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The effect of sulfate‐ δ 18 O upon on‐line sulfate‐ δ 34 S analysis, and implications for measurements of δ 33 S and Δ 33 S
Author(s) -
Poulson Simon R.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.1754
Subject(s) - sulfate , chemistry , sulfur , sulfide , fractionation , analytical chemistry (journal) , isotope , line (geometry) , chromatography , organic chemistry , nuclear physics , geometry , mathematics , physics
On‐line δ 34 S analysis of sulfate using an elemental analyzer has a number of advantages vs. conventional off‐line techniques, such as ease of operation, rapidity, and the requirement for small amounts of material. Although the analyses are performed by converting sulfate into SO 2 gas, the effect of sulfate‐ δ 18 O composition upon the SO 2 ‐ δ 18 O composition and the value of δ 66 during elemental analysis, and ultimately the calculated sulfate‐ δ 34 S composition, has rarely been addressed. Three BaSO 4 samples were prepared with known identical δ 34 S compositions, but with a wide range of δ 18 O compositions. δ 18 O values were shown to range over 40‰, but conventional on‐line δ 34 S analyses verified that the sulfate‐ δ 34 S compositions were identical. These results indicate that conventional on‐line analysis of sulfate‐ δ 34 S is unaffected by the value of sulfate‐ δ 18 O, and suggest that sulfide‐ δ 34 S standards can be used to calibrate sulfate‐ δ 34 S analyses (and vice versa). Moreover, these results suggest that it may be possible to use on‐line sulfur isotope analysis of SO 2 to measure δ 33 S and Δ 33 S in addition to δ 34 S, as a faster and safer alternative to the SF 6 technique currently utilized, and hence promote further study of mass‐independent sulfur isotope fractionation effects. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.