Low blank sampling method for measurement of the nitrogen isotopic
composition of atmospheric NOx
Abstract
The nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrogen oxide (NOx) is useful for
estimating its sources and sinks. Several methods have been developed to
convert atmospheric nitric oxide (NO) and/or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to
nitrites and/or nitrates for collection. However, the collection
efficiency and blanks are poorly evaluated for many collection methods.
Here, we present a method for collecting ambient NOx (NO and NO2
simultaneously) with over 90 % efficiency collection of NOx and low
blank (approximately 0.5 µM) using a 3 wt% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and
0.5 M sodium hydride (NaOH) solution. The 1σ uncertainty of the nitrogen
isotopic composition was {plus minus} 1.0 ‰. The advantages of this
method include its portability, simplicity, and the ability to collect
the required amount of sample to analyze the nitrogen isotopic
composition of ambient NOx in a short period of time. Using this method,
we observed the nitrogen isotopic compositions of NOx (δ15N(NOx)) at the
Tsukuba and Yoyogi sites in Japan. The averaged value and standard
deviation (1σ) in the Yoyogi site was (−2.7 {plus minus} 1.8) ‰ and in
the Tsukuba site was (−1.7 {plus minus} 0.9) ‰ during the sampling
period. The main NOx source appears to be the vehicle exhaust in the two
sites. If the developed method is used by many researchers in the
future, the database of δ15N(NOx) values will be enriched and a deeper
understanding of NOx behavior will be gained.