Temperature dependence of isotopic fractionation in the CO2 -O2 isotope exchange reaction.

RATIONALE: Oxygen isotope exchange between O2 and CO2 in the presence of heated platinum (Pt) is an established technique for determining the δ17 O value of CO2 . However, there is not yet a consensus on the associated fractionation factors at the steady state. METHODS: We determined experimentally the steady-state α17 and α18 fractionation factors for Pt-catalyzed CO2 -O2 oxygen isotope exchange at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1200°C. For comparison, the theoretical α18 equilibrium exchange values reported by Richet et al. (1997) have been updated using the direct sum method for CO2 and the corresponding α17 values were determined. Finally, we examined whether the steady-state fractionation factors depend on the isotopic composition of the reactants, by using CO2 and O2 differing in δ18 O value from -66 ‰ to +4 ‰. RESULTS: The experimentally determined steady-state fractionation factors α17 and α18 are lower than those obtained from the updated theoretical calculations (of CO2 -O2 isotope exchange under equilibrium conditions) by 0.0024 ± 0.0001 and 0.0048 ± 0.0002, respectively. The offset is not due to scale incompatibilities between isotope measurements of O2 and CO2 nor to the neglect of non-Born-Oppenheimer effects in the calculations. There is a crossover temperature at which enrichment in the minor isotopes switches from CO2 to O2 . The direct sum evaluation yields a θ value of ~0.54, i.e. higher than the canonical range maximum for a mass-dependent fractionation process. CONCLUSIONS: Updated theoretical values of α18 for equilibrium isotope exchange are lower than those derived from previous work by Richet et al. (1997). The direct sum evaluation for CO2 yields θ values higher than the canonical range maximum for mass-dependent fractionation processes. This demonstrates the need to include anharmonic effects in the calculation and definition of mass-dependent fractionation processes for poly-atomic molecules. The discrepancy between the theory and the experimental α17 and α18 values may be due to thermal diffusion associated with the temperature gradient in the reactor.

Publisher Correction: Optical clumped isotope thermometry of carbon dioxide.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Laser Absorption Spectroscopy of Rare and Doubly Substituted Carbon Dioxide Isotopologues.

Unambiguous detection of the clumped carbon dioxide isotopologue 13C16O18O with isotope ratio mass spectrometry is difficult due to isobaric interference on m/z = 47. We present an analytical technique based on direct absorption laser spectroscopy for precise, direct and simultaneous detection of all isotopologues involved in the isotope exchange reaction 12C16O2 + 13C16O18O ↔ 12C16O18O + 13C16O2 and of 12C16O17O. The achieved precision of 2 × 10-5 for the 13C16O18O/13C16O2 and 12C16O18O/12C16O2 isotopologue ratios allows the equilibrium constant K of the isotope exchange reaction to be determined with an external reproducibility of better than 2 × 10-5 (1σ) after 9 reference-sample comparisons. Each comparison requires 7 min. The isotopic composition of the pure gas can be simultaneously analyzed with a precision of 0.05‰ (1σ) for δ13C and δ18O and 0.15‰ (1σ) for δ17O. The instrument deploys two interband cascade lasers (ICL) with center wavelengths of 4.3 and 4.4 µm. A custom-built optical cell has been designed for single pass and multi pass optical paths (path length ratio 1:100); it allows simultaneous detection of rare and abundant isotopologues. The setup is capable to analyze pure CO2 samples of ∼100 µmol.

Optical clumped isotope thermometry of carbon dioxide.

Simultaneous analysis of carbon dioxide isotopologues involved in the isotope exchange between the doubly substituted 13C16O18O molecule and 12C16O2 has become an exciting new tool for geochemical, atmospheric and paleoclimatic research with applications ranging from stratospheric chemistry to carbonate-based geothermometry studies. Full exploitation of this isotope proxy and thermometer is limited due to time consuming and costly analysis using mass spectrometric instrumentation. Here, we present an all optical clumped CO2 isotopologue thermometer with capability for rapid analysis and simplified sample preparation. The current development also provides the option for analysis of additional multiply-substituted isotopologues, such as 12C18O2. Since the instrument unambiguously measures all isotopologues of the 12C16O2 + 13C16O18O [Formula: see text] 13C16O2 + 12C16O18O exchange, its equilibrium constant and the corresponding temperature are measured directly. Being essentially independent of the isotope composition of the calibration gas, an uncalibrated working reference is sufficient and usage of international calibration standards is obsolete. Other isotopologues and molecules can be accessed using the methodology, opening up new avenues in isotope research. Here we demonstrate the high-precision performance of the instrument with first gas temperature measurements of carbon dioxide samples from geothermal sources.

H2 clumped isotope measurements at natural isotopic abundances.

