Analysis of the Stable Isotope Ratios (18O/16O, 17O/16O and D/H) in Glacier Water by Laser Spectrometry

A compact isotope ratio sensor based on laser absorption spectroscopy at 2.7 μm was developed for high precision and simultaneous measurements of the D/H, 18O/16O and 17O/16O isotope ratios in glacier water. Measurements of the oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios in glacier water demonstrate a 1σ precision of 0.3‰ for δ18O, 0.2‰ for δ17O and 0.5‰ for δ2H respectively. The δ values of the working standard glacier water obtained by the calibrated sensor system is basically identical to the IRMS measurement results with a very high calibration accuracy from 0.17‰ to 0.75‰. Preliminary results on the reproducibility measurements display a standard deviation of 0.13‰ for δ18O, 0.13‰ for δ17O and 0.64‰ for δ2H respectively.