Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (SILVER)

The SILVER facility is fully equipped to approach biological, ecosystem and environmental research questions based on stable isotope techniques, interfacing front ends to isotope ratio mass spectrometers to measure bulk and compound-specific stable isotope ratios of hydrogen (H, D), carbon (¹³C, ¹²C), nitrogen (¹⁵N, ¹⁴N) and oxygen (¹⁸O, ¹⁶O) in water, trace gases, inorganic and organic compounds and more complex materials. Three continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometers are interfaced to a range of sample preparation lines, including an elemental analyzer, a high-temperature pyrolysis system, a head space gas sampler and equilibration line, a trace gas pre-concentrator, HPLC and gas chromatography.