RATIONALE: Molecular hydrogen (H2 ) is an important gas for atmospheric chemistry, and an indirect greenhouse gas due to its reaction with OH. The isotopic composition of H2 (δD) has been used to investigate its atmospheric budget; here we add a new observable, the clumped isotopic signature ΔDD, to the tools that can be used to study the global cycle of H2 . METHODS: A method for determining ΔDD in H2 was developed using the high-resolution MAT 253-Ultra isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Thermo Fisher). The HH, HD and DD abundances are quantified at medium resolution (M/ΔM ≈ 6000), which is sufficient for HD+ and DD+ to be distinguished from H3 + and H2 D+ , respectively. The method involves sequential measurement of isotopologues, and DD is measured using an ion counter. For verification, catalytic ΔDD equilibration experiments were performed at temperatures of up to 850°C. RESULTS: The typical precision obtained for ΔDD is 2-6‰, close to the theoretical counting statistics limit, and adequate for detecting the expected natural variations. Compatibility and medium-term reproducibility are consistent with the precision values. The method was validated using temperature equilibration experiments, which showed a dependence of ΔDD on temperature as expected form theoretical calculations. CONCLUSIONS: We have established a method for determining ΔDD in H2 at natural isotopic abundances, with a precision that is adequate for observing the expected variations in atmospheric and other natural H2 . This method opens the road to new research on the natural H2 cycle.

Nonlinear Frequency-Sweep Correction of Tunable Electromagnetic Sources.

Tunable electromagnetic (EM) sources, such as voltage-controlled oscillators, micro-electromechanical systems, or diode lasers are often required to be linear during frequency-sweep modulation. In many cases, it might also be sufficient that the degree of the nonlinearity can be well controlled. Without further efforts, these conditions are rarely achieved using free-running sources. Based on a predistortion voltage ramp, we develop in this paper a simple and universal method that minimizes the nonlinear frequency response of tunable EM sources. Using a current-driven quantum cascade laser as an example, we demonstrate that the nonlinearity can easily be reduced by a factor of ten when using a single distortion parameter . In the investigation of the IR absorption spectrum of ozone at 10 , an even better reduction of the frequency-scale error by two orders of magnitude is obtained by using the predistortion method to generate an essentially purely quadratic sweep frequency dependence that can be inverted easily to retrieve precise molecular line positions. After having tested our method on a variety of EM sources, we anticipate a wide range of applications in a variety of fields.

Modified Sagnac interferometer for contact-free length measurement of a direct absorption cell.

Accurate path length measurements in absorption cells are recurrent requirements in quantitative molecular absorption spectroscopy. A new twin path laser interferometer for length measurements in a simple direct path absorption geometry is presented, along with a full uncertainty budget. The path in an absorption cell is determined by measuring the optical path length change due to the diminution of the refractive index when the cell originally filled with nitrogen gas is evacuated. The performance of the instrument based on a stabilized HeNe laser is verified by comparison with the results of direct mechanical length measurements of a roughly 45 mm long, specially designed absorption cell. Due to a resolution of about 1/300 of a HeNe fringe, an expanded (coverage factor k=2) uncertainty of 16 µm in the length measurement is achieved, providing an expanded relative uncertainty of 3.6·10⁻4 for the length of our test absorption cell. This value is about 8 times lower than what has been reported previously. The instrument will be useful for precision measurements of absorption cross sections of strong absorbers which require short light paths, such as ozone, halogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds in the UV.

Preparation and accurate measurement of pure ozone.

Preparation of high purity ozone as well as precise and accurate measurement of its pressure are metrological requirements that are difficult to meet due to ozone decomposition occurring in pressure sensors. The most stable and precise transducer heads are heated and, therefore, prone to accelerated ozone decomposition, limiting measurement accuracy and compromising purity. Here, we describe a vacuum system and a method for ozone production, suitable to accurately determine the pressure of pure ozone by avoiding the problem of decomposition. We use an inert gas in a particularly designed buffer volume and can thus achieve high measurement accuracy and negligible degradation of ozone with purities of 99.8% or better. The high degree of purity is ensured by comprehensive compositional analyses of ozone samples. The method may also be applied to other reactive gases.

Isotope evidence for ozone formation on surfaces.

Ozone formation in the gas phase is associated with a large and unusual isotope effect of widespread use in geochemistry and climate research. Little is known whether similar nonstandard mass dependent fractionations also occur in other recombination reactions. Here we report on the pressure and temperature dependence of the isotopic composition of ozone formed by electric discharge in molecular oxygen. Isotope signatures at low pressures show a standard mass dependent depletion, their magnitudes strongly depending on temperature. Our analysis confirms the formation of ozone at Pyrex reactor walls with an atom recombination coefficient gamma = (0.4 ± 0.1)% at room temperature and slightly higher values at lower temperatures. Thus, although neglected so far, wall assisted ozone formation is an essential part of oxygen plasma chemistry and it could also provide a mechanism explaining the presence of ozone on icy satellites. Recombination reactions on the surface are not likely to show the isotope anomalies associated with ozone formation in the gas phase.

Unambiguous identification of (17)O containing ozone isotopomers for symmetry selective detection.

Symmetry selective detection of the (17)O containing ozone isotopomers (16)O(16)O(17)O and (16)O(17)O(16)O requires the unambiguous identification of absorption lines. We report high resolution tuneable diode laser spectrometer measurements of (17)O containing ozone isotopomers in the R-branch of the nu3 band and present a purely experimental technique that discriminates between (16)O(16)O(17)O and (16)O(17)O(16)O. Around 1040 cm(-1), differences in line positions of (16)O(17)O(16)O upto 4 x 10(-3) cm(-1) between our measurements and present spectroscopic database records (HITRAN 2004) are found.