This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This award funds the acquisition of one Picarro L1102-ia analyzer (for wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy), two Thermo Delata V+ mass spectrometers, and one Elementar Isoprime with Dual Inlet and Multiprep systems to replace aging analytical equipment in the stable isotope facility at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO).
These new instruments will allow a broad array of researchers at the LDEO, and elsewhere, to continue their cutting-edge research involving high precision analysis of stable isotopes in water, carbonate samples, and organic samples, including tree-ring cellulose and compound-specific organic extracts.
Furthermore, the new instruments, while supporting existing researchers in climatology, will also new research endeavors in the field of biogeosciences. As currently envisioned, a new LDEO Biogeoscience Research Instrument Cluster would support research projects that serve to catalyze new avenues of collaborative and integrative research in paleoclimatology, hydrology, paleohydrology, paleoceanography, and biology.
The broader impacts involve maintaining a high quality national and international focal point for paleoclimate research as well as an extensive plan to involve a diverse cadre of undergraduate and graduate students in the research of the Observatory. There are plans to leverage another NSF-funded activity -- the Secondary School Field Research Program (SSFRP) -- to provide hand-on research and mentoring for dozens of underrepresented minority high-school students drawn from New York City borough high schools.
Award ID: AGS 09-59148 Report for Period: 5/1/10 - 4/30/12 Report Submitted on: May 5, 2012 Principal Investigators: Dr. Braddock K. Linsley, Dr. Peter deMenocal, Dr. Peter Schlosser, Dr. Kevin Anchukaitis and Dr. Beizhan Yan. Organization: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY Title: MRI Project Title" Acquisition of Stable Isotope Instrumentation for High Precision Paleoclimatic and Environmental Research at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Project Activities and Objectives: This MRI equipment award was to purchase new stable isotope mass spectrometers for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Stable Isotope Laboratory to analyze hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopic ratio’s in water, carbonate and organic samples. The primary objectives of research using these instruments will be paleoclimate reconstruction (temperature, salinity, global ice volume) on time-scales ranging from sub-seasonal to millions of years, modern water mass tracing in the ocean, groundwater source identification, and rainfall-ocean salinity studies. Outcomes: Four mass spectrometer systems were purchased and installed: [1] An Elementar Isoprime dual-inlet mass spectrometer with Multiprep for carbon and oxygen isotopic analysis of carbonate samples (including corals, foraminifera, pteropods, and bulk sediment samples) [2] A Thermo Delta V+ mass spectrometer with Conflo and TC/EA configured for the analysis of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopic analysis of bulk and compound-specific organics and tree ring samples. [3] A Picarro L1102-ia wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectrometer (WS-CRDS) for the analysis hydrogen and oxygen isotopic analyses of water samples. This instrument is also field-deployable. [4] A Thermo Delta V+ mass spectrometer with Kiel IV carbonate device and GasBench II for dual-inlet and continuous flow analysis of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotopic analysis of carbonate and water samples. All of the above stable isotope mass spectrometers have been installed in temporary laboratories at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The Elementar Isoprime (system #1) and Thermo Delta V+ mass spectrometer for analysis of organic samples (system # 2) were installed during the summer 2011. The Picarro instrument (system #3) was installed in December 2011. The Thermo Delta V+ mass spectrometer with Kiel IV carbonate device was installed from January to mid-April 2012. All instruments are performing at or better than specifications on each instrument. In early 2013, all of these instruments will be moved into newly renovated lab space on the 2nd floor of the New Core Laboratory (NCL) on the Lamont campus once renovations are completed in January/February 2013.
