Oxygen and magnesium mass-independent isotopic fractionation induced by chemical reactions in plasma

Both the physical effect and the chemical conditions at the origin of the oxygen isotope variations in the solar system have been puzzling questions for 50 y. The data reported here bring the MIF effect (the mass-independent fractionation originally identified on ozone) back to the center of the debate. Similar to Ti isotopes, we observe that the MIF effect for O and Mg is triggered by redox reactions in plasmas. These observations reinforce the idea of a universal mechanism observable in photochemical reactions when molecular collisions involving indistinguishable isotopes yield a symmetrical complex stabilized as a chemical product.

Enrichment or depletion ranging from −40 to +100% in the major isotopes ¹⁶O and ²⁴Mg were observed experimentally in solids condensed from carbonaceous plasma composed of CO₂/MgCl₂/Pentanol or N₂O/Pentanol for O and MgCl₂/Pentanol for Mg. In NanoSims imaging, isotope effects appear as micrometer-size hotspots embedded in a carbonaceous matrix showing no isotope fractionation. For Mg, these hotspots are localized in carbonaceous grains, which show positive and negative isotopic effects so that the whole grain has a standard isotope composition. For O, no specific structure was observed at hotspot locations. These results suggest that MIF (mass-independent fractionation) effects can be induced by chemical reactions taking place in plasma. The close agreement between the slopes of the linear correlations observed between δ²⁵Mg versus δ²⁶Mg and between δ¹⁷O versus δ¹⁸O and the slopes calculated using the empirical MIF factor η discovered in ozone [M. H. Thiemens, J. E. Heidenreich, III. Science 219, 1073–1075; C. Janssen, J. Guenther, K. Mauersberger, D. Krankowsky. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 3, 4718–4721] attests to the ubiquity of this process. Although the chemical reactants used in the present experiments cannot be directly transposed to the protosolar nebula, a similar MIF mechanism is proposed for oxygen isotopes: at high temperature, at the surface of grains, a mass-independent isotope exchange could have taken place between condensing oxides and oxygen atoms originated form the dissociation of CO or H₂O gas.

Triple oxygen isotope constraints on atmospheric O2 and biological productivity during the mid-Proterozoic

Reconstructing the history of biological productivity and atmospheric oxygen partial pressure (pO₂) is a fundamental goal of geobiology. Recently, the mass-independent fractionation of oxygen isotopes (O-MIF) has been used as a tool for estimating pO₂ and productivity during the Proterozoic. O-MIF, reported as Δ'¹⁷O, is produced during the formation of ozone and destroyed by isotopic exchange with water by biological and chemical processes. Atmospheric O-MIF can be preserved in the geologic record when pyrite (FeS₂) is oxidized during weathering, and the sulfur is redeposited as sulfate. Here, sedimentary sulfates from the ∼1.4-Ga Sibley Formation are reanalyzed using a detailed one-dimensional photochemical model that includes physical constraints on air-sea gas exchange. Previous analyses of these data concluded that pO₂ at that time was <1% PAL (times the present atmospheric level). Our model shows that the upper limit on pO₂ is essentially unconstrained by these data. Indeed, pO₂ levels below 0.8% PAL are possible only if atmospheric methane was more abundant than today (so that pCO₂ could have been lower) or if the Sibley O-MIF data were diluted by reprocessing before the sulfates were deposited. Our model also shows that, contrary to previous assertions, marine productivity cannot be reliably constrained by the O-MIF data because the exchange of molecular oxygen (O₂) between the atmosphere and surface ocean is controlled more by air-sea gas transfer rates than by biological productivity. Improved estimates of pCO₂ and/or improved proxies for Δ'¹⁷O of atmospheric O₂ would allow tighter constraints to be placed on mid-Proterozoic pO₂.

Triple Oxygen Isotope Measurements (Δ'17O) of Body Water Reflect Water Intake, Metabolism, and δ18O of Ingested Water in Passerines

