河流系统在控制洪水和水污染方面的作用；7)森林管理对小型哺乳动物群落的影响；8)对土壤碳储存的细菌和真菌控制；9)作物、杂草和土壤管理，以提高粮食产量；10)真菌在森林生态和气候变化中的作用；11)评估饮食选择对年轻人健康的影响；12)将奶牛饮食与污染和温室气体排放联系起来；以及13)跟踪鹿群中农业和人类提供的食物的消费情况。所要求的EA-IRMS将直接满足超过24名UNH教职员工、45名研究生和更多本科生以及外部研究小组的研究和培训需求。

An award is made to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to support the acquisition of an elemental analyzer isotope ratio mass spectrometer (EA-IRMS). The EA-IRMS system will enhance the scientific and technological education of a socially and economically diverse body of students of all ages, and will substantially advance ongoing and future research by UNH faculty. Specifically, the proposed instrument will enhance the Northern Ecosystems Research for Undergraduates (NERU) program which brings students recruited from underrepresented groups to UNH to study changing northern ecosystems. Stable isotope work has been critical in the majority of NERU projects, and enhanced analytical capabilities at UNH will expand the range of projects for the students, while reducing analytical costs for the program. Access to the EA-IRMS will be provided for middle and high school teachers and students through partnering with the Joan and James Leitzel Center for Mathematics, Science and Engineering Education at UNH, and will provide an opportunity for chemistry, biology, and earth science teachers to use cutting-edge techniques to enhance their scientific and technological preparedness. The proposed instrument will also strengthen the UNH curriculum through creation of two new stable isotope courses and inclusion in up to 13 other UNH courses that together will expose more than 1000 students per year to training in isotopic analyses. Additionally, stable isotope analysis will be integrated into two extensive, ongoing projects promoting healthy nutrition in young adults: the College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey and a USDA Multi-State Research Project. These projects seek to promote healthy eating habits for students of diverse socioeconomic background and ethnicity across 11 states. The need for stable isotope analysis has increased dramatically in recent years as a result of the increase in number and breadth of research disciplines that rely on stable isotope techniques, as well as the rapid technological improvements in stable isotope analysis. At UNH, faculty from diverse disciplines will use the EA-IRMS to study a broad range of research topics including: 1) methane cycling in wetlands; 2) coastal nitrogen pollution; 3) marine methyl hydrate production; 4) archaeological analysis of cod fisheries; 5) long term trends in the carbon and water cycles of temperate and tropical forests; 6) the role of wetlands and river systems on controlling flooding and water pollution 7) effects of forest management on small mammal communities; 8) bacterial and fungal controls on soil carbon storage; 9) crop, weed, and soil management for improved food production; 10) the role of fungi in forest ecology and climate change; 11) evaluating the impact of dietary food choices on young adult health;12) linking dairy cow diet to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; and 13) tracking the consumption of agricultural and human supplied food in deer populations. The requested EA-IRMS will directly meet the research and training needs of more than 24 UNH faculty, 45 graduate students, and many more undergraduates, as well as external research groups.