Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory (RSIL)
· H, C, N, O, & S forensic-quality, stable isotope-ratio analyses of water, rock, and biological samples for environmental studies
· noble gas analyses of water for groundwater and surface-water studies
· tritium analyses of water for groundwater dating
· hydrogen-, carbon-, nitrogen-, oxygen-, and sulfur-bearing isotopic reference materials for calibration of mass and laser spectrometers
Publications
Preliminary assessment of stable nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of USGS51 and USGS52 nitrous oxide reference gases and perspectives on calibration needs
RationaleDespite a long history and growing interest in isotopic analyses of N2O, there is a lack of isotopically characterized N2O isotopic reference materials (standards) to enable normalization and reporting of isotope‐delta values. Here we report the isotopic characterization of two pure N2O gas reference materials, USGS51 and USGS52, which are now available for laboratory...
New organic reference materials for hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope-ratio measurements: caffeines, n-alkanes, fatty acid methyl esters, glycines, L-valines, polyethylenes, and oils
An international project developed, quality-tested, and determined isotope−δ values of 19 new organic reference materials (RMs) for hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope-ratio measurements, in addition to analyzing pre-existing RMs NBS 22 (oil), IAEA-CH-7 (polyethylene foil), and IAEA-600 (caffeine). These new RMs enable users to normalize measurements of samples to isotope−δ...
A new organic reference material, L-glutamic acid, USGS41a, for δ13C and δ15N measurements − a replacement for USGS41
RationaleThe widely used l-glutamic acid isotopic reference material USGS41, enriched in both 13C and 15N, is nearly exhausted. A new material, USGS41a, has been prepared as a replacement for USGS41.MethodsUSGS41a was prepared by dissolving analytical grade l-glutamic acid enriched in 13C and 15N together with l-glutamic acid of normal isotopic composition. The δ13C and δ15N values of...