MRI: Acquisition of a Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer for Measuring Organic Compounds at the Interfaces of Earth’s Systems

该MRI项目支持购买GC-Vocus-2R仪器，该仪器将使研究科学家能够获得有关大气中有机化合物组成的重要细节。该仪器是下一代工具，将更好地约束有机碳排放到大气中的命运和影响，并使人们更好地了解有机碳与生态系统、生物和人类活动的相互作用。该仪器有望提供必要的灵敏度、时间分辨率、特异性和细节，以探测当前在大气和环境化学中跨界面的突出问题。GC-Vocus-2R采用质子转移反应质谱法（PTR-MS）测量有机气体，按分子式分类，时间响应快，可以运输和部署进行原位采样。pi已经确定了使用新仪器进行研究的以下主题：重点领域1：大气化学的基本过程；重点领域2：生物圈与大气之间的反馈和耦合；重点领域3：有机碳对生态系统和其他环境的影响。该仪器将支持弗吉尼亚理工大学的一个跨学科团队，该团队正在研究气相有机化合物在大气化学、化学信号、昆虫生态学、淡水生态系统和公共卫生中的作用，并计划开展项目，解决这些学科之间复杂的全球问题。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 project supports the acquisition of a GC-Vocus-2R instrument that will enable research scientists to obtain significant detail about the composition of organic compounds in the atmosphere. The instrument is a next-generation tool that will better constrain the fate and impacts of organic carbon emitted to the atmosphere and enable a better understanding of the interactions of organic carbon with ecosystems, organisms, and human activities. The instrument is expected to provide the sensitivity, time resolution, specificity, and detail necessary to probe current outstanding questions in atmospheric and environmental chemistry across interfaces.The GC-Vocus-2R uses proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) to measure organic gases, classified by molecular formula, with fast time response and can be transported and deployed for in-situ sampling. The PIs have identified the following topics to focus their research using the new instrument: Focus Area 1: Fundamental processes in atmospheric chemistry; Focus Area 2: Feedbacks and couplings between the biosphere and atmosphere; Focus Area 3: Impact of organic carbon on ecosystems and other environments. This instrument will support an interdisciplinary team of faculty at Virginia Tech who are investigating the role of gas-phase organic compounds in atmospheric chemistry, chemical signaling, insect ecology, freshwater ecosystems, and public health, with projects planned to tackle complex global issues that bridge these disciplines.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.