Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-13T11:03:17.150Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

RADIOCARBON IN DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON BY UV OXIDATION: PROCEDURES AND BLANK CHARACTERIZATION AT NOSAMS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2020

Li Xu Open the ORCID record for Li Xu [Opens in a new window] ,
Mark L Roberts ,
Kathryn L Elder Open the ORCID record for Kathryn L Elder [Opens in a new window] ,
Mark D Kurz ,
Ann P McNichol ,
Christopher M Reddy ,
Collin P Ward  and
Ulrich M Hanke
Li Xu*
Affiliation:
NOSAMS Laboratory, Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Mark L Roberts
Affiliation:
NOSAMS Laboratory, Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Kathryn L Elder
Affiliation:
NOSAMS Laboratory, Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Mark D Kurz
Affiliation:
NOSAMS Laboratory, Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Ann P McNichol
Affiliation:
Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Christopher M Reddy
Affiliation:
Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Collin P Ward
Affiliation:
Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
Ulrich M Hanke
Affiliation:
NOSAMS Laboratory, Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, 02543USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: lxu@whoi.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study describes a procedural blank assessment of the ultraviolet photochemical oxidation (UV oxidation) method that is used to measure carbon isotopes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility (NOSAMS). A retrospective compilation of Fm and δ13C results for secondary standards (OX-II, glycine) between 2009 and 2018 indicated that a revised blank correction was required to bring results in line with accepted values. The application of a best-fit mass-balance correction yielded a procedural blank of 22.0 ± 6.0 µg C with Fm of 0.30 ± 0.20 and δ13C of –32.0 ± 3.0‰ for this period, which was notably higher and more variable than previously reported. Changes to the procedure, specifically elimination of higher organic carbon reagents and improved sample and reactor handling, reduced the blank to 11.0 ± 2.75 µg C, with Fm of 0.14 ± 0.10 and δ13C of –31.0 ± 5.5‰. A thorough determination of the entire sample processing blank is required to ensure accurate isotopic compositions of seawater DOC using the UV oxidation method. Additional efforts are needed to further reduce the procedural blank so that smaller DOC samples can be analyzed, and to increase sample throughput.

