This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Granted funds will support a new laboratory technician position in the stable isotope laboratory of the Department of Geology and Planetary Science, University of Pittsburgh over a three year period. The technician will be responsible for the maintenance, operation and student training on two existing stable isotope ratio mass spectrometers (SIRMS) in the laboratory. With technical assistance in the lab, the PIs will be freed to focus their efforts on: 1) research on the interaction of the hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere using innovative stable isotope tracers (ä15N, ä18O, Ä17O, ä13C, ä34S); 2) development of new methods for using mass independent Ä17O-NO3 analyses to examine the influence of atmospheric nitrate on water quality, forest and estuarine health; 3) development of high throughput water isotope (ä18O, äD) capabilities to support and streamline hydrologic investigations of natural and human-impacted catchments and contemporary lake systems; and 4) utilization of stable isotope proxies (carbonate ä18O and ä13C, organic matter ä15N and ä13C) for high resolution Holocene climate reconstructions and investigations of the role of environmental change in cultural development and human-environment interactions.
