One major objective of aquatic microbial ecology is to understand the distribution of microbial populations over space and time and in response to environmental factors. Perhaps more importantly, it is crucial to quantify how those microbial cells affect biogeochemical processes of interest, such as primary production, nitrogen cycling, or the breakdown of pollutants. One valuable approach to link microbial identity to activity is to carry out incubations with stable-isotope-labeled substrates and then quantify the isotope incorporation by individual microbial cells using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). This review summarizes recent efforts in this field, highlights novel methods, describes studies investigating rare metabolisms as well as widespread microbial activity, and hopes to provide a framework to increase the use and capabilities of NanoSIMS for microbial biogeochemical studies in the future.

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