MRI: Acquisition of a gas chromatograph and isotope ratio mass spectrometer interface for compound-specific isotope analyses at the University of North Carolina Wilmington

单个化合物的同位素分析是一项技术，很快被证明是生物地球化学研究中最具开创性的进展之一。该奖项为北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校（UNCW）海洋科学中心（CMS）的早期职业研究人员和终身教职员工提供资金，以获得用于化合物特异性同位素分析的仪器。该仪器将有助于UNCW和CMS的教学和研究任务。将利用该仪器的研究项目包括：重建加勒比海沿岸和美国东南部的古气候，大气污染的来源，改善史前农业和土地利用的识别和特征，了解极地食物网，重建史前海啸，风暴和相对海平面的变化，以及调查葡萄牙埃斯特雷马杜拉旧石器时代晚更新世沉积物的地质考古。这些pi将把新的仪器整合到UNCW的各种研究生和本科生课程中。例如，稳定同位素地球化学课程的学生将从假设的地层剖面中分析有机化合物的标准混合物，以推断生态和气候随时间的变化，而高级有机化学技术课程的学生将检查橄榄油样品的潜在掺假，展示该技术的实际应用。该仪器的收购也将促进与附近机构的合作，如北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校，东卡罗莱纳大学，北卡罗来纳州立大学和西卡罗莱纳大学。具体来说，该合同为北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校（UNCW）四个学术部门的研究人员提供了一套气相色谱仪（GC）、GC燃烧接口和流量控制器，这些设备将与现有的Thermo Scientific DELTA V Plus质谱仪相连接。这些升级将允许对各种各样的单个化合物进行碳、氮和氢同位素分析。所要求的仪器将扩大UNCW稳定同位素实验室（SIL）和该区域研究人员的能力，因为该州的研究人员目前没有这类仪器。unwsil是位于CMS的核心研究和培训设施，目前有30多名来自人类学、生物学、化学、生态学、地理学、地质学和海洋科学等不同学科的学生、博士后和教师使用。所要求的仪器将扩展SIL的分析能力，并为研究人员的机构内和机构间合作者及其学生的积极和未来的研究课题提供新的方法。

Isotopic analysis of individual chemical compounds is a technique that is quickly proving to be one of the most groundbreaking advances in biogeochemical research. This award provides funding to early career researchers and tenured faculty at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Center for Marine Science (CMS) to acquire an instrument for compound-specific isotopic analyses. The instrumentation will contribute to the teaching and research missions of both UNCW and CMS. Research projects that will utilize the instrumentation include: reconstructing paleoclimate of the circum-Caribbean and southeastern U.S, sourcing of atmospheric pollution, improving identification and characterization of prehistoric agriculture and land use, understanding polar food webs, reconstructing prehistoric tsunamis, storms, and changes in relative sea level, and investigating geoarchaeology of late Pleistocene deposits in the Paleolithic of Portuguese Estremadura. The PIs will incorporate the new instrumentation into a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses at UNCW. For example, students in the stable isotope geochemistry course will analyze standard mixtures of organic compounds from hypothetical stratigraphic profiles to infer ecological and climate change through time, while students in advanced organic chemistry techniques courses will examine potential adulteration of olive oil samples, demonstrating real-world application of this technique. Acquisition of this instrumentation will also facilitate collaboration with nearby institutions such as UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, and Western Carolina University.Specifically, this award provides for the acquisition of a gas chromatograph (GC), GC combustion interface, and flow controller to be interfaced with an existing Thermo Scientific DELTA V Plus mass spectrometer by researchers spanning four academic departments at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). These upgrades will allow for the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotopic analyses of a wide variety of individual chemical compounds. The requested instrument will expand the capabilities of the UNCW stable isotope laboratory (SIL) and researchers within this region, given there is currently no instrument of this kind accessible to researchers in the state. The UNCW SIL is a core research and training facility located in at CMS and is currently used by more than 30 students, postdocs, and faculty from a wide variety of disciplines including anthropology, biology, chemistry, ecology, geography, geology, and marine science. The requested instrumentation will expand the analytical capabilities of the SIL and facilitate novel approaches to the active and future research topics of the researchers' intra- and inter-institutional collaborators, and their students.