An experimental set-up for carbon isotopic analysis of atmospheric CO2 and an example of ecosystem response during solar eclipse 2010

We present here, an experimental set-up developed for the first time in India for the determination of mixing ratio and carbon isotopic ratio of air-CO 2 . The set-up includes traps for collection and extraction of CO 2 from air samples using cryogenic procedures, followed by the measurement of CO 2...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Earth System Science 2013-06, Vol.122 (3), p.623-638
Main Authors: GUHA, TANIA, GHOSH, PROSENJIT
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present here, an experimental set-up developed for the first time in India for the determination of mixing ratio and carbon isotopic ratio of air-CO 2 . The set-up includes traps for collection and extraction of CO 2 from air samples using cryogenic procedures, followed by the measurement of CO 2 mixing ratio using an MKS Baratron gauge and analysis of isotopic ratios using the dual inlet peripheral of a high sensitivity isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) MAT 253. The internal reproducibility (precision) for the δ 13 C measurement is established based on repeat analyses of CO 2 ±0.03‰. The set-up is calibrated with international carbonate and air-CO 2 standards. An in-house air-CO 2 mixture, ‘OASIS AIRMIX’ is prepared mixing CO 2 from a high purity cylinder with O 2 and N 2 and an aliquot of this mixture is routinely analyzed together with the air samples. The external reproducibility for the measurement of the CO 2 mixing ratio and carbon isotopic ratios are ±7 ( n  = 169) mol·mol  − 1 and ±0.05 ( n  = 169) ‰ based on the mean of the difference between two aliquots of reference air mixture analyzed during daily operation carried out during November 2009–December 2011. The correction due to the isobaric interference of N 2 O on air-CO 2 samples is determined separately by analyzing mixture of CO 2 (of known isotopic composition) and N 2 O in varying proportions. A +0.2‰ correction in the δ 13 C value for a N 2 O concentration of 329 ppb is determined. As an application, we present results from an experiment conducted during solar eclipse of 2010. The isotopic ratio in CO 2 and the carbon dioxide mixing ratio in the air samples collected during the event are different from neighbouring samples, suggesting the role of atmospheric inversion in trapping the emitted CO 2 from the urban atmosphere during the eclipse.
ISSN:0253-4126
0973-774X
DOI:10.1007/s12040-013-0303-1