Modernizing environmental analysis: Mass spectrometry as a tool for investigating and answering salient environmental questions

The analysis of environmental samples has long been hindered by plagued by the inherent complexity of the associated matrices and strong potential for reporting false negatives or improperly reporting concentrations due to compartmentalization within a sample. Attempts to mitigate pollution through the introduction of policy necessitates that all of the considered data be generated by modern methods to ensure optimal benefit and effect. However, many current-use methods are based on decades old technologies which report detection limits no longer relevant to the present environmental concerns.;The purpose of this research was to develop and validate modern analytical methods, using state-of-the-art technologies, to better understand the source, occurrence, and fate of common environmental contaminants in the environment. This dissertation is divided into two sections. Section A presents a novel, complimentary method for the source apportionment of atmospheric particulate matter using direct surface analysis by Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), while Section B attempts to push the detection limits of antibiotics in manure and analyze them in a number of sample types. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).