Isothermal Micro-Calorimetry: Applications in Environmental Science

所有的化学和生物过程都会产生或消耗热量，这可以用热量计来测量。测量产热的速率和模式提供了有关微生物代谢的基本信息。所要求的仪器是一种等温微量热计，可在精确控制的温度下测量小样品体积的产热速率。它将用于监测各种环境样品中的热流，包括土壤/沉积物和实验室培养物。这些样品中产生的热量产生或消耗模式将有助于（1）预测营养物质向环境的释放，以及（2）描述微生物对土壤/沉积物温室气体排放的控制。此外，从热量计收集的数据将用于开发和验证一个全新的理论框架，该框架将微生物群落内能量的生产和分配与土壤微生物在环境相关但可变的条件下进行重要化学转化的速率联系起来。等温微量热仪将为加拿大人提供高质量的数据，为环境法规和指导方针提供信息，并改进环境模型。

All chemical and biological processes produce or consume heat, which can be measured using a calorimeter. Measuring the rates and patterns of heat production provides fundamental information about the microbial metabolisms involved. The requested instrument, an isothermal micro-calorimeter, measures the rate of heat production in small sample volumes at a precisely controlled temperature. It will be used to monitor heat flows in a variety of environmental samples, including soils/sediments, and laboratory cultures. The patterns of heat production or consumption produced in these samples will help (1) predict the release of nutrients to the environment, and (2) delineate the microbial controls on greenhouse gas emissions from soils/sediments. Moreover, the data collected from the calorimeter will be used to develop and validate an entirely new theoretical framework that links the production and allocation of energy within microbial communities to the rates at which soil microorganisms carry out important chemical transformations under environmentally relevant, but variable, conditions. The isothermal micro-calorimeter will benefit Canadians by providing high quality data to inform environmental regulations and guidelines, and improve environmental models.