This grant provides partial support of the costs of acquiring a bench-top gas chromatograph - mass spectrometer (GC/MS) for the organic geochemistry laboratory at the Brown University. The PI, Yongsong Huang is an assistant professor at Department of Geological Sciences. In addition to Huang, several other faculties at Geology (Herbert, Prell, Webb, Clemens, Murray and Schultz) and Environmental Studies Program (Hamburg, Ward) at Brown University will have access to the GC/MS for their research. This facility will also contribute significantly to the educational objectives for undergraduate and graduate students. The addition of a bench-top GC/MS will allow convenient identification of organic compounds in sediments, soils and plant samples. The instrument is an important tool for various aspects of organic geochemical research, particularly those involving compound-specific isotope analyses. The identity and purity of organic compounds must be established by structural GC/MS in order for their isotopic measurements to be meaningful. The instrument will also facilitate research collaboration in and outside Brown University. The bench-top GC/MS will be housed in a newly renovated 650 square-foot room, specifically designed to accommodate mass spectrometers and various peripheral devices. Support for this grant is shared between the Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities Program (EAR/IF) and the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE). ***