Understanding physiological traits and ecological conditions that influence a species reliance on metabolic water is critical to creating accurate physiological models that can assess their ability to adapt to environmental perturbations (e.g., drought) that impact water availability. However, relatively few studies have examined variation in the sources of water animals use to maintain water balance, and even fewer have focused on the role of metabolic water. A key reason is methodological limitations. Here, we applied a new method that measures the triple oxygen isotopic composition of a single blood sample to estimate the contribution of metabolic water to the body water pool of three passerine species. This approach relies on Δ'¹⁷O, defined as the residual from the tight linear correlation that naturally exists between δ¹⁷O and δ¹⁸O values. Importantly, Δ'17O is relatively insensitive to key fractionation processes, such as Rayleigh distillation in the water cycle that have hindered previous isotope-based assessments of animal water balance. We evaluated the effects of changes in metabolic rate and water intake on Δ'¹⁷O values of captive rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) and two invertivorous passerine species in the genus Cinclodes from the field. As predicted, colder acclimation temperatures induced increases in metabolic rate, decreases in water intake, and increases in the contribution of metabolic water to the body water pool of Z. capensis, causing a consistent change in Δ'¹⁷O. Measurement of Δ'¹⁷O also provides an estimate of the δ¹⁸O composition of ingested pre-formed (drinking/food) water. Estimated δ¹⁸O values of drinking/food water for captive Z. capensis were ~ −11‰, which is consistent with that of tap water in Santiago, Chile. In contrast, δ¹⁸O values of drinking/food water ingested by wild-caught Cinclodes were similar to that of seawater, which is consistent with their reliance on marine resources. Our results confirm the utility of this method for quantifying the relative contribution of metabolic versus pre-formed drinking/food water to the body water pool in birds.

Relating Δ17O Values of Animal Body Water to Exogenous Water Inputs and Metabolism

The dynamics of animal body water and metabolism are integral aspects of biological function but are difficult to measure, particularly in free-ranging individuals. We demonstrate a new method to estimate inputs to body water via analysis of Δ17O, a measure of 17O/16O relative to 18O/16O. Animal body water is primarily a mixture of drinking or food water (meteoric water; Δ17O ≈ 0.030 per mille [‰]) and metabolic water synthesized from atmospheric oxygen (Δ17O ≈ –0.450‰). Greater drinking or food water intake should increase Δ17O toward 0.030‰, whereas greater metabolic rate should decrease Δ17O toward –0.450‰. We found that wild mammal Δ17O values generally increased with body mass, consistent with both a decline in mass-specific metabolic rate and an increase in water intake. Captive mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) Δ17O values were higher than predicted but exhibited the expected relative change based on metabolic rate and water intake. Measurements of Δ17O may enable novel ecophysiological studies.

Ab initio study of nitrogen and position-specific oxygen kinetic isotope effects in the NO + O3 reaction

Ab initio calculations have been carried out to investigate nitrogen (k¹⁵/k¹⁴) and position-specific oxygen (k¹⁷/k¹⁶O & k¹⁸/k¹⁶) kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) for the reaction between NO and O₃ using CCSD(T)/6-31G(d) and CCSD(T)/6-311G(d) derived frequencies in the complete Bigeleisen equations. Isotopic enrichment factors are calculated to be -6.7‰, -1.3‰, -44.7‰, -14.1‰, and -0.3‰ at 298 K for the reactions involving the ¹⁵N¹⁶O, ¹⁴N¹⁸O, ¹⁸O¹⁶O¹⁶O, ¹⁶O¹⁸O¹⁶O, and ¹⁶O¹⁶O¹⁸O isotopologues relative to the 14N¹⁶O and 16O₃ isotopologues, respectively (CCSD(T)/6-311G(d)). Using our oxygen position-specific KIEs, a kinetic model was constructed using Kintecus, which estimates the overall isotopic enrichment factors associated with unreacted O₃ and the oxygen transferred to NO₂ to be -19.6‰  and -22.8‰, respectively, (CCSD(T)/6-311G(d)) which tends to be in agreement with previously reported experimental data. While this result may be fortuitous, this agreement suggests that our model is capturing the most important features of the underlying physics of the KIE associated with this reaction (i.e., shifts in zero-point energies). The calculated KIEs will useful in future NO_x isotopic modeling studies aimed at understanding the processes responsible for the observed tropospheric isotopic variations of NO_x as well as for tropospheric nitrate.

Unexpected variations in the triple oxygen isotope composition of stratospheric carbon dioxide

We report observations of stratospheric CO2 that reveal surprisingly large anomalous enrichments in (17)O that vary systematically with latitude, altitude, and season. The triple isotope slopes reached 1.95 ± 0.05(1σ) in the middle stratosphere and 2.22 ± 0.07 in the Arctic vortex versus 1.71 ± 0.03 from previous observations and a remarkable factor of 4 larger than the mass-dependent value of 0.52. Kinetics modeling of laboratory measurements of photochemical ozone-CO2 isotope exchange demonstrates that non-mass-dependent isotope effects in ozone formation alone quantitatively account for the (17)O anomaly in CO2 in the laboratory, resolving long-standing discrepancies between models and laboratory measurements. Model sensitivities to hypothetical mass-dependent isotope effects in reactions involving O3, O((1)D), or CO2 and to an empirically derived temperature dependence of the anomalous kinetic isotope effects in ozone formation then provide a conceptual framework for understanding the differences in the isotopic composition and the triple isotope slopes between the laboratory and the stratosphere and between different regions of the stratosphere. This understanding in turn provides a firmer foundation for the diverse biogeochemical and paleoclimate applications of (17)O anomalies in tropospheric CO2, O2, mineral sulfates, and fossil bones and teeth, which all derive from stratospheric CO2.

