RAPID C-14 ANALYSIS OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON IN NON-SALINE WATERS

The radiocarbon content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rivers, lakes, and other non-saline waters can provide valuable information on carbon cycling dynamics in the environment. DOC is typically prepared for C-14 analysis by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) either by ultraviolet (UV) oxidation or by freeze-drying and sealed tube combustion. We present here a new method for the rapid analysis of C-14 of DOC using wet chemical oxidation (WCO) and automated headspace sampling of CO2. The approach is an adaption of recently developed methods using aqueous persulfate oxidant to determine the delta C-13 of DOC in non-saline water samples and the C-14 content of volatile organic acids. One advantage of the current method over UV oxidation is higher throughput: 22 samples and 10 processing standards can be prepared in one day and analyzed in a second day, allowing a full suite of C-14 processing standards and blanks to be run in conjunction with samples. A second advantage is that there is less potential for cross-contamination between samples.