Isotopic signature of solid matrices: MOCA acquires new equipment
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Picture credit - Banner : Roger Job - Lateral view : Héléène Dailly
As part of the Wallonia Plan de Relance and the Biogreen Excellence Platform, the MOCA platform has just acquired a new instrument for measuring the ratios between stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes under the supervision of Prof. Y. Agnan.
In particular, the Elementar Isoprime precisION (IRMS, isotope ratio mass spectrometry) will support a project lead by the Fermes universitaires.
Coupled with an elemental analyser, this equipment determines the isotopic signatures of solid matrices (soil, sediments, plants, etc.) for environmental research aimed at understanding :
- processes, such as monitoring the evolution of organic carbon in soils
- sources, such as identifying sources of nitrogen in atmospheric deposits : nitrates, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, etc
This technique can also be used to :
- monitor food regimes within trophic networks,
- understand the nitrogen cycle,
- or analyse the dynamics of pesticides.