Measurement of the 17O-excess (Δ17O) of tropospheric ozone using a nitrite-coated filter

RATIONALE

The (17)O-excess (Δ(17)O) of tropospheric ozone (O(3)) serves as a useful marker in studies of atmospheric oxidation pathways; however, due to the complexity and expense of currently available analytical techniques, no systematic sampling campaign has yet been undertaken and natural variations in Δ(17)O(O(3)) are therefore not well constrained.

METHODS

The nitrite-coated filter method is a new technique for O(3) isotope analysis that employs the aqueous phase NO(2)(-) + O(3) → NO(3)(-) + O(2) reaction to obtain quantitative information on O(3) via the oxygen atom transfer to nitrate (NO(3)(-)). The triple-oxygen isotope analysis of the NO(3)(-) produced during this reaction, achieved in this study using the bacterial denitrifier method followed by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), directly yields the Δ(17)O value transferred from O(3). This isotope transfer process was investigated in a series of vacuum-line experiments, which were conducted by exposing coated filters to O(3) of various known Δ(17)O values and then determining the isotopic composition of the NO(3)(-) produced on the filter.

RESULTS

The isotope transfer experiments revealed a strong linear correlation between the Δ(17)O of the O(3) produced and that of the oxygen atom transferred to NO(3)(-), with a slope of 1.55 for samples with bulk Δ(17)O(O(3)) values in the atmospheric range (20-40‰). This finding is in agreement with theoretical postulates that place the (17) O-excess on only the terminal oxygen atoms of ozone. Ambient measurements yield average Δ(17)O(O(3))(bulk) values in agreement with previous studies (22.9 ± 1.9‰).

CONCLUSIONS

The nitrite-coated filter technique is a sufficiently robust, field-deployable method for the determination of the triple-oxygen isotopic composition of tropospheric O(3). Further ambient measurements will undoubtedly lead to an improved quantitative view of natural Δ(17)O(O(3)) variation and transfer in the atmosphere.

Oxygen isotopic composition of carbon dioxide in the middle atmosphere

The isotopic composition of long-lived trace molecules provides a window into atmospheric transport and chemistry. Carbon dioxide is a particularly powerful tracer, because its abundance remains >100 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in the mesosphere. Here, we successfully reproduce the isotopic composition of CO(2) in the middle atmosphere, which has not been previously reported. The mass-independent fractionation of oxygen in CO(2) can be satisfactorily explained by the exchange reaction with O((1)D). In the stratosphere, the major source of O((1)D) is O(3) photolysis. Higher in the mesosphere, we discover that the photolysis of (16)O(17)O and (16)O(18)O by solar Lyman-alpha radiation yields O((1)D) 10-100 times more enriched in (17)O and (18)O than that from ozone photodissociation at lower altitudes. This latter source of heavy O((1)D) has not been considered in atmospheric simulations, yet it may potentially affect the "anomalous" oxygen signature in tropospheric CO(2) that should reflect the gross carbon fluxes between the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere. Additional laboratory and atmospheric measurements are therefore proposed to test our model and validate the use of CO(2) isotopic fractionation as a tracer of atmospheric chemical and dynamical processes.

Identification of the D3h Isomer of Carbon Trioxide (CO3) and Its Implications for Atmospheric Chemistry

The CO3 molecule is considered an important reaction intermediate in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars for quenching electronically excited oxygen atoms and in contributing to the anomalous 18O isotope enrichment. The geometry of the CO3 intermediate plays an important role in explaining these effects; however, only the cyclic (C(2v)) isomer has been experimentally confirmed so far. Here, we report on the first spectroscopic detection of the acyclic (D(3h)) isomer of carbon trioxide (12C16O3) via its nu1 and nu2 vibrational modes centered around 1165 cm(-1) under matrix isolation conditions; the identification of the 12C18O3, 13C16O3, 13C18O3, 16O12C18O2, and 18O12C16O2 isotopomers of the acyclic isomer confirms the assignments.