Long-term Reproducibility of Carbonate Standard D47 values: An
Intra-laboratory Comparison
Abstract
Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry is a useful tool practised in
studies of temperature history and fluid composition of surface and
subsurface environments, with application to both inorganic and
biological precipitates. Its measurements are based upon the propensity
with which 13C and 18O isotopes, within a carbonate mineral, are bound
to one another, in relation to a stochastic distribution. The quantity
of these 13C-18O bonds (commonly referred to as “clumps”) is
determined by gas source mass spectrometry on CO2 produced from acid
digestion of carbonate minerals, and is controlled by physiochemical
parameters of the solution at the time of mineral precipitation. If
equilibrium is reached, then 13C-18O abundance, measured against the
stochastic distribution and represented by the variable Δ47, can be used
to measure the temperature of precipitation of the carbonate without the
need to characterize the isotopic composition of coeval fluids. However,
long-term reproducibility of these measurements is a critical factor
contributing to uncertainties in all calibrations and applications. Here
we discuss the impact of using different standardization procedures on
the accuracy and precision of Δ47 measurements, as compared across three
mass spectrometers with four different configurations within the Tripati
Lab at UCLA. Specifically, we assess the long-term reproducibility of
carbonate standard Δ47 values across mass spectrometers, using a
correction scheme that incorporates either gas and carbonate standards
of known composition, or both, and the impact of different approaches
for characterizing instrument drift (i.e., averaging for an interval or
using a moving window). We also recommend best practices to promote
reproducibility.