On-line systems for continuous water and gas isotope ratio measurements

Huber, Christof; Leuenberger, Markus (2005). On-line systems for continuous water and gas isotope ratio measurements. Isotopes in environmental and health studies, 41(3), pp. 189-205. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/10256010500229942

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New continuous on-line techniques for water and air extracted from ice cores are developed. Water isotope ratio determination on any of the water phases (water vapour, water, ice) is of great relevance in different research fields, such as climate and paleoclimate studies, geological surveys, and hydrological studies. The conventional techniques for water isotopes are available in different layouts but all of them are rather time-consuming. Here we report new fast on-line techniques that process water as well as ice samples. The analysis time is only ∼5 min per sample which includes equilibration and processing. Measurement precision and accuracy are better than 0.1 ‰ and 1 ‰ for δ18O and δD, respectively, comparable to conventional techniques. The new on-line techniques are able to analyze a wide range of aqueous samples. This allows, for the first time, to make continuous isotope measurements on ice cores. Similarly, continuous and fast analysis of aqueous samples can be of great value for hydrological, geological and perhaps medical applications.

Furthermore, a new technique for the on-line analysis of air isotopes extracted from ice cores is developed. This technique allows rapid analyses with high resolution of the main air components nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Measurement precision is comparable to precisions obtained by conventional techniques. It is now possible to measure δ15N and δ18Oatm over entire ice cores helping to synchronize chronologies, to assess gas age–ice age differences, and to calibrate the paleothermometry for rapid temperature changes. This new on-line air extraction and analyzing technique complements the water methods in an ideal way as it separates the air from the melt-water of an ice sample. The remaining water waste flux can directly be analyzed by the water methods.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Climate and Environmental Physics
UniBE Contributor:	Leuenberger, Markus
Subjects:	500 Science > 530 Physics
ISSN:	1025-6016
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Language:	English
Submitter:	BORIS Import 2
Date Deposited:	24 Aug 2021 08:59
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2023 23:35
Publisher DOI:	10.1080/10256010500229942
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/158560