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The Preparation of Water (DIC, DOC) and Gas (CO2, CH4) Samples for Radiocarbon Analysis at AEL-AMS, Ottawa, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2019

Sarah Murseli ,
Paul Middlestead ,
Gilles St-Jean ,
Xiaolei Zhao ,
Christabel Jean ,
Carley A Crann Open the ORCID record for Carley A Crann [Opens in a new window] ,
William E Kieser  and
Ian D Clark
Sarah Murseli*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
Paul Middlestead
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the G.G. Hatch Stable Isotope Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
Gilles St-Jean
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
Xiaolei Zhao
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton Ave, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Christabel Jean
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
Carley A Crann
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
William E Kieser
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton Ave, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Ian D Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the A.E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: smurseli@uottawa.ca.
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Abstract

Sample preparation techniques for radiocarbon analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in freshwater, as well as CO2 and CH4 in gas mixtures are presented. Focused efforts have been on developing a robust and low-background wet oxidation extraction method for DOC in freshwater, following routine methods developed for stable carbon isotope analysis and adapted for radiocarbon (14C) analysis. DIC (by acidification) and DOC (by wet oxidation) are converted to CO2 in pre-baked septum-fitted borosilicate bottles, where the resulting CO2 is extracted from the dissolved and headspace portions on a low-flow He-carrier flow-through system interfaced to a vacuum extraction line. A peripheral CH4 extraction line interfaces to the flow line to separate CH4 from environmental samples following the methods of Pack et al. 2015. High sample throughput and low blanks are achievable with this method. DIC and DOC blanks are consistently <0.7 pMC, while CO2 and CH4 blanks are typically <0.1 pMC.

Keywords

DICDOCflow-through systemgas mixtureswet chemical oxidation
Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 5: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 1 of 2 , October 2019 , pp. 1563 - 1571
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018

References

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