Laboratory Space and Key Equipment
The isoprime precisION is our core mass spectrometer that measures stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ³⁴S, δ¹⁸O, δ²H) from gas samples. Sample materials are converted to measurable gases (CO2, N2, SO2, CO, H2) by a peripheral inlet system, then introduced to the IRMS where they are ionised and separated by mass. The integrated centrION interface automatically switches between up to five connected peripherals, including an elemental analyser, GC system, and dual inlet device, while controlling carrier gas flows, dilution, and monitoring gas injection. This enables multi-technique isotope analysis from a single instrument.
The vario PYRO cube converts solid and liquid samples into measurable gases for the IRMS through high-temperature pyrolysis (up to 1,500°C for oxygen/hydrogen) or combustion (up to 1,200°C for carbon/nitrogen/sulphur). Samples are dropped via ball valve into heated reactors where they are converted to CO, H2, N2, CO2, or SO2, then separated by gas chromatography and swept by helium carrier gas through centrION to the precisION IRMS. This enables bulk isotope analysis of diverse materials including soils, plant tissue, minerals, water samples, nitrates, and sulphates.
The iso FLOW GHG processes low-concentration gas samples, e.g., atmospheric greenhouse gases, by cryogenically trapping and concentrating target compounds (CO2, N2O, CH4) from large sample volumes, then separating them by gas chromatography before delivery to the precisION IRMS. Gas samples from flasks or vials are purged through liquid nitrogen-cooled traps that selectively capture target gases while removing interferences. The concentrated gases are released, chromatographically separated, and delivered via centrION to the IRMS for isotope measurement. A furnace converts CH4 to CO2 for carbon isotope analysis. The system supports denitrifier technique for nitrate isotope measurements in aquatic samples and soil extracts.
The GC5 separates complex organic mixtures into individual compounds before isotope analysis, enabling compound-specific measurements rather than bulk analysis. Samples are injected into the Agilent GC where compounds are separated by chromatography, then each compound passes through high-temperature reactors (combustion for δ¹³C/δ¹⁵N, pyrolysis for δ²H/δ¹⁸O) that convert them to CO2, N2, H2, or CO. The converted gases flow through centrION to the precisION IRMS, which measures isotope ratios for each individual compound peak, providing isotopic fingerprints for applications like fatty acid analysis, petroleum characterisation, and forensic investigations.
The SEAL AA3 AutoAnalyzer is a high-resolution continuous flow analyser for automated nutrient testing. We can simultaneously measure multiple analytes including nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate.
The Shimadzu TOC-L with TN measures total carbon (TC), inorganic carbon (IC), total organic carbon (TOC), and non-purgeable organic carbon (NPOC) using NDIR in aqueous samples. The additional TN unit uses catalytic thermal decomposition with chemiluminescence detection to simultaneously measure total nitrogen.
The Teledyne T200U/NOy is a trace-level chemiluminescence analyser designed for measuring reactive nitrogen compounds. We primarily use this system for quantifying soil-atmosphere nitrogen exchange in agricultural and natural ecosystems, where microbial nitrification and denitrification processes release NO, NO₂, and other reactive nitrogen species.
The Airyx ICAD HONO/NO₂ analyser is a spectroscopic instrument for measuring nitrous acid (HONO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This ICAD (Iterative Cavity enhanced DOAS) system uses direct optical absorption spectroscopy in the spectral range between 360 to 390 nm. This allows the unique and characteristic absorption structures of HONO and NO2 to be directly identified and separated from overlapping absorptions like water vapor or allotropic oxygen, providing interference-free measurements without requiring sample drying.
The Protea atmosFIR is a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) multi-gas analyser capable of simultaneously measuring hundreds of different gas species in real-time. Using high-resolution FTIR spectroscopy the system can measure combustion gases (NO, NO2, N2O, SO2, CO, CO2, O2, H2O), acid gases (HCl, NH3), methane, and multiple VOCs simultaneously. We use the atmosFIR to measure trace gas fluxes from chambers or soil cores, providing real-time quantification of multiple nitrogen, carbon, and sulphur species simultaneously without requiring separate analysers for each gas.
The SLS Lab Pro SM Series microbalance is an ultra-high-precision weighing instrument with 22g capacity and 0.001mg (1 microgram) readability for measuring extremely small sample masses. We use the microbalance for precisely weighing small soil samples before and after analysis (enabling calculation of nutrient concentrations and isotope ratios on a mass basis), measuring filter papers for particulate collection, weighing tin/silver capsules for EA-IRMS analysis, and determining water content in small soil cores.