Capacity: FSML: Acquisition of an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer with liquid chromatography and elemental analyzer interfaces at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides funds to purchase a Stable Isotope Ratio Mass spectrometer system at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO). Such instruments are workhorse devices in the Marine science and Ecology fields, as they provide data crucial to understanding such subjects as food webs, nutrient and carbon sources, and carbon cycling. This new instrumentation has significantly lower sample size requirements than the equipment it is replacing, and allows for new measurements of sulfur isotopes at our facility. Together these improvements will allow scientists and students at SkIO to conduct research at finer spatial and temporal resolutions. The new instrument is also ideal for training students, both undergraduate and graduate, in stable isotope analyses by conducting hands on experiments and analyzing their data in rapid fashion. SkIO’s stable isotope facility is a regional hub for such analyses, and while normal practice is to charge users to recover costs for expendables, 10% of the funds accrued in this manner will be used to provide no-cost analyses and data interpretation to undergraduate institutions and regional groups. In this manner a broader range of students will gain direct experience in this field and in ecological marine science studies in general. This project provides funds to purchase a Thermo Delta Q Light Stable isotope Mass Spectrometer capable of Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Sulfur Isotope measurements. Two sample processing interfaces, a LC-Isolink II and an elemental analyzer (EA) with Nano-EA modifications, replace older and non-supported interfaces. The new LC interface will be used to support ongoing and future studies in dissolved organic matter cycling and composition as well as oceanic carbon cycling. The new EA will provide for new research directions, including food web studies using individual micro-zooplankton measurements and compound-specific analyses on HPLC isolates. The facility provides rapid-response measurements to a user base primarily conducting research along the Georgia coast and has also provided services to scientists and students from South America and Europe. The semi-automated nature of the new instruments allows for excellent opportunities for student training and research, therefore funds and instrument time have been set aside for access by underserved groups and institutions. This award by the Division of Biological Infrastructure is supported by the Directorate for Geosciences, Division of Ocean Sciences. 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.