The two new gas-source stable isotope-ratio mass spectrometers will be used by Earth Sciences professors Elizabeth Webb and Neil Banerjee to shed further light on the evolution of life and climate change through Earth’s history and will help promote research in resource development and sustainable agriculture.

“The modern carbon cycle has gained a lot of attention because of the link between increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global warming; however, a complete understanding of the role of carbon in the evolution of life, the Earth’s crust and the current atmosphere is still lacking,” says Webb.

This new, ultra-sensitive equipment will allow researchers to perform finer micro-sampling of small, precious and rare samples without compromising precision and accuracy. By reconstructing chemical reactions between water, minerals and climate conditions that link biological and geochemical cycles throughout history, they will be able to generate understandings of the evolution of early life in ancient oceans and to understand continental climate change in the recent and ancient past. This knowledge is a prerequisite to understanding the impact of human activity on global climate change and ocean chemistry.

CFI has provided nearly $400,000 for the equipment, which will be cornerstones of the Facility for Stable Isotope Analysis at Western. By answering questions related to complex biogeochemical processes, this research will also make contributions to resource exploration and recovery an d to environmental protection efforts.

“CFI’s support for this equipment represents a quantum-leap beyond technology currently available in Canada,” says Banerjee.

A complete list of LOF projects, by university, can be found at: www.innovation.ca.