Hydrogen isotope correction for laser instrument measurement bias at low water vapor concentration using conventional isotope analyses: application to measurements from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

A passive method for sampling water in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum for stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses

RATIONALE

Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in water molecules are powerful tools to constrain the dynamics of water cycling within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC). However, the recovery of water from the SPAC requires logistical arrangements and implementation of different time- and cost-consuming techniques in either the field or the laboratory.

METHODS

We developed a passive method to sample water from the three compartments of the SPAC by using a hygroscopic salt of a high water absorbance capacity (CaCl2 ). This method allows either H2 O(V) -H2 O(L) isotope equilibration in the case of infinite water reservoir (atmospheric water vapor (WV)) or quantitative absorption of water from a finite water reservoir (e.g. soil and plants). The water absorbed by CaCl2 was distilled first and subsequently processed for hydrogen and triple oxygen isotope mass spectrometry analyses. The distillation step can be bypassed when employing isotope analytical techniques that are based on equilibration.

RESULTS

Our experiments show that anhydrous CaCl2 absorbs WV of 210 ± 6% and 130 ± 6% of its dry weight from an infinite WV reservoir at relative humidity of 60% and 30%, respectively. Chemical and isotope equilibrations between WV and absorbed water were attained within 3 days at room temperature, enabling the back-calculation of the isotope composition of atmospheric WV. Preliminary experiments to extract water from plant and sand (i.e. finite WV reservoir) demonstrate a quasi-complete recovery of water in these matrices without significant isotope fractionation. The reproducibility of our method is better than 1.6‰, 0.32‰, 0.17‰ and 6‰ per meg for δ2 H, δ18 O, δ17 O and 17 O-excess.

CONCLUSIONS

The CaCl2 -H2 O absorption (passive) method requires very limited logistics in the field facilitating spatial and temporal water vapor/water sampling from atmosphere and soil at low resolution (i.e. average of 3-5 days). Moreover, it allows high sample throughput for the extraction of plant water in the laboratory. The reproducibility of this method is similar to the analytical uncertainty in mass spectrometry analyses.

Range-resolved detection of boundary layer stable water vapor isotopologues using a ground-based 1.98 µm differential absorption LIDAR

This paper presents a first demonstration of range-resolved differential absorption LIDAR (DIAL) measurements of the water vapor main isotopologue H₂ ¹⁶O and the less abundant semi-heavy water isotopologue HD¹⁶O with the aim of determining the isotopic ratio. The presented Water Vapor and Isotope Lidar (WaVIL) instrument is based on a parametric laser source emitting nanosecond pulses at 1.98 µm and a direct-detection receiver utilizing a commercial InGaAs PIN photodiode. Vertical profiles of H₂ ¹⁶O and HD¹⁶O were acquired in the planetary boundary layer in the suburban Paris region up to a range of 1.5 km. For time averaging over 25 min, the achieved precision in the retrieved water vapor mixing ratio is 0.1 g kg^-1 (2.5% relative error) at 0.4 km above ground level (a.g.l.) and 0.6 g kg^-1 (20%) at 1 km a.g.l. for 150 m range bins along the LIDAR line of sight. For HD¹⁶O, weaker absorption has to be balanced with coarser vertical resolution (600 m range bins) in order to achieve similar relative precision. From the DIAL measurements of H₂ ¹⁶O and HD¹⁶O, the isotopic abundance δD was estimated as -51‰ at 0.4 km above the ground and -119‰ in the upper part of the boundary layer at 1.3 km a.g.l. Random and systematic errors are discussed in the form of an error budget, which shows that further instrumental improvements are required on the challenging path towards DIAL-profiling of the isotopic abundance with range resolution and precision suitable for water cycle studies.

Stable isotopes in atmospheric water vapor and applications to the hydrologic cycle

The measurement and simulation of water vapor isotopic composition has matured rapidly over the last decade, with long-term datasets and comprehensive modeling capabilities now available. Theories for water vapor isotopic composition have been developed by extending the theories that have been used for the isotopic composition of precipitation to include a more nuanced understanding of evaporation, large-scale mixing, deep convection, and kinetic fractionation. The technologies for in-situ and remote sensing measurements of water vapor isotopic composition have developed especially rapidly over the last decade, with discrete water vapor sampling methods, based on mass spectroscopy, giving way to laser spectroscopic methods and satellite- and ground-based infrared absorption techniques. The simulation of water vapor isotopic composition has evolved from General Circulation Model (GCM) methods for simulating precipitation isotopic composition to sophisticated isotope-enabled microphysics schemes using higher-order moments for water- and ice-size distributions. The incorporation of isotopes into GCMs has enabled more detailed diagnostics of the water cycle and has led to improvements in its simulation. The combination of improved measurement and modeling of water vapor isotopic composition opens the door to new advances in our understanding of the atmospheric water cycle, in processes ranging from the marine boundary layer, through deep convection and tropospheric mixing, and into the water cycle of the stratosphere. Finally, studies of the processes governing modern water vapor isotopic composition provide an improved framework for the interpretation of paleoclimate proxy records of the hydrological cycle.

Isotope-ratio infrared spectroscopy: a reliable tool for the investigation of plant-water sources?

