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Assessing the Blank Carbon Contribution, Isotope Mass Balance, and Kinetic Isotope Fractionation of the Ramped Pyrolysis/Oxidation Instrument at NOSAMS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2017

Jordon D Hemingway ,
Valier V Galy ,
Alan R Gagnon ,
Katherine E Grant ,
Sarah Z Rosengard ,
Guillaume Soulet ,
Prosper K Zigah  and
Ann P McNichol
Jordon D Hemingway*
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Valier V Galy
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Alan R Gagnon
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Katherine E Grant
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Sarah Z Rosengard
Affiliation:
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Guillaume Soulet
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Prosper K Zigah
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Ann P McNichol
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: jhemingway@whoi.edu.
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Abstract

We estimate the blank carbon mass over the course of a typical Ramped PyrOx (RPO) analysis (150–1000°C; 5°C×min–1) to be (3.7±0.6) μg C with an Fm value of 0.555±0.042 and a δ13C value of (–29.0±0.1) ‰ VPDB. Additionally, we provide equations for RPO Fm and δ13C blank corrections, including associated error propagation. By comparing RPO mass-weighted mean and independently measured bulk δ13C values for a compilation of environmental samples and standard reference materials (SRMs), we observe a small yet consistent 13C depletion within the RPO instrument (mean–bulk: μ=–0.8‰; ±1σ=0.9‰; n=66). In contrast, because they are fractionation-corrected by definition, mass-weighted mean Fm values accurately match bulk measurements (mean–bulk: μ=0.005; ±1σ=0.014; n=36). Lastly, we show there exists no significant intra-sample δ13C variability across carbonate SRM peaks, indicating minimal mass-dependent kinetic isotope fractionation during RPO analysis. These data are best explained by a difference in activation energy between 13C- and 12C-containing compounds (13–12∆E) of 0.3–1.8 J×mol–1, indicating that blank and mass-balance corrected RPO δ13C values accurately retain carbon source isotope signals to within 1–2‰.

Keywords

Ramped PyrOxblank assessmentkinetic fractionation
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 59 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 179 - 193
Copyright
© 2017 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

† Current address: Department of Geography, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

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