Acquisition of Helium Recovery Equipment: Orbitrap Fourier Transform Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for Environmental and Climate Research.

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The specific aim of this project is to acquire an Orbitrap Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS) at the University of Washington (UW) which houses a multi-user laboratory facility specializing in stable isotope ratio measurements. The university laboratory currently contains five gas-source IRMSs that measure hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen isotope ratios from a variety of chemical species after conversion of those species to a low molecular weight gas. Current applications of stable isotope measurements are highly varied and include temperature reconstruction from ice cores and sediment cores, proxies for paleo atmospheric oxidant abundance from ice cores, endangered orca food web reconstruction, provenance of illicitly trafficked pangolin scales, and elucidating the co-evolution of life and oxygen in the atmosphere. New developments in Orbitrap mass spectrometry, however, have made this instrument sensitive enough for isotope ratio measurements of intact molecules with no need to convert them to a low molecular weight gas before isotopic measurement.The researchers will use the Orbitrap IRMS to test several specific scientific hypotheses on the topics of paleo atmospheric chemistry, co-evolution of oxygen and life in the mid-Archean, and the specific mechanism of carbon-carbon bond forming processes within metabolites. All three of these projects cannot be achieved with traditional gas-source isotope ratio mass spectrometers due to their mass resolving limitations and the need to convert species to a low molecular weight gas. Given that Orbitrap IRMS is an emerging technology, expansion of its utility and scientific application is planned beyond the initial research projects for which Orbitrap IRMS may transform what can be potentially learned from isotope ratio measurements in a variety of fields and enable researchers to answer more complicated scientific questions.The potential Broader Impacts are mainly focused on the scientific applications of the new instrumentation across a wide array of scientific undertakings across six departments and three colleges. Even so, several undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in cutting edge Orbitrap IRMS technology thereby enhancing their professional opportunities. Furthermore, this instrumentation will enhance the University of Washington’s active participation in programs promoting opportunities in education and research (UW ADVANCE Program, the Pacific Northwest Louis Strokes Alliance for Minority Participation) and its connection with K-12 students and faculty in Seattle schools and rural and tribal communities across the state.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.