Stable isotopes are extensively used as tracers for the study of plant-water sources. Isotope-ratio infrared spectroscopy (IRIS) offers a cheaper alternative to isotope-ratio mass spectroscopy (IRMS), but its use in studying plant and soil water is limited by the spectral interference caused by organic contaminants. Here, we examine two approaches to cope with contaminated samples in IRIS: on-line oxidation of organic compounds (MCM) and post-processing correction. We assessed these methods compared to IRMS across 136 samples of xylem and soil water, and a set of ethanol- and methanol-water mixtures. A post-processing correction significantly improved IRIS accuracy in both natural samples and alcohol dilutions, being effective with concentrations up to 8% of ethanol and 0.4% of methanol. MCM outperformed the post-processing correction in removing methanol interference, but did not effectively remove interference for high concentrations of ethanol. By using both approaches, IRIS can overcome with reasonable accuracy the analytical uncertainties associated with most organic contaminants found in soil and xylem water. We recommend the post-processing correction as the first choice for analysis of samples of unknown contamination. Nevertheless, MCM can be more effective for evaluating samples containing contaminants responsible for strong spectral interferences at low concentrations, such as methanol.

Measurement of δ18O and δ2H values of fluid inclusion water in speleothems using cavity ring-down spectroscopy compared with isotope ratio mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

The hydrogen and oxygen isotopic analyses (δ(2)H and δ(18)O values) of water trapped within speleothem carbonate (fluid inclusions) have traditionally been conducted utilizing dual-inlet isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) or continuous-flow (CF)-IRMS methods. The application of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) to the δ(2)H and δ(18)O analysis of water in fluid inclusions has been investigated at the University of Miami as an alternative method to CF-IRMS.

METHODS

An extraction line was developed to recover water from the fluid inclusions consisting of a crusher, sample injection port and an expansion volume (either 100 or 50 cm(3)) directly connected to the CRDS instrument. Tests were conducted to determine the reproducibility of standard water injections and crushes. In order to compare results with conventional analytical methods, samples were analyzed both at the University of Miami (CRDS method) and at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (CF-IRMS method).

RESULTS

The analytical reproducibility of speleothem samples crushed on the Miami Device demonstrates an average external standard deviation of 0.5 and 2.0 ‰ for δ(18)O and δ(2)H values, respectively. Sample data are shown to fall near the global meteoric water line, supporting the validity of the method. Three different samples were analyzed at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Miami in order to compare the performance of each laboratory. The average offset between the two laboratories is 0.7 ‰ for δ(18)O and 2.5 ‰ for δ(2)H.

CONCLUSIONS

The advantage of CRDS is that the system is a low-cost alternative to CF-IRMS for fluid inclusion isotope analysis. The CRDS method demonstrates acceptable precision and good agreement with results from the CF-IRMS method. These are promising results for the future application of CRDS to fluid inclusion isotope analysis.

Reducing and correcting for contamination of ecosystem water stable isotopes measured by isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy

Concern exists about the suitability of laser spectroscopic instruments for the measurement of the (18)O/(16)O and (2)H/(1)H values of liquid samples other than pure water. It is possible to derive erroneous isotope values due to optical interference by certain organic compounds, including some commonly present in ecosystem-derived samples such as leaf or soil waters. Here we investigated the reliability of wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) (18)O/(16)O and (2)H/(1)H measurements from a range of ecosystem-derived waters, through comparison with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). We tested the residual of the spectral fit S(r) calculated by the CRDS instrument as a means to quantify the difference between the CRDS and IRMS δ-values. There was very good overall agreement between the CRDS and IRMS values for both isotopes, but differences of up to 2.3‰ (δ(18)O values) and 23‰ (δ(2)H values) were observed in leaf water extracts from Citrus limon and Alnus cordata. The S(r) statistic successfully detected contaminated samples. Treatment of Citrus leaf water with activated charcoal reduced, but did not eliminate, δ(2)H(CRDS) - δ(2)H(IRMS) linearly for the tested range of 0-20% charcoal. The effect of distillation temperature on the degree of contamination was large, particularly for δ(2)H values but variable, resulting in positive, negative or no correlation with distillation temperature. S(r) and δ(CRDS) - δ(IRMS) were highly correlated, in particular for δ(2)H values, across the range of samples that we tested, indicating the potential to use this relationship to correct the δ-values of contaminated plant water extracts. We also examined the sensitivity of the CRDS system to changes in the temperature of its operating environment. We found that temperature changes ≥4 °C for δ(18)O values and ≥10 °C for δ(2)H values resulted in errors larger than the CRDS precision for the respective isotopes and advise the use of such instruments only in sufficiently temperature-stabilised environments.

Measurements of water vapor isotope ratios with wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy technology: new insights and important caveats for deuterium excess measurements in tropical areas in comparison with isotope-ratio mass spectrometry

The new infrared laser spectroscopic techniques enable us to measure the isotopic composition (δ(18)O and δ(2)H) of atmospheric water vapor. With the objective of monitoring the isotopic composition of tropical water vapor (West Africa, South America), and to discuss deuterium excess variability (d=δ(2)H - 8δ(18)O) with an accuracy similar to measurements arising from isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), we have conducted a number of tests and calibrations using a wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy (WS-CRDS) technique. We focus in this paper on four main aspects regarding (1) the tubing material, (2) the humidity calibration of the instrument, (3) the water vapor concentration effects on δ, and (4) the isotopic calibration of the instrument. First, we show that Synflex tubing strongly affects δ(2)H measurements and thus leads to unusable d values. Second, we show that the mixing ratio as measured by WS-CRDS has to be calibrated versus atmospheric mixing ratio measurements and we also suggest possible non-linear effects over the whole mixing ratio range (~2 to 20 g/kg). Third, we show that significant non-linear effects are induced by water vapor concentration variations on δ measurements, especially for mixing ratios lower than ~5 g/kg. This effect induces a 5 to 10‰ error in deuterium excess and is instrument-dependent. Finally, we show that an isotopic calibration (comparison between measured and true values of isotopic water standards) is needed to avoid errors on deuterium excess that can attain ~10‰.