We support interdisciplinary investigations of soil and aquatic habitats by offering scientific consultation, student training, and a broad range of instrumentation and approaches for determining stable isotopic ratios of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen. Our commitment is to scientific merit and publication of the stable isotope ratio measurements generated by our combined thought, time, resources, and facilities.
Our facility was established with funding from the EU structural and investment funds. We charge at-cost prices for analyses to cover consumables. For the time we invest into providing each isotope value, our academic staff therefore prefers to participate as collaborators and co-authors for all projects, conference abstracts, publications, etc. that report data generated from our instrumentation. We’re also keen to assist with data interpretation and writing manuscripts, services that you don’t typically receive from commercial labs. In summary, we primarily contribute our knowledge, experience, and machine-time to research projects that advance a significant scientific agenda.
The SoWa Stable Isotope Facility is located in České Budějovice, Czechia within the framework of the Soil & Water Research Infrastructure, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences. Initiated in February 2018, the facility currently provides the following measurements:
Analysis protocols currently in development include:
Protocols for each analysis are linked to the parameters below.
Analyte | δ13C | δ15N | δ 34S | δ18O | δ2H |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solids: CNS or OH | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Alcohols | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Carbonates | ✔ | ✔ | |||
Water | ✔ | ✔ | |||
C1-6 gases | ✔✔ | ✔✔ | |||
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon | ✔ | ||||
Atmospheric CO2 | ✔ | ✔ | |||
N2 , N2O, NO2 , NO3 | ✔ | ✔ | |||
n-alkanes & lipids | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Amino acids | ✔✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Monosaccharides | ✔✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Organic acids | ✔ | ||||
DOM | ✔✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
The SoWa Stable Isotope Facility is equipped with a Thermo ScientificTM 253 PlusTM 10 kV IRMS configured for determining the stable isotopic ratios of C, N, S, O, and H introduced as CO2, N2, SO2, H2, CO, or N2O via continuous flow from the peripheral instruments listed below.
Ongoing and completed projects, grants, & collaborations
Year | Collaborator | Institution | Project | Funding Source | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020-2023 |
Przemysław Wachniew George Melikadze Aurel Persoiu Boris Chubarenko Yurii Nabyvanets |
AGH University of Science and Technology Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of Russian Academy of Sciences National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |
Environmental tracers for the assessment of nitrate contamination of coupled groundwater – surface water systems | IAEA TC Project RER7013 | Ongoing |
2019-present | Vojtek Tlaskal, Anne Daebeler | Institute of Soil Biology & Biogeochemistry, Biology Centre CAS | Methane cycling in peatland sediments | Ongoing | |
2018-present | Gerrit Angst | Biology Centre CAS – ISB/SOWA |
Disentangling the effect of substrate quality on the formation and chemical composition of mineral-protected soil organic matter |
GAČR 19-00533Y |
Soil texture affects the coupling of litter decomposition and soil organic matter formation Ongoing |
2020-present | Mojmir Vasek | Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS | Methane cycling in Rimov Reservoir | Ongoing | |
2020-present | Henry Wu | Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) | Dietary controls on coral fatty acid dynamics | Ongoing | |
2020-present | Andreas Lorke | Universität Koblenz-Landau | The effect of flow velocity on methane production and oxidation in aquatic sediments | Ongoing | |
2019-present | Veronika Jílková | Biology Centre CAS – ISB/SOWA |
SOM contents in the High Artic Soil respiration and priming effect of plant root exudate |
Carbon Sequestration Related to Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in the High Arctic Ongoing |
|
2020-2021 | Daniel Petras | Biology Centre CAS – SOWA | Microbially induced iron, nitrogen and phosphorus co-recycling and transient decoupling in lacustrine ferruginous ecosystems | ||
2020-2021 | Lihini Aluwihare | Univ. California San Diego | Microbial antioxidants as biomarkers of recalcitrant organic matter | CAS MSM200961904 |
Photochemical (UV–vis/H2O2) degradation of carotenoids: Kinetics and molecular end products |
2020-2021 | Carsten Mueller | University of Copenhagen | Effects of simulated wildfires on organic matter | Ongoing | |
2018-2021 | Yuliya Vystavna | Biology Centre CAS – HBU | Recharge time and water isotopes in Šumava lakes | Ongoing | |
2019-2020 | Ivana Veřjiková | Biology Centre CAS – HBU | Reversal roles of predator and prey in the asp/bleak model system | Ongoing | |
2019-present | Tomaš Hajek | University of South Bohemia, Dept. of Experimental Plant Biology | Carbohydrate and phenol biomarkers in Sphagnum peat | Ongoing | |
2019-present | Alica Chroňáková | Biology Centre CAS – ISB/SOWA | Actinomycetes lipidome | Ongoing | |
2019-present | Anne Daebeler | University of Vienna | H2 consumption by bacterial nitrifiers | Ongoing | |
2018-2020 | Hana Šantrůčková & Jolanta Niedzwiecka | Univ. South Bohemia | Carbon use efficiency of 13C-glucose under oxic and anoxic conditions in forest soil | Ongoing |
Our planned instrument constellation and analyses
Name | Role | Phone | Room | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dr. Travis B. Meador | Head of Laboratory | +420 387 775 637 | 206-NB | travis.meador {at} bc.cas.cz |
Mgr. Ljubov Poláková | Head Technician | 205-NB | ljubov.polakova {at} bc.cas.cz | |
Karelys Umbria Salinas | Technician | 131 | karelys.umbria {at} bc.cas.cz | |
Stanislav Jabinski | Ph.D. Student | 205-NB | stanislav.jabinski {at} bc.cas.cz | |
IRMS Lab | a.k.a. “The Luggage” | 240-NB |
Name | Role | Era | Whereabouts | Link, Email |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Sofia Semitsoglou | Postdoc | 2019-2022 | ICRA Catalan Institute for Water Research | |
Laura Nübl | BSc Thesis | 2021-2022 | Linz, Austria |