EA: Peripheral Replacements for the Northwestern University Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory

碳(C)、氮(N)、氧(O)、氢(H)和硫(S)等元素的轻稳定同位素提供了它们在生物和地质系统中的行为记录。这些同位素的测量用于研究土地利用，限制现代气候变化，揭示微生物代谢途径，了解地球历史上关键时期的生物地球化学循环，并重建过去的环境变化。该合同将为西北大学稳定同位素生物地球化学实验室（NU-SIBL）的分析能力提供资助，该实验室是西北大学和全国各地的地球科学家使用的核心研究设施。此次收购将支持美国国家科学基金会资助的积极项目，包括格陵兰新仙女木期的同位素信息古气候重建和代理校准，集中管理景观中碳循环和沉积的调查，利用生物量的C、N和H同位素表征微生物食物网，以及深层地下微生物-岩石-流体相互作用的研究。设备的更换和升级，使目前和未来的同位素为基础的研究在NU-SIBL，并继续在这个共享实验室的学生培训的悠久历史。该合同将用于替换西北大学稳定同位素生物地球化学实验室（NU-SIBL）的两个外围仪器，包括带有燃烧和热解界面的气相色谱仪和元素分析仪，以及用于样品制备的水净化系统。这些工具将取代近15年的过时版本，这些版本已被教师、学生和合作者以及国内外外部用户广泛和富有成效地使用。气相色谱仪系统将用于分析有机材料的化合物特定同位素（C， H， N）组成，包括植物蜡，微生物脂质，甲烷和氨基酸。元素分析仪将用于有机C、N和S以及无机S的批量测量。该奖项的资金还将支持高中实习生直接参与与NU-Geopaths合作的稳定同位素研究。NU-Geopaths是由地球与行星科学系运营的一个外展项目，旨在让来自不同背景的高中生接触地球科学研究。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。

Light stable isotopes of elements including carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H) and sulfur (S) provide records of their behaviors in biological and geological systems. Measurements of these isotopes are made to investigate land use, constrain modern climate change, unravel microbial metabolic pathways, understand biogeochemical cycling through critical time periods in Earth History, and reconstruct past environmental changes. This award funds the acquisition of instruments to maintain and expand analytical capabilities at the Northwestern Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory (NU-SIBL), a core research facility used by Earth scientists at Northwestern University as well as across the country. Active NSF-funded grants which will be supported by this acquisition include an isotope informed paleoclimate reconstruction and proxy calibration of the Younger Dryas in Greenland, investigation of carbon cycling and sedimentation in intensively managed landscapes, characterization of microbial food webs using C, N, and H isotopes of biomass,, and interrogation of deep subsurface microbe-rock-fluid interactions. The equipment replacement and upgrade permit current and future isotope-based research within NU-SIBL as well as carry on the strong history of student training in this shared laboratory. This award funds the replacement of two peripheral instruments within the Northwestern University Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry Laboratory (NU-SIBL) including a Gas Chromatograph with combustion and pyrolysis interfaces and an Elemental Analyzer, as well as a water purification system for sample preparation. These instruments will replace nearly 15-year-old obsolete versions that have been used extensively and productively by faculty, students and collaborators in addition to external users nationally and internationally. The Gas Chromatograph system will be used to analyze compound-specific isotopic (C, H, N) composition of organic materials including plant waxes, microbial lipids, methane, and amino acids. The elemental analyzer will be used for bulk measurement of organic C, N, and S, as well as inorganic S. Funds from this award will also support direct participation high school interns to stable isotope research in cooperation with NU-Geopaths, an outreach program run by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences that exposes high school students from diverse backgrounds to geoscience research.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.