Dataset: Noble gas isotope data from field campaigns sampling groundwater in Umatilla, Oregon during September 2020 and in Tucson, Arizona during November 2021

ValidatedFinal no updates expectedDOI: 10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.897484.1Version 1 (2023-06-13)Dataset Type:Other Field Results

Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Severinghaus (University of California-San Diego Scripps)

Student: Jessica Yijun Ng (University of California-San Diego Scripps)

BCO-DMO Data Manager: Shannon Rauch (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)


Project: Collaborative Research: Novel constraints on air-sea gas exchange and deep ocean ventilation from high-precision noble gas isotope measurements in seawater (HPNGI)


Abstract

This project developed a novel seawater and groundwater noble gas isotope extraction technique, building on an approach pioneered by Dr. Steve Emerson that involves equilibration of headspace and water followed by vacuum removal and disposal of almost all the water. Corrections are then made for the lost noble gas in the water, using precisely measured mass and volume. The method uses 6-liter stainless steel flasks with Nupro valves for improved leak-tightness. This extraction technique made it ...

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Field campaigns to sample groundwater were conducted in Umatilla, Oregon, USA during September 2020 and in Tucson, Arizona, USA during November 2021. Water samples for dissolved noble gas isotope measurements were collected in 6-liter (L) pre-evacuated stainless steel flasks (Restek TO-can air sampling flasks sealed with a Swagelok SS-4H valve), leaving 1 L of headspace. The sample gases were equilibrated between the dissolved phase in the sample water and the gas phase in the headspace on an orbital shaker for at least 3 days at a constant known temperature. After the sample water was drained, the headspace gas was transferred and gettered to remove non-inert gases. The remaining gas sample was measured on a dynamic isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS), and the measured isotope ratios were corrected using known solubilities (Seltzer et al., 2019) and the recorded equilibration temperature to obtain the original isotope ratios of the water sample (Ng et al., 2023). Umatilla samples were stored for a year at room temperature prior to sampling. Tucson samples were stored for 2 weeks at room temperature prior to sampling.


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Methods

Ng, J., Tyne, R., Seltzer, A., Noyes, C., McIntosh, J., & Severinghaus, J. (2023). A new large‐volume equilibration method for high‐precision measurements of dissolved noble gas stable isotopes. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 37(7). Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.9471
Methods

Seltzer, A. M., Ng, J., & Severinghaus, J. P. (2019). Precise determination of Ar, Kr and Xe isotopic fractionation due to diffusion and dissolution in fresh water. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 514, 156–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.03.008