. 12C, 13C CM-CRDS PICARRO

Auteur de la page : Sylvain Campillo

Picarro G2121i Analyzer coupled with a Costech combustion module, dedicated to carbon isotope measurements on solid samples.

Version Francaise

🎯 δ¹³C : a key proxy in geosciences

δ¹³C is a major proxy used in :

geochemistry
paleoclimatology
paleoceanography

It varies over time as a function of :
👉 primary productivity
👉 carbon burial
👉 vegetation type

δ¹³C corresponds to the ratio of stable carbon isotopes
¹³C / ¹²C, expressed in ‰ (per mil).

📏 Isotopic reference (VPDB)

δ¹³C is expressed relative to an international standard :

👉 VPDB – Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite

It corresponds to the unusually high (¹³C / ¹²C) ratio (0.0112372) of a Cretaceous fossil belemnite shell, originating from the Pee Dee Formation (South Carolina).

image : JAAS Volume 28 | Number 4 | April 2013 | Pages 413–614

Principle of the CM-CRDS Spectroscopy (Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy)method

CM-CRDS is dedicated to the measurement of stable carbon isotopes
¹²C and ¹³C from solid samples.

🔹 Analytical capabilities :

total carbon measurement

total carbon / organic carbon discrimination
👉 via sample decarbonation
(method developed in the laboratory)

🔹 Output provided :

%C bulk or OM and δ¹³C value expressed relative to the VPDB standard

🔧 CRDS system diagram

🔧 CRDS system diagram

image : JAAS Volume 28 | Number 4 | April 2013 | Pages 413–614

⚙️ Analytical characteristics – CM-CRDS PICARRO

🧪 CM-CRDS PICARRO
Operating framework	Instrument mainly used for research projects at ISTerre and OSUG, and more rarely for external analytical services.
Sample types	Solids, with specific preliminary preparation
Technical data	Analysis time : 10 minutes / sample
Capacity	33 samples / session, 10 standards, 7 blanks
Concentration range	0.5 to 1.5 mg of pure carbon / sample

Flash combustion converts carbon into ¹²CO₂(g) and ¹³CO₂(g).
Other compounds are trapped to prevent entry into the resonant cavity.

Detection is based on measurement of laser intensity decay within the cavity
(absorbance, ppmv).

Types of analyses
	Carbon ¹²C and ¹³C
	Isotopic analyses on decarbonated samples (method developed in the laboratory to extract organic matter)

⭐ Strengths of the Picarro CRDS analyzer

✔ High-precision measurement of stable carbon isotopes
✔ Robust and reproducible method
✔ Ability to distinguish total carbon from organic carbon
✔ Locally developed methodology
✔ Full integration within the ISTerre analytical platform

📄 CRDS Picarro analysis request

👉 For any analysis request, please complete and return the form below, signed, to Sylvain Campillo.

⚠️ Analyses may be refused if :

sample quality

or preparation conditions
are not considered adequate.

📌 To avoid any issues, it is strongly recommended to contact the responsible scientists during the project design phase.

*📄 Carbon analysis request on CRDS Picarro

demande Analyses Picarro

✅ Quality control

Quality control	Certified standards
Prior contact mandatory

CRDS contacts
	Stéphane Guédron 📞 +33 4 76 63 59 28
	Sylvain Campillo

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. 12C, 13C CM-CRDS PICARRO