Natural abundance compound specific isotope analysis of lipids: tracing anthropogenic impacts and responses

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Scientific investigations of the sources, cycling and fates of organic compounds in the environment are a crucial component of a wide range of interdisciplinary research questions that are the forefront of current research into the interactions between human society and our environment. These research questions span a wide range from: i) understanding microbial roles in controlling the persistence, impacts and remediation of organic contaminants on human and ecosystem health in the fields of environmental geochemistry, contaminant hydrogeology, microbiology and bioremediation; to ii) understanding the fundamental role played by microbial communities in global biogeochemical cycles and their influence in geological weathering, biogeochemical nutrient cycling and climate change; to iii) understanding human responses and development as they interact with their environment by new research combining scientific approaches in geochemistry with archeology to elucidate human development. My research has played a leading role in developing new approaches in Compound Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA), and in particular has identified that CSIA of lipids can be applied to a wide range of questions concerning human impacts on our environment that may negatively effect human and ecosystem health, as well as providing unique insights into the archeological record of human responses to our environment. This proposal will apply CSIA lipids to the range of topics listed above to contribute to our understanding of each of these topics and as such adding to the overall understanding of human interactions with our environment such that we can plan for the future by understanding the microbial processes and their potential fundamental role in crucial environmental questions concerning impacts and remediation of contaminants and climate change, and by understanding the geoarcheological record of human responses to environmental change to contribute to our ability tot predict our future responses.