Upgrade of a continuous-flow mass spectrometer for automated analyses of isotope ratios of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide

这个奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。该奖项将支持对现有IRMS的升级，以允许更多的分析能力。增强的能力将用于跟踪城市进程对碳和氮池的贡献以及碳和氮池之间的贡献。所要求的是甲烷-一氧化二氮预浓缩器装置、GC自动取样器(设计用于与预浓缩器一起使用)、特定的GC柱以及运输和培训费用。升级将应用于现有的仪器设备。目前有足够的空间和资源。将实施按费用计算的时间表，以抵消维护和运营成本。学校将为学生和学生安排优先次序，并在有需要时实施日程安排系统。PI将管理该设施的新用户培训。PI将使用新功能来跟踪城市环境中的N2O通量。根据土地利用、农业/城市活动和污水处理工艺的不同，这些指标有很大差异。通过拟议的收购，样品吞吐量可以大幅增加。此外，还将利用同位素测量来了解自然(呼吸)和人为(化石燃料燃烧)过程中的生物地球化学通量。未来的研究方向包括使用同位素追踪沿海海洋的营养输入和不同植物类型的二氧化碳通量。这次升级的一个主要影响将是样品处理能力的大幅提高，这将对所有用户产生连锁反应，特别是允许研究生获得他们需要的数据，以更快地完成他们的论文研究。少数族裔学生将通过几个UC-I项目得到很好的服务。私人投资机构还与非营利性海洋研究所合作，该研究所为K-12活动提供了渠道。研究工作的成果不仅将在文献和会议上传播，而且将对公共实体和政府机构产生直接的效用。***

0930000Townsend-Small"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." This award will support upgrades to an existing IRMS to allow additional analytical capabilities. The enhanced capabilities will be used to track contributions from urban processes into and between carbon and nitrogen pools. Requested is a methane-nitrous oxide preconcentrator unit, GC autosampler (designed to work with the preconcentrator), a specific GC column, and shipping and training costs. The upgrade will be applied to existing instrumentation. Adequate space and resources currently exist. A fee-based schedule will be implemented to offset maintenance and operation costs. Prioritization will be given to PIs and students and a scheduling system will be implemented if needed. The PIs will manage the facility new user training. The PIs will use the new capabilities to track N2O fluxes in urban settings. These have been shown to vary considerably based on land use, agricultural/urban activities, and sewage treatment processes. Sample throughput can be increased substantially from the proposed acquisition. In additional isotopic measurments will be used to understand biogeochemical fluxes from both natural (respiration) and anthropogenic (fossil fuel combustion) processes. Future research directions include using isotopes to trace nutrient inputs to the coastal ocean and CO2 fluxes from different plant types. One main impact of this upgrade will be a substantial increase in sample processing capabilities which will have a ripple effect for all users, particularly allowing graduate students to obtain the data they need to more quickly finish their theses research. Minority students will be well-served through several UC-I programs. The PIs also work with the non-profit Ocean Institute which provides an avenue for K-12 outreach. Results from research efforts will not only be disseminated in the literature and at meetings, but will have a direct utility for public entities and government agencies. ***