Methodology and application of stable isotope analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in hydrogeology and environmental studies

Abstract

The analysis of carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is widely applied in hydrogeology and environmental studies. The method of analysis is simple and based on conversion of all DIC species to gaseus CO2 under acidic conditions. However, the analytical procedure may involve significant carbon isotope fractionation. Our experimental analysis showed that increasing the time of CO2 extraction influences the increase of ä13C(DIC) value as a result of re-dissolution of CO2 in the water expanded on the vacuum line or/and carbon isotope exchange between the extracted CO2 and the atmospheric CO2. The long time of sample storage yields an increase of ä13C(DIC) value and decrease of DIC concentration. The analytical precision up to š 0,1‰ may be achieved in the case of waters being analyzed few days after sampling. DIC concentration was evaluated according to height of peak 44 in the mass spectrum. The analytical precision of this method was š 2 mgCO2 per dm3. This method is very useful because the measurements of the height of peak 44 and carbon isotope composition of DIC can be performed simultaneously. However, this method is reliable for waters containing more than 4 mg CO2 per dm