Simultaneous determination of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in seawater by high temperature catalytic oxidation: conditions for precise shipboard measurements

Appropriate conditions have been achieved for the accurate, rapid, and highly precise shipboard simultaneous determination of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in seawater by high temperature catalytic oxidation. A nitrogen-specific Antek 705D chemiluminescence detector and a CO2-specific LiCor Li6252 IRGA have been coupled in-series with a Shimadzu TOC-5000 organic carbon analyser. Precision of both simultaneous measurements is less than or equal to 1.5%, i.e. +/- 1 mu mol C l(-1) and +/-0.3 mu mol N l(-1), respectively. Quality of analysis is not compromised by vibrations associated with ocean going research vessels. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.