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MILLER INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER Miller Fellow Focus: Alex Thompson MILLER INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER Fall 2005 Miller Fellow Focus: Alex Thompson Second year Miller Fellow Alex atmospheric non-methane Thompson is an atmospheric chemist hydrocarbons and halocarbons. She working with Prof. Ronald Amundson applied this analysis to very clean air in the Department of Environmental (from the Arctic and the Southern Science, Policy and Management. Ocean), and polluted air (from Toronto and Auckland) in order to How do human activities impact the understand emission patterns and chemistry of the atmosphere? What atmospheric processing, i.e. mixing are the interactions between the and photochemistry. After her Earth’s surface and the atmosphere? doctorate, Alex recognised that the How do these interactions impact the future of global environmental change climate and vice versa? These research involves understanding earth questions are the motivation behind system interfaces, often requiring a Alex’s research. More specifically, multidisciplinary approach. So she Alex is interested in using isotopes to came to UC Berkeley to work with probe the interface between the lower soil scientist and isotope geochemist atmosphere and the oceans, Prof. Ronald Amundson (ESPM). cryosphere, and biosphere. Isotopes They chose to investigate nitrous address the contribution of each of an element have only very small oxide. production pathway using the total differences in their chemical and 15N/14N and 18O/16O content of nitrous physical properties. Their relative Nitrous oxide lasts in the atmosphere oxide or its precursors as a diagnostic. sensitivity or insensitivity to various for a long time (~120 years) and has The problem is that bulk isotope processes allow isotope ratios to be 300 times the global warming signatures are not sufficiently distinct powerful tracers in many areas of potential of CO making it an 2 or well enough defined to differentiate natural science research, including extremely influential greenhouse gas. between production pathways. earth and atmospheric science. Alex Ice core records and contemporary Fortunately, Prof. Kristie Boering uses stable (i.e. non-radioactive) measurements show that nitrous oxide (Chemistry Department) recently isotopes of ubiquitous elements on levels have increased significantly pioneered a new analytical method Earth, e.g. C, N, and O, to investigate since pre-industrial times and are that allows for measurement of the the production and processing of continuing to rise. This is due to position specific 15N/14N content of the atmospheric trace gases. growing emissions, probably brought linear nitrous oxide molecule (NNO). about by the extensive fertilization of Since production of nitrous oxide Alex’s doctoral research involved soils in agriculture. The major sources involves making or breaking of N-N developing techniques of measuring of nitrous oxide are nitrification and N-O bonds, each step with compound specific 13C/12C ratios of (oxidation of ammonium to nitrate) and denitrification (reduction of continued on page 2 nitrate to dinitrogen), processes Deadlines To Note: carried out by microorganisms in soils and oceans. Because nitrous oxide is INSIDE THIS EDITION Thursday, September 15 a byproduct of these processes, a Miller Fellowship nominations due better understanding of their Miller Fellow Focus ............. 1 Note new deadline date! biochemical mechanisms is needed to mitigate emissions of nitrous oxide. Next Steps.....................3 Thursday, September 22 There has been a large effort to Awards & Honors............. 3 Miller Professor applications due Symposium 2005................. 4 - - Monday, September 26 NO3 NO2 NO N2O N2 Announcements...................5 Visiting Miller Professor nominations due Denitrification Publications ........................ 6 The Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science University of California, Berkeley associated isotopic fractionation, the 15N/14N of each N position is a powerful probe of production mechanism. To understand nitrous oxide emissions it is useful to isolate and study distinct production pathways. Alex worked with microbial ecologist Prof. Mary Firestone (ESPM) using denitrifying cell cultures to produce nitrous oxide under controlled conditions. The resulting nitrous oxide was then analysed for position specific 15N/14N content in the Boering lab. The results were unexpected and striking. They found not only did the total 15N/14N content of nitrous oxide change significantly with substrate concentration, but the difference between the position specific 15N/14N content of nitrous oxide did also. These observations have important implications on both global and molecular scales. First, since substrate (in this case