Decreasing the amount of material required for gross biological carbon and nitrogen flux measurements by more than 12 orders of magnitude using ion implantation isotope dilution and stable isotope measurements by NanoSIMS
EMSL Project ID
49547
Abstract
Advances in mass spectrometry coupled to stable isotope probing techniques have profoundly influenced our understanding of process level biology and biogeochemistry. When stable isotope compounds and bulk phase isotope ratio mass spectrometers became affordable at the university level, techniques to measure gross rates of biogeochemical processes became widely used. These technological advances, in turn, led to the discovery of biogeochemically important processes such as concurrent nitrate production and consumption in old growth forests which couldn’t be quantified without the technology of stable isotope pool dilution experiments. With the development of high resolution stable isotope imaging (e.g. NanoSIMS) and other more common techniques, we stand poised to develop methods to make sable isotope dilution experiments at the sub-micron scale which will decrease the quantity of material needed for these measurements by more than 12 orders of magnitude compared to commonly used bulk methods. This cutting-edge advance will enable BER initiatives, by progressing isotope imaging mass spectrometry beyond the realm of qualitative analysis and into the realm of absolute quantification.
Project Details
Start Date
2017-02-23
End Date
2018-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members