A Dual Inlet System for Laser Spectroscopy of Triple Oxygen Isotopes in Carbonate‐Derived and Air CO2

Abstract

Abstract Analyzing the triple oxygen isotope (Δ′17O) composition of carbonates and air CO2 can provide valuable information about Earth system processes. However, accurately measuring the abundance of the rare 17O‐bearing CO2 isotopologue using isotope ratio mass spectrometry presents significant challenges. Consequently, alternative approaches, such as laser spectroscopy, have been developed. Here, we describe an adaptable dual inlet system for a tunable infrared laser direct absorption spectrometer (TILDAS) that maintains stable instrumental conditions for subsequent sample and reference measurements. We report ∆′17O measurements on three types of samples: reference CO2, CO2 derived from the acid digestion of carbonates, and air CO2. The external repeatability (±1σ) for reference‐sample‐reference bracketing measurements is generally better than ±10 ppm, close to the average internal error of ±6 ppm. Our results demonstrate that laser spectroscopy is a capable technique for measuring triple oxygen isotopes with the precision required to resolve variations in the ∆′17O values of air CO2 and to use the ∆′17O of carbonates for paleothermometry.

Keywords

• triple oxygen isotope
• carbon dioxide
• laser spectroscopy
• carbonates
• paleothermometry
• atmosphere