The Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry (CSIB) on the University of California, Berkeley campus, is an analytical facility established as a University education, research, training and service unit beginning in January 2000. Facility operations are overseen by an operations manager and spectroscopist (Wenbo Yang), the faculty director (Todd Dawson), an associate researcher (Stefania Mambelli), and a steering committee. Student assistants help in daily operations and administrative support is provided by the Department of Integrative Biology.
The center provides high precision, state-of-the-art, and instrumentation for analyzing the stable isotope composition of a diverse array of materials (e.g., plant and animal tissues samples, geological and soil samples, water and water extracts, atmospheric gasses, etc.) as well as space for purifying, extracting and preparing sample material for analysis. The center also serves as a focal point for research and training for many of our programs at U.C. Berkeley (e.g., in Biology, Ecology, Paleontology, Anthropology, Geography, Chemistry, Atmospheric and Soil sciences). The specialized equipment housed in the facility serves students, post-docs and faculty both on and off campus. Over 20 Berkeley faculty and 150+ post-doctoral and student researchers have used or are using the center’s services. In addition, there are many off-campus users including the U.S. Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.
Located in rooms 1138 and 1140 of the Valley Life Sciences Building, the Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry maintains and operates four Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers (IRMS) and several interfaces for the measurement of the isotopic composition of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur in biological and geological samples, gases (biogenic and atmospheric), water and chemical mixtures, and three optical based systems for the measurement of stable isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen in water and water vapor. In addition to the instrument laboratory, the center houses a fully equipped sample extraction and preparation laboratory for handling a full range of sample types.
Clockwise from top: IsoPrime100, Thermo Delta V Plus and GV IsoPrime
L2140-i Analyzer (Picarro): High-resolution WS- CR Spectroscopy system for measurements of O and D/H in liquid and vapor water samples.
Liquid-Water Isotope Analyzer (Los Gatos Research Inc.): High-resolution direct-absorption spectroscopy system for measurements of O and D/H in liquid water samples.
For inquires concerning use of the facility, please contact Wenbo Yang or Stefania Mambelli at stableisotopes@berkeley.edu
For other questions, please contact the facility Director, Todd Dawson, at tdawson@berkeley.edu