Hydrogen isotope correction for laser instrument measurement bias at low water vapor concentration using conventional isotope analyses: application to measurements from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

The hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of water vapor can be measured with commercially available laser spectroscopy analyzers in real time. Operation of the laser systems in relatively dry air is difficult because measurements are non-linear as a function of humidity at low water concentrations. Here we use field-based sampling coupled with traditional mass spectrometry techniques for assessing linearity and calibrating laser spectroscopy systems at low water vapor concentrations. Air samples are collected in an evacuated 2 L glass flask and the water is separated from the non-condensable gases cryogenically. Approximately 2 mu L of water are reduced to H-2 gas and measured on an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. In a field experiment at the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), we ran Picarro and Los Gatos Research (LGR) laser analyzers for a period of 25 days in addition to periodic sample collection in evacuated flasks. When the two laser systems are corrected to the flask data, they are strongly coincident over the entire 25 days. The delta H-2 values were found to change by over 200 parts per thousand over 2.5 min as the boundary layer elevation changed relative to MLO. The delta H-2 values ranged from -106 to -332 parts per thousand, and the delta O-18 values (uncorrected) ranged from -12 to -50 parts per thousand. Raw data from laser analyzers in environments with low water vapor concentrations can be normalized to the international V-SMOW scale by calibration to the flask data measured conventionally. Bias correction is especially critical for the accurate determination of deuterium excess in dry air. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.