Isothermal Micro-Calorimetry: Applications in Environmental Science

所有化学和生物过程都会产生或消耗热量，热量可以用量热计测量。测量产热的速率和模式提供了有关微生物代谢的基本信息。所要求的仪器是等温微量热计，在精确控制的温度下测量小样本量的产热率。它将用于监测各种环境样品的热流，包括土壤/沉积物和实验室培养物。这些样品产生或消耗热量的模式将有助于(1)预测向环境释放的营养物质，以及(2)描述微生物对土壤/沉积物温室气体排放的控制。此外，从量热计收集的数据将用于开发和验证一个全新的理论框架，该框架将微生物群落内能量的产生和分配与土壤微生物在环境相关但可变的条件下进行重要化学转化的速率联系起来。等温微量热计将为环境法规和准则提供高质量数据，并改进环境模型，从而使加拿大人受益。

All chemical and biological processes produce or consume heat, which can be measured using a calorimeter. Measuring the rates and patterns of heat production provides fundamental information about the microbial metabolisms involved. The requested instrument, an isothermal micro-calorimeter, measures the rate of heat production in small sample volumes at a precisely controlled temperature. It will be used to monitor heat flows in a variety of environmental samples, including soils/sediments, and laboratory cultures. The patterns of heat production or consumption produced in these samples will help (1) predict the release of nutrients to the environment, and (2) delineate the microbial controls on greenhouse gas emissions from soils/sediments. Moreover, the data collected from the calorimeter will be used to develop and validate an entirely new theoretical framework that links the production and allocation of energy within microbial communities to the rates at which soil microorganisms carry out important chemical transformations under environmentally relevant, but variable, conditions. The isothermal micro-calorimeter will benefit Canadians by providing high quality data to inform environmental regulations and guidelines, and improve environmental models.