Expanding the Role of Carbon Isotopes in Marine and Organic Geochemical Research

沉积环境中的碳流路径可以利用生物标记物的特性和分布结合化合物特有的同位素分析来识别。影响单个化合物的同位素组成的因素可以用影响整体有机质的已知过程来解释。然而，这种方法是有限的，而且缺乏现代环境中单个化合物的数据。这项工作的目的是在分子水平上描述生物地球化学过程的同位素后果，特别是那些与水柱中有机物的产生和降解有关的过程。最终目标是扩大碳同位素在海洋和有机地球化学研究中的作用。为实现这一目标提出了三项努力。1)首先是在宾夕法尼亚州立大学建立有机化合物同位素分析设施。2)该设施将用于继续在P.I.S研究生学习期间开始的研究，特别是表征控制单个化合物的同位素组成和分布的过程。3)PSU的设施将用于促进研讨会和对IRM-GCMS操作和性能的实验室比较。此外，它还将使进一步的分析开发成为可能，如URN-GCMS和相关方法。

Pathways of carbon-flow in depositional environments can be identified using biomarker identities and distributions in conjunction with compound-specific isotope analyses. The factors influencing the isotopic composition of individual compounds can be interpreted in terms of known processes affecting bulk organic matter. However, this approach is limited and there is a lack of data for individual compounds in modern environments. This work aims to characterize isotopic consequences of biogeochemical processes at the molecular level, specifically for those processes associated with the production and degradation of organic matter in the water column. The ultimate goal is to expand the role of carbon isotopes in marine and organic geochemical research. Three efforts towards this goal are proposed. 1) The first is to establish a facility for the isotopic analyses of organic compounds at Pennsylvania State University. 2) This facility will be used to continue research started during the P.I.'s graduate studies, specifically, to characterize processes that control the isotopic compositions and distributions of individual compounds. 3) The facility at PSU will be used to foster workshops and iterlaboratory comparisons of irm-GCMS operations and performance. In addition, it will enable further analytical developments if urn-GCMS and related methods.