A CHNS Analyzer for Examining the Biochemical Composition of Marine Organisms

Western Washington University, Bellingham WA

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides funds to aid in purchase of a carbon/hydrogen/nitrogen/sulfur (CHNS) analyzer for the Shannon Point Marine Center of Western Washington University. Because of its location on the Puget Sound basin, the significance of the marine environment and its resources to the local region, and interest on the part of students, the research emphasis at the Center is shifting to more physiologically and biochemically based studies, a shift that will be aided by purchase of the analyser. The instrument will enable study of the input of nitrogen into marine systems from natural sources, agricultural runoff, and other anthropogenic sources. Nitrogen can be an important driver of many processes in the marine environment. Thus, the ability to measure nitrogen concentrations in the oceans and in marine organisms is critical to understanding how these systems function. The CHNS analyzer will be available for use by the five resident researchers the Center, by undergraduate and graduate students and by faculty from the main University campus in Bellingham, WA.