Equipment: MRI: Track 1: Acquisition of an isotope ratio mass spectrometer for biogeochemical and ecological education and research in an era of global change

该合同将扩大加州大学圣巴巴拉分校海洋科学研究所（MSI）的分析能力，通过获得新的稳定同位素比质谱仪和三个配套外围仪器，包括对温室气体一氧化二氮（N2O）和小有机分子的先进化学分析。目前，这些测量只能在少数实验室进行。新仪器所在的MSI分析实验室是一个拥有45年成功运营历史的设施，由两名全职专业技术人员组成。这次收购将促进跨部门的互动和跨学科的环境科学，通过促进一个空间，来自整个校园的教师和学生可以使用类似的方法进行互动，而不是被部门孤立。UCSB既是一所西班牙裔服务机构（HSI），也是一所亚裔美国人、美洲原住民和太平洋岛民服务机构（AANAPISI），有几个活跃的本科生研究项目反映了这一独特的地位。该仪器将为改善整个校园的本科和研究生水平的STEM教育做出重大贡献，并确保学生在全球STEM劳动力中具有竞争力。加州大学圣巴巴拉分校领导着两个海洋国家科学基金会长期生态研究（LTER）项目：圣巴巴拉海岸（SBC）和莫奥利珊瑚礁（MCR）。新的仪器将允许LTER的研究人员在生态和生物地球化学全球变化研究的前沿解决许多问题。通过SBC-LTER，研究人员将使用氨基酸的化合物特异性同位素分析（CSIA），通过确定支持珊瑚礁的初级生产来源，进一步解开海带森林食物网。这些测量还将深入了解海洋热浪后，渔业和非本地和南部亲缘物种的长期增加如何影响物质流动、食物网结构和营养级联。MCR-LTER的研究人员将使用氨基酸中的CSIA来创建改进的陆地径流时空模型，以更好地了解人为养分输入如何控制珊瑚礁动态。N2O同位素分析与15N示踪剂实验相结合，可以追踪N2O的来源，N2O是一种强大的温室气体，通过沿海上升流系统排放到大气中。硫同位素将使海洋有机物硫化的开创性研究成为可能，这可能有助于海洋中的碳保存和封存。氢同位素能力将有助于利用CSIA追踪蓝藻碳氢化合物的命运。最后，在陆地水生生态系统中，研究人员将量化通过微生物代谢与直接光氧化进行有机物降解的程度。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

This award will expand the analytical capability of the University of California, Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute (MSI) to include advanced chemical analyses of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) and small organic molecules through the acquisition of a new stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer and three supporting peripheral instruments. Currently, these measurements can only be made in a small number of laboratories. The MSI Analytical Laboratory, where the new instrumentation will be housed, is a facility with a 45-year history of successful operation staffed by two full-time professional technicians. This acquisition will catalyze cross-department interactions and interdisciplinary environmental science by facilitating a space where faculty and students from across campus using similar methods can interact without being siloed by departments. UCSB is both an Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), with several active undergraduate research initiatives that reflect this unique status. The instrumentation will contribute significantly to improving STEM education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels across campus and ensure that students are trained to be competitive in the global STEM workforce. UCSB leads two marine NSF Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) programs: Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) and Mo’orea Coral Reef (MCR). The new instrumentation will allow LTER researchers to tackle numerous questions at the leading edge of ecological and biogeochemical global change research. Through the SBC-LTER, researchers will use compound-specific isotope analyses (CSIA) of amino acids to further unravel kelp forest food webs by determining the sources of primary production supporting reefs. These measurements will also provide insights into how material flows, food web structure, and trophic cascades are impacted by fishing and long-term increases in non-native and southern-affinity species following ocean heat waves. Researchers with the MCR-LTER will use CSIA in amino acids to create improved spatial and temporal models of land-based runoff to better understand how anthropogenic nutrient inputs control reef dynamics. N2O isotopomer analysis in combination with 15N tracer experiments will allow tracking the sources of N2O, a powerful greenhouse gas, that are emitted to the atmosphere in coastal upwelling systems. Sulfur isotopes will enable ground-breaking research on marine organic matter sulfurization, which may contribute to carbon preservation and sequestration in the ocean. Hydrogen isotope capability will facilitate tracing the fate of cyanobacterial hydrocarbons using CSIA. Finally, in terrestrial aquatic ecosystems, researchers will quantify the degree to which organic matter degradation is conducted through microbial metabolism versus direct photooxidation.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.