CAS-Climate: Acquisition of an Ultraportable Field CO2 Isotope Analyzer and a Soil Gas Flux Chamber to Investigate CO2 Efflux and Stable Carbon Isotopes in Carbon Cycling Research

了解生态系统如何“呼吸”，或在土壤和大气之间交换二氧化碳（CO2），对碳循环研究至关重要。一个重要的组成部分是了解CO2从生态系统中流失的速度;然而，仅仅测量浓度和通量并不能区分生态系统不同组成部分的贡献。例如，从土壤移动到大气中的二氧化碳分子可能是由于地质或生物过程，后者可以包括土壤微生物，植物根系或两者的混合物的呼吸。通过评估土壤中CO2的同位素组成，我们可以揭示控制CO2产生的起源和潜在过程的信息。购买CO2同位素分析仪将使我们能够更好地了解NSF资助的各种生态系统研究中的碳循环，并将支持正在进行的教育和推广活动。该项目旨在购买一台同位素分析仪沿着外围设备，以测量各种NSF资助的研究项目中13 C-CO2的流出量和同位素特征。土壤CO2通量和碳同位素13 C-CO2是理解CO2产生的基本过程的补充信息，并提供从局部到全球尺度的碳循环的见解。新的技术进步允许在原位和连续的方式进行这些测量，以更好地了解土壤CO2生产和排放的时间动态。购买一台CO2同位素分析仪将使我们能够更好地了解NSF资助的多个生态系统项目中的碳循环，并将支持正在进行的教育和推广活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Understanding how ecosystems “breath”, or exchange carbon dioxide (CO2) between the soil and the atmosphere, is critical to carbon cycle research. An important component is to understand the rate at which CO2 is lost from the ecosystem; however, measuring concentrations and fluxes alone cannot discern contributions from different components of the ecosystem. For example, a molecule of carbon dioxide that moves from the soil to the atmosphere may be due to geogenic or biological processes, and the latter can include respiration of soil microorganisms, plant roots, or a mixture of both. By evaluating the isotopic composition of the CO2 in soils, we can uncover information about the origin and underlying processes that control CO2 production. The purchase of a CO2 Isotope Analyzer will allow us to gain a better understanding of the carbon cycle in NSF-funded research across a variety of ecosystems and will support ongoing educational and outreach activities. This project seeks to purchase an isotope analyzer along with peripherals to perform measurements of the efflux and isotopic signature of 13C-CO2 across a variety of NSF-funded research projects. Soil CO2 fluxes and 13C-CO2 are complementary information to understand the underlying processes of CO2 production and provide insights on carbon cycling from local to global scales. New technological advances allow to perform these measurements in situ and in a continuous way to better understand the temporal dynamics of soil CO2 production and efflux. The purchase of a CO2 Isotope Analyzer will allow us to gain a better understanding of the carbon cycle in multiple NSF-funded projects across a variety of ecosystems and will support ongoing educational and outreach activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.