nitrate) concentrations vary significantly in the Earth system, from pristine landscapes to polluted waters and agricultural soils, the isotopic signature of global nitrous oxide emissions can be expected to vary. Thus, this must be considered with regard to the global nitrous oxide isotope budget and in the interpretation of isotopic Ship Track: January 11-February 28, 2005 signals of nitrous oxide over time, for example in ice cores or firn air. Second, the position specific isotope dissolved inorganic carbon into particulate organic dependence helps to constrain the chemistry of nitrous carbon (POC, i.e. cell bodies) and particulate inorganic oxide production and its enzyme catalysis mechanism, carbon (PIC, i.e. CaCO ). POC and PIC then sink, either which is currently very poorly understood. 3 to remineralize and be cycled back to the surface as dissolved inorganic carbon, or to become ocean In the second year of her Miller fellowship, Alex had sediment, essentially a carbon sink. Thus, ocean depth the opportunity to delve into oceanography with a study profiles of POC and PIC can tell us a lot about oceanic of the effect of increased atmospheric CO on ocean 2 carbon cycling and the fate of CO . This study involved biogeochemistry with Dr. Jim Bishop (LBNL). The role 2 a five week oceanography cruise, from Punta Arenas, of the oceans with regard to atmospheric CO is 2 Chile to Fortaleza, Brazil going from a stormy area of enormous: the oceans absorb ~92 PgC/yr and emit ~90 high biological activity (Southern Ocean) to one of PgC/yr, each flux representing approximately 12% of virtually no biological activity (tropics). At every half- the entire carbon content of the atmosphere. Physical degree latitude, Alex determined ocean depth profiles and biological processes control oceanic CO uptake or 2 of POC and PIC, using traditional water filtration emission. Where there is significant biological activity methods, optics (light attenuation and scattering), and the ocean has a net uptake of CO . This is due to 2 continuing the development of a novel method using photosynthesis by phytoplankton, which converts polarized light to detect CaCO3. Sampling was achieved by lowering a “rosette” of sample bottles and the optical instruments to the bottom – at times up to 6000m deep – tripping the sample bottles on the way up, and then filtering the water once onboard. The filter samples are to be analysed for POC and PIC, and also a suite of elements including P, B, Fe, further illuminating nutrient cycling and biological activity. As this goes to press, sample and data analysis is underway. In the future, Alex hopes to continue to reconcile her love of exploring the oceans, polar areas, and mountains with pertinent research into critical questions related to the Earth system and the changing atmosphere. Alex sampling water in the South Atlantic (55°S) The Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science University of California, Berkeley Page 2 Next Steps The Miller Institute congratulates outgoing Miller Fellows on their next endeavors. YI CUI ELCHANAN MOSSEL Assistant Professor Assistant Professor Department of Chemistry Department of Statistics Stanford University UC Berkeley CARLOS D’ANDREA STÉPHANE BODIN Resident Fellow Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Mathematics Department of Molecular and Cell Biology University of Barcelona, Spain UC Berkeley SAURABH JHA RAGHUVEER PARTHASARATHY Postdoctoral Fellow Assistant Professor Department of Astronomy Department of Chemistry UC Berkeley University of Oregon (following one year of postdoctoral research at YOUNJOON JUNG the UC Berkeley Department of Chemistry) Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Chemistry ALICE SHAPLEY Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Assistant Professor Department of Astronomy ELENA MANTOVAN Princeton University Assistant Professor Department of Mathematics HUAN TRAN California Institute of Technology Postdoctoral Fellow Space Sciences Laboratory UC Berkeley Awards & Honors The following Miller Institute members were awarded the The following Miller Institute members were named to Alfred Sloan Fellowship in 2005: the National Academy of Sciences: Venkatesan Guruswami, Miller Fellow 2001-02 Steven Louie, Miller Professor 1986-87, Fall 1995 Tamas Hausel, Miller Fellow 1999-2002 Aziz Sancar, Visiting Miller Professor Spring 2002 Elchanan Mossel, Miller Fellow 2002-05 Wallace Sargent, Visiting Miller Professor Spring 1993 Yasunori Nomura, Miller Fellow 2000-02 Gregory Voth, Visiting Miller Professor Fall 2003 Yasunori Nomura, Miller Fellow 2000-02, was presented with the Hellman Family Faculty fund award. Jonathan Feng, Miller Fellow 1995-97, was awarded the Alfred Sloan Fellowship in 2004. Karl Pister, Miller Professor 1962-63, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree
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