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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 

Services and Prices

Reston Stable Isotope Lab staff 4
Services and Prices

Reference Materials

Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory Solid Reference Materials
Reference Materials

LIMS

RSIL LIMS for Light Stable Isotopes
LIMS

The U.S. Geological Survey is seeking a recent student to work in the Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory. The application period closes May 17, 2026. The student should have experience in a stable isotope laboratory analyzing hydrogen-, carbon-, nitrogen-, oxygen-, or sulfur-bearing materials. The student should have a MA/MS degree awarded between July 2024 and June 2026 OR a BA/BS degree awarded between July 2024 and June 2026 plus one year of experience. U.S. citizenship is required. Download the position announcement or contact isotopes@usgs.gov for further details.

Publications

Preliminary assessment of stable nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of USGS51 and USGS52 nitrous oxide reference gases and perspectives on calibration needs Preliminary assessment of stable nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of USGS51 and USGS52 nitrous oxide reference gases and perspectives on calibration needs

Rationale Despite 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...
Authors
Nathaniel E. Ostrom, Hasand Gandhi, Tyler B. Coplen, Sakae Toyoda, J.K. Bohlke, Willi A. Brand, Karen L. Casciotti, Jens Dyckmans, Anette Giesemann, Joachim Mohn, Reinhard Well, Longfei Yu, Naohiro Yoshida
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory (RSIL)

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 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...
Authors
Arndt Schimmelmann, Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen, Willi A. Brand, Jon Fong, Wolfram Meier-Augenstein, Helen F. Kemp, Blaza Toman, Annika Ackermann, Sergey Assonov, Anita Aerts-Bijma, Ramona Brejcha, Yoshito Chikaraishi, Tamim Darwish, Martin Elsner, Matthias Gehre, Heike Geilmann, Manfred Groning, Jean-Francois Helie, Sara Herrero-Martin, Harro A.J. Meijer, Peter E. Sauer, Alex L. Sessions, Roland A. Werner
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory (RSIL)

A new organic reference material, L-glutamic acid, USGS41a, for δ13C and δ15N measurements − a replacement for USGS41 A new organic reference material, L-glutamic acid, USGS41a, for δ13C and δ15N measurements − a replacement for USGS41

Rationale The 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.Methods USGS41a 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...
Authors
Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen, Stanley J. Mroczkowski, Willi A. Brand, Lauren Brandes, Heike Geilmann, Arndt Schimmelmann
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory (RSIL)
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