Analytical equipment for detecting the concentration and chemical speciation of trace metals and reactive oxygen species in natural waters

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The oceanographic community is undertaking a major international program (GEOTRACES http://www.geotraces.org/) to study the marine biogeochemical cycling of trace elements and isotopes and to elucidate the oceanographic information embedded in their distribution. The program consists of sampling detailed water column sections in all major ocean basins, complemented by process and time-series studies in strategically located regions and will carry with it a heavy analytical burden. The scale of this program is unprecedented in the field of chemical oceanography and promises to provide a quantum leap forward in the understanding of ocean processes past and present and their role in Earth's changing climate system. For instance, some trace elements, such as Co, Cu, Fe, and Zn, are essential micronutrients. A better understanding of the factors controlling the distribution and speciation of these potentially biolimiting micronutrients will provide critical information for understanding their role in regulating the structure and productivity of marine ecosystems, the efficiency of these ecosystems at sequestering carbon dioxide and their sensitivity to climate change. This proposal requests funds to acquire components to assemble a flow injection analysis (FIA)/sequence injection analysis (SIA) system designed for the chemiluminescent, colorimetric and fluorometric detection of bioactive trace metals and reactive oxygen species in seawater. These analytical approaches have proven to be cost effective, high throughput, precise techniques for near real-time determinations of dissolved trace metals in seawater that can meet the requirements of analytically intense programs like GEOTRACES.