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Published on: January 22, 2018
Isotopic ((13)C) analysis of dissolved organic carbon in stream water using an elemental analyzer coupled to a stable
H Gandhi1, T N Wiegner, P H Ostrom
1Department of Geological Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. gandhiha@msu.edu
Abstract:
A technique for measurement of the stable isotope composition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in stream water, using an elemental analyzer (EA) coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS), is described. Stream water samples were concentrated by rotary evaporation, acidified to remove dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and dried in silver cups prior to analysis. Precision was evaluated with standards (alanine and humic acid), and with stream water samples with varying (13)C enrichment. Standards and samples were also prepared in sealed quartz tubes for high-temperature combustion (HTC) and analyzed by dual inlet for comparison. The delta(13)C values of natural abundance standards and samples measured by the two techniques differed by
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