Work

A low‐blank photochemical extraction system for concentration and isotopic analyses of marine dissolved organic carbon

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: We report the development of a modified, low blank, ultraviolet oxidation and vacuum line system to convert marine dissolved organic carbon into carbon dioxide for concentration, Δ14C, and δ13C analyses. The system performs quantitatively and precisely with preservation of isotopic signatures (± 3‰) based on additions of pure International Atomic Energy Agency standards. Analytical blank reduction from < 1.5 µM to 0.2 µM enabled a decreased detection limit from a sample size of ~650 mL to 30 mL using a simple dilution technique. Combined with advances in analyses of ultra‐small (2 µgC) samples using accelerator mass spectrometry, the technique provides a means for measuring Δ14C values in samples that were previously not analyzable.

Source: Limnology and Oceanography Methods

DOI: 10.4319/lom.2007.5.174

Authors: Steven R. Beaupré, Ellen R. M. Druffel, Sheila Griffin

Institution: University of California, Irvine

Language: English

Topic: Marine Plankton and Biogeochemistry

Subfield: Oceanography

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation

Award: Decade Time Scale Variability of Radiocarbon, and the CO2 Cycle in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Using Banded Corals