Acquisition of Instrumentation for Development of a Laboratory in Environmental Biogeochemistry and Groundwater Analyses

University Of Mississippi, University MS

Investigators

Abstract

A suite of instruments for a new laboratory (The University of Mississippi Laboratory for Environmental Biogeochemistry and Groundwater Analyses) will be used for studies of the biogeochemistry of groundwater. Instrumentation includes: (1) a Finnigan Delta Plus isotope ratio mass spectrophotometer, (2) a Perkin Elmer Optima 3300 DV inductively coupled plasma spectrometer, (3) a Dionex GP 50 ion chromatograph, and (4) a sample preparation line for isotope samples. Analysis of the acquisition, utilization, and transformation of water through natural systems is at the core of many fields within the environmental sciences, including hydrology, biogeochemistry, microbe and plant physiology, and ecology. A laboratory in environmental biogeochemistry and groundwater analyses in the Center for Water and Wetland Resources at The University of Mississippi Field Station will complement a growing program on The University of Mississippi (UM) Oxford campus in: (1) plant ecology, microbial ecology, and conservation biology in the Department of Biology; (2) hydrology and geochemistry in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering; and (3) chemical ecology and groundwater remediation in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The equipment will be used for analyses of soils, groundwater, sediments, and porewater in research and training of undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and visiting scientist collaborators at The University of Mississippi. The UM laboratory in environmental biogeochemistry and groundwater analyses will be a catalyst for both faculty research and research training for students pursuing careers in any area of environmental science. It will attract talented individuals of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds to careers in the environmental sciences.