The acquisition of a specialized sulfur isotope mass-spectrometer, construction of a custom designed, semi-automated sample preparation-fluorination system, and support for early..

33 S和36 S的测量结果（除了更传统的32 S和34 S测量结果之外）大大扩展了我们对早期地球环境的了解。 这些测量进一步使人们能够发展特定大气化学和生物过程的新同位素指纹。然而，这一领域的进步受到缓慢和时间密集型的样品吞吐量，因此，这些测量的适用性，以更广泛的地球科学相关的问题仍然没有得到解决。为了克服这些限制，需要新的技术。 该合同将支持对Thermo Scientific MAT 253气体源质谱仪的改进，半自动样品纯化-纯化系统的构建和实施，以及技术支持的工资。 该系统除了半自动化之外，还将提供更高的吞吐能力，从而减少每个样本的人工小时。 对质谱仪的修改也将允许更低的背景和更好的精确度。 总之，这些变化将允许生成更大，更精确的数据集，这反过来又使我们能够提出一系列令人兴奋的新科学问题。 其中，活跃的研究领域包括：破译不同微生物过程对整个海洋同位素记录的贡献，以及在实验中使用次要硫同位素作为示踪剂（例如，无机、微生物和动物）和天然（例如，重金属污染场地、微生物垫）系统。

The inclusion of 33S and 36S measurements (in addition to the more traditionally measured 32S and 34S) greatly expanded our picture of early Earth environments. These measurements further allowed for the development of new isotopic fingerprints of specific atmospheric chemistries and biological processes. However, the advancement of this field has suffered from slow and time-intensive sample throughput, and as such, the applicability of these measurements to a wider range of Earth science related questions remains unresolved. In order to overcome these limitations, new technologies are required. This award will support modifications on a Thermo Scientific MAT 253 gas source mass-spectrometer, the construction and implementation of a semi-automated sample preparation-fluorination system, and salary for technical support. This system will provide higher throughput capability in addition to being semi-automated, allowing for less person-hours per sample. Modifications to the mass spectrometer will also allow for lower backgrounds and better precisions. Together, these changes will allow for the generation of larger, more precise data sets, which will in turn enable us to ask a suite of exciting new scientific questions. Among these, areas of active research include: deciphering the contribution of different microbial processes to an overall marine isotope record and using the minor sulfur isotopes as tracers in experimental (e.g., inorganic, microbial, and animal) and natural (e.g., heavy metal contaminated sites, microbial mats) systems.