MRI: acquisition of a gas chromatograph isotope ratio mass spectrometer for compound-specific isotope analysis

MRI：获取气相色谱同位素比质谱仪用于化合物特异性同位素分析

• 批准号: 2018078
• 负责人: Tripti Bhattacharya
• 金额: $ 30.21万
• 依托单位: Syracuse University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-15 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2018078&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; acquisition; gas; chromatograph; isotope

This award supports the acquisition of a gas chromatograph coupled to an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (GC-IRMS) at Syracuse University (SU). GC-IRMS systems permit the analysis of stable isotopic ratios of hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen in particular classes of organic materials ranging from waxes to amino acids to synthetic organic compounds. By isolating the isotopic signature of a single compound type with known pathways of synthesis, deposition, and degradation, GC-IRMS instrumentation allows us to link isotopic signals to particular chemical, physical, or biological processes. This instrument will therefore enable a broad group of users at SU to generate data that addresses questions of pressing social importance in a variety of fields. For instance, hydrogen isotopic analyses of lipid compounds produced by terrestrial plants can quantify paleoclimatic changes in rainfall. These data can then be used to evaluate the skill of climate models and hone our understanding of the reliability of future projections from these models. Analysis of nitrogen and carbon isotopes in amino acids also have the potential to advance our understanding of ocean ecosystem responses to both past and current global change. The instrument also serves an important educational function, providing undergraduate and graduate students with training in laboratory and analytical skills directly transferrable to STEM careers. Additionally, the GC-IRMS will support ongoing efforts to create summer internship opportunities for underserved K-12 and community college students, providing direct exposure to future career pathways in STEM fields. GC-IRMS techniques combine the chromatographic resolution provided through GC with the precise isotopic measurements provided by mass spectrometry. This type of instrumentation will support ongoing NSF-funded research in paleoclimatology, ecology, and biogeochemistry. For instance, the presence of a GC-IRMS at SU will enable hydrogen isotopic analyses of terrestrial leaf waxes, which will be used to reconstruct monsoon dynamics during past warm intervals in Earth history. Moreeover, nitrogen and carbon isotopic analyses of baleen and carbonate shell-bound organic matter will support reconstructions of trophic webs in marine ecosystems. Additional users at SU and affiliated institutions will use compound-specific isotopic methods to interrogate the controls on the growth of freshwater microbialites, the transformation of pollutants in fluvial systems, and the structure and function of multi-trophic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. The GC-IRMS therefore fulfills a major gap in research infrastructure at Syracuse University and will support the continuation as well as the growth of cutting-edge research across a variety of disciplines of Earth 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.

该奖项支持在雪城大学 (SU) 购买一台与同位素比质谱仪 (GC-IRMS) 联用的气相色谱仪。 GC-IRMS 系统可以分析特定类别的有机材料（从蜡到氨基酸到合成有机化合物）的氢、碳和氮的稳定同位素比率。通过利用已知的合成、沉积和降解途径分离单一化合物类型的同位素特征，GC-IRMS 仪器使我们能够将同位素信号与特定的化学、物理或生物过程联系起来。因此，该工具将使 SU 的广大用户能够生成数据，解决各个领域紧迫的社会重要性问题。例如，对陆地植物产生的脂质化合物进行氢同位素分析可以量化降雨的古气候变化。然后，这些数据可用于评估气候模型的技能，并加深我们对这些模型未来预测可靠性的理解。对氨基酸中氮和碳同位素的分析也有可能增进我们对海洋生态系统对过去和当前全球变化的反应的理解。该仪器还具有重要的教育功能，为本科生和研究生提供可直接转移到 STEM 职业的实验室和分析技能培训。此外，GC-IRMS 将支持持续努力，为服务不足的 K-12 和社区学院学生创造暑期实习机会，让他们直接接触 STEM 领域的未来职业道路。 GC-IRMS 技术将 GC 提供的色谱分辨率与质谱提供的精确同位素测量相结合。此类仪器将支持正在进行的国家科学基金会资助的古气候学、生态学和生物地球化学研究。例如，SU 的 GC-IRMS 将使陆地叶蜡的氢同位素分析成为可能，这将用于重建地球历史上过去温暖时期的季风动力学。此外，鲸须和碳酸盐贝壳有机物的氮和碳同位素分析将支持海洋生态系统营养网的重建。 SU 和附属机构的其他用户将使用特定化合物同位素方法来研究对淡水微生物生长的控制、河流系统中污染物的转化以及陆地生态系统中多营养相互作用的结构和功能。因此，GC-IRMS 填补了雪城大学研究基础设施的重大空白，并将支持地球科学各个学科的前沿研究的继续和发展。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为是值得的通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来获得支持。

项目成果

Expansion and Intensification of the North American Monsoon During the Pliocene

上新世北美季风的扩展和加强

• DOI: 10.1029/2022av000757
• 发表时间: 2022-12
• 期刊: AGU Advances
• 影响因子: 8.4
• 作者: Bhattacharya, Tripti;Feng, Ran;Tierney, Jessica E.;Rubbelke, Claire;Burls, Natalie;Knapp, Scott;Fu, Minmin
• 通讯作者: Fu, Minmin