Acquisition of an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer for Interdisciplinary Geochemical and Microbiological Research and Education

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo MI

Investigators

Abstract

EAR-0446565 Koretsky Inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is a robust and reliable method of obtaining elemental abundance data from aqueous samples at a wide range of concentrations, including major (i.e. %) and trace (ppm-ppb) levels. Acquisition of an ICP-OES system by the Department of Geosciences at Western Michigan University (WMU) will tremendously enhance a wide range of geochemical and microbiological investigations currently underway, and will profoundly expand the potential for future research efforts. WMU is a student-centered research university (Carnegie category one) with a commitment to student engagement in original research at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This grant in support of an ICP-OES system directly enhances faculty and student research at WMU across a diverse range of geologic, chemical and biological disciplines, including projects currently funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Some of the specific projects that will immediately benefit from this instrumentation include: (1) laboratory studies of metal adsorption on complex mineral assemblages and field studies of metal accumulation at macrofaunal burrow walls, (2) investigating interactions between dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria and dissolved metals and metal-organic complexes, (3) studies of the relationships between aqueous geochemistry and methane efflux in solid waste landfills, (4) investigations of the molecular mechanism of copper-transporting P-type APTases, (5) national and international field studies of ground water quality and salinization processes and (6) studies of the role of metal-regulated ion pumps in bacterial metabolism. These studies will result in improved understanding of socially-relevant problems including: predicting heavy metal transport and bioavailability in the environment, mechanisms leading to greenhouse gas emission from landfills, practices leading to salinization of agricultural land, groundwater sanitation, and the functionality of proteins implicated in the development of Wilson disease.