Keywords

blankdissolved organic carbonradiocarbonUV oxidation
Type
Technical Note
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 357 - 374
Check for updates
Creative Commons
This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States
Copyright
© Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Armstrong, FAJ, Williams, PM, Strickland, JDH. 1966. Photo-oxidation of organic matter in sea water by ultra-violet radiation, analytical and other applications. Nature 211:481–483.10.1038/211481a0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaupré, SR, Druffel, ERM, Griffin, S. 2007. A low-blank photochemical extraction system for concentration and isotopic analyses of marine dissolved organic matter. Limnol. Oceanogr. Methods 5:174–184.10.4319/lom.2007.5.174CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burr, GS, Jull, AJT. 2009. Accelerator mass spectrometry for radiocarbon research. In: Gross, ML, Caprioli, R, editors. Encyclopedia of Mass Spectrometry. Vol. 5. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 656–669.Google Scholar
Druffel, ERM, Bauer, JE. 2000. Radiocarbon distributions in Southern Ocean dissolved and particulate organic matter. Geophysical Research Letters 27:1495–1498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Druffel, ERM, Griffin, S, Wang, N, Garcia, NG, McNichol, AP, Key, RM, Walker, BW. 2019. Dissolved organic radiocarbon in the central Pacific Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters. doi: 10.1029/2019GL083149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Follett, CL, Repeta, DJ, Rothman, DH, Xu, L, Santinelli, C. 2014. Hidden cycle of dissolved organic carbon in the deep ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(47): 16706-16711.10.1073/pnas.1407445111CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gospodinova, K, McNichol, AP, Gagnon, A, Shah, S. 2016. Rapid extraction of dissolved inorganic carbon from seawater and groundwater samples for radiocarbon dating. Limol. Ocean Methods 14:24–30. doi: 10.1002/lom3.10066.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, S, Beaupré, SR, Druffel, ERM. 2010. An alternate method of diluting dissolved organic carbon seawater samples for 14C analysis. Radiocarbon. 52(2):1224–1229.10.1017/S0033822200046300CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, DR, McNichol, AP, Xu, L, McLaughlin, FA, MacDonald, RW, Brown, KA, Eglinton, TIE. 2012. Carbon dynamics in the western Arctic Ocean: Insights from full-depth carbon profiles of DIC, DOC, and POC. Biogeosciences. 9:1217-1224. doi: 10.5194/bg-9-1217-1224 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanke, UM, Wacker, L, Haghipour, N, Schmidt, M, Eglinton, TI, McIntyre, C P. 2017. Comprehensive radiocarbon analysis of benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs) derived from pyrogenic carbon in environmental samples. Radiocarbon 59(4):1103–1116. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2017.44 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansell, DA, Carlson, CA, Repeta, DJ, Schlitzer, R. 2009. Dissolved organic matter in the ocean: a controversy stimulates new insights. Oceanography 22:202–211.10.5670/oceanog.2009.109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedges, JI. 1992. Global biogeochemical cycles: progress and problems. Mar. Chem. 39:67–93.10.1016/0304-4203(92)90096-SCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hedges, JI. 2002a. Sedimentary organic matter preservation and atmospheric O2 regulation. In: Gianguzza, A, Pelizzetti, E, Sammartano, S, editors. Chemistry of marine water and sediments. Environmental Science. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.Google Scholar
Hedges, JI. 2002b. Why dissolved organics matter. biogeochemistry of marine dissolved organic matter. 1-33. 10.1016/B978-012323841-2/50003-8.10.1016/B978-012323841-2/50003-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kujawinski, EB. 2011. The impact of microbial metabolism on marine dissolved organic matter. Annual Review of Marine Science 3:567–599. doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-120308-081003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, SQ, McIntyre, CP, Bernasconi, SM, Früh-Green, G, Voss, BM, Eglinton, TI, Wacker, L. 2016. Rapid 14C Analysis of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Non-Saline Waters. Radiocarbon. 1-11; doi: 10.1017/RDC.2016.17 Google Scholar
Lewis, CB, Walker, BD, Druffel, ERM. 2020. Isotopic and optical heterogeneity of solid phase extracted marine dissolved organic carbon. Marine Chemistry 219:103752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntyre, CP, Wacker, L, Haghipour, N, Blattmann, TM, Fahrni, S, Usman, M, Eglinton, TI, Synal, HA. 2017. Online 13C and 14C Gas measurements by EA-IRMS-AMS at ETH Zürich. Radiocarbon 59(3):893–903.10.1017/RDC.2016.68CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNichol, AP, Aluwihare, L. 2007. The power of radiocarbon in biogeochemical studies of the marine carbon cycle: Insights from studies of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC). Chemical Reviews 107:443–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minor, EC, McNichol, AP, Zigah, PK, Werne, JP. 2020. Corrigendum to “An Investigation of size-fractionated organic matter from Lake Superior and a tributary stream using radiocarbon, stable isotopes, and NMR” by Zigah, P.K., Minor, E.C., Abdullah, H.A.N., Werne, J.P. and Hatcher, P.G.: A reanalysis using recent radiocarbon blank information [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 127 (2014) 264–284] Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 269:711–718. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2019.11.006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moran, MA, Kujawinski, EB, Stubbins, A, Fatland, R., Aluwihare, LI, Buchan, A, Crump, BC, Dorrestein, PC, Dyhrman, ST, Hess, NJ, et al. 2016. Deciphering ocean carbon in a changing world. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113(12):3143–3151. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1514645113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, ML, Burton, J, Elder, K, Longworth, B, McIntyre, C, von Reden, K, Han, B, Rosenheim, B, Jenkins, W, Galutschek, E, et al. 2010. A high-performance 14C accelerator mass spectrometry system. Radiocarbon 52(2):228–235. doi: 10.1017/S0033822200045252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, ML, Elder, K, Jenkins, W, Gagnon, A, Xu, L, Hlavenka, J, Longworth, B. 2019. 14C Blank Corrections for 25–100 μg Samples at the National Ocean Sciences AMS Laboratory. Radiocarbon 61(5):1403–1411. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2019.74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shah, SR, Pearson, A. 2007. Ultra-microscale (5–25µg C) analysis of individual lipids by 14C AMS: Assessment and correction for sample processing blanks. Radiocarbon 49:69–82.10.1017/S0033822200041904CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, BD, Beaupre, SB, Griffin, S, Druffel, ERM. 2019. UV photochemical oxidation and extraction of marine dissolved organic carbon at UC Irvine: status, surprises, and methodological recommendations. Radiocarbon 61(5):1603–1617. doi: 10.1017/rdc.2019.9 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, PM, Oeschger, H, Kinney, P. 1969. Natural radiocarbon activity of dissolved organic carbon in North-East Pacific Ocean. Nature 224:256–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, PM, Druffel, ERM. 1987. Radiocarbon in dissolved organic matter in the central North Pacific Ocean. Nature 330: 246–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xue, Y, Ge, T, Wang, X. 2015. An effective method of UV-oxidation of dissolved organic carbon in natural waters for radiocarbon analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry. Journal of Ocean University of China 14:989–993.10.1007/s11802-015-2935-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar