We measure carbon and oxygen isotopes in air and ice to better understand Earth systems, including the carbon cycle, past climate, and methane. We excel at measurements of (1) δ13C and δ18O atmospheric carbon dioxide, (2) δ13C of atmospheric methane and local sources of elevated methane, and (3) water from ice cores as well as environmental waters. We provide our analytical services to scientists around the world.
Bruce Vaughn
Lab manager
Bradley Markle
Faculty fellow
Sylvia Michel
Assistant lab manager
Valerie Morris
Research staff
John Ortega
Research staff
Kevin Rozmiarek
Research staff
Kerstin Braun
Research staff
Reid Clark
Research staff
Panorama of the INSTAAR Stable Isotope Lab
Contact & services
Bruce Vaughn Lab phone: 303 492-5495
Come visit! We are in the southeast corner of SEEC (Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Complex) at 4001 Discovery Dr.
- Contact us with questions you may have about your analysis.
- Please email us notification and an electronic sample list PRIOR to shipping your samples.
Who we are
The lab team, left to right: Bruce Vaughn, Brad Markle, Sylvia Michel, Valerie Morris, Reid Clark, Chloe Brashear, Seth Kurtz, Kevin Rozmiarek
Blog headlines
- SIL survives the covid times.
- SIL finds solidarity at GGMT.
- SIL is flying skyward!
Research
The INSTAAR Stable Isotope Lab is a focal point of interdisciplinary research programs: we partner with a global array of researchers from a variety of academic institutions and governmental agencies. Isotopes provide a unique tool because they indicate, record, integrate, and trace processes in the global environment.
Stable Isotope Lab by the numbers
5
Full-Time Employees
+ students & postdocs
30+
Years
of operations
36+
Publications
in Nature or Science
180+
Publications
assoc. with the lab
800
Square Feet
of freezer space
at -20°C/-4°F
3000
Gallons
of liquid nitrogen
on demand
8000+
Square Feet
of lab space
25,000+
Analyses
per year
Instrumentation
Our equipment includes
- Dual-inlet and continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometers
- Laser-based cavity ring-down spectrometers.
Overview video (90 sec)
Watch an 90 second overview of the Stable Isotope Lab. The video will automatically start at the 2:30 mark. This overview is part of a tour of two INSTAAR labs. The first part of the video gives an overview of the Laboratory for AMS Radiocarbon Preparation and Research.
Partners
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We work closely with NOAA’s Global Monitoring Lab, providing critical isotopic constraints on the sources and sinks of major greenhouse gases and related carbon- climate feedback processes—constraints which are not otherwise available from observations of trace gas concentration alone.
National Science Foundation (NSF). Many of our projects have been supported under the leadership of the National Science Foundation.
Collaborators
We also collaborate with colleagues at many universities, government labs, and other science organizations and communities around the world.