Isotope identifier EnvirovisION

Nitrogen is an element of great paradox. Despite it constituting the most readily available gas in the Earth’s atmosphere most organisms have no ability to consume it, yet it is essential for their survival. Instead, organisms utilize reactive forms of nitrogen which are produced by a range of processes. With such dependency the bioavailability of reactive nitrogen is a major limiting factor on the productivity of an ecosystem. Following the development of inorganic fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels through the industrial revolution, humans have been contributing more reactive nitrogen into the global nitrogen cycle for the last 100 years enabling us to feed our growing population but with significant consequences for our environment. When reactive nitrogen is lost to the environment, numerous environmental problems such as smog, acidification, climate change, and eutrophication can result. To understand the mechanisms leading to these negative outcomes stable isotope analysis is incredibly powerful for elucidating the sources, sinks and cycling of nitrogen throughout terrestrial, atmospheric and marine ecosystems. EnvirovisION is a specially configured stable isotope analyzer for the isotopic analysis of atmospheric N2O and dissolved nitrate samples, and has been enhanced to utilize the new titanium (III) reduction method* making isotopic analysis of dissolved nitrate in environmental samples simpler and faster than ever before. Highlights of the EnvirovisION Great flexibility Supports any nitrate method you choose to run as well as greenhouse gas analysis