MRI: Acquisition of a MIni CArbon DAting System (MICADAS) for climate change and air quality research

这项核磁共振奖为加州大学欧文分校的凯克碳循环加速器质谱（KCCAMS）设施的新仪器提供资金，以支持温室气体和气溶胶影响气候和空气质量的研究。这项投资将能够对影响大气成分和全球碳循环的含碳物质中的放射性衰变碳同位素（“放射性碳”）进行高质量测量。新仪器是一种商用系统，它结合了一个紧凑的加速器质谱仪和几个自动输送系统，以促进气体和有机固体的有效和全面的分析。除了放射性碳，该系统还测量样品的碳、氮含量和稳定同位素组成。这项新技术允许对有机固体（例如，植物组织，有机土壤，散装气溶胶）和二氧化碳进行更快速和准确的分析。增加的样品吞吐量将使来自南加州几个机构（加州大学欧文分校，加州大学河滨分校，美国宇航局喷气推进实验室）的研究小组能够(1)确定化石燃料对二氧化碳和甲烷排放的贡献；(2)量化碳循环过程如何影响未来大气中温室气体水平和气候变暖，包括永久冻土融化和野火加剧的影响；(3)分离化石、生物质燃烧和生物源对影响地球辐射收支和空气质量的碳质气溶胶的贡献；(4)了解当代和未来全球碳循环的长期变化。该仪器的获得将为多样化的学生群体提供研究和技术培训机会，并将大大加强美国研究人员研究变化的陆地表面和大气的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This MRI award provides funding for new instrumentation at the W. M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (KCCAMS) facility at the University for California, Irvine to support research on greenhouse gases and aerosols affecting climate and air quality. The investment will enable high quality measurements of a radioactively decaying isotope of carbon (“radiocarbon”) in carbon-containing substances influencing atmospheric composition and the global carbon cycle. The new instrument is a commercially available system that combines a compact accelerator mass spectrometer with several automated delivery systems to facilitate an efficient and comprehensive analysis of gases and organic solids. In addition to radiocarbon, the system also measures the carbon and nitrogen content and stable isotope composition of samples. This new technology allows for a more rapid and accurate analysis of organic solids (e.g., plant tissue, organic soils, bulk aerosol) and carbon dioxide. The increased sample throughput will enable a research team from several Southern California institutions (UC Irvine, UC Riverside, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory) to (1) identify contributions of fossil fuels to carbon dioxide and methane emissions; (2) quantify how carbon cycle processes impact future levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and climate warming, including the impacts of permafrost thaw and intensifying wildfire regimes; (3) separate fossil, biomass burning, and biogenic contributions to carbonaceous aerosols that influence the Earth’s radiation budget and air quality; and (4) understand long term changes in the contemporary and future global carbon cycle. The acquisition of this instrument will provide research and technical training opportunities for a diverse community of students and will significantly strengthen the ability of U.S. researchers to study the changing land surface and atmosphere.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.