Triple Isotope Fractionation Exponents of Elements Measured by MC-ICP-MS—An Example of Mg

Abstract

In most chemical reactions, stable isotopes are fractionated in a mass-dependent manner, yielding correlated isotope ratios in elements with three or more stable isotopes. The proportionality between isotope ratios is set by the triple isotope fractionation exponent θ that can be determined precisely for, <i>e.g</i>., sulfur and oxygen by IRMS, but not for metal(loid) elements due to the lower precision of MC-ICP-MS analysis and smaller isotopic variations. Here, using Mg as a test case, we compute a complete metrologically robust uncertainty budget for apparent θ values and, with reference to this, present a new measurement approach that reduces uncertainty on θ values by 30%. This approach, namely, direct educt-product bracketing (sample-sample bracketing), allows apparent θ values of metal(loid) isotopes to be determined precisely enough to distinguish slopes in three-isotope space. For the example of Mg, we assess appropriate quality control standards for interference-to-signal ratios and report apparent θ values of carbonate-seawater pairs. We determined apparent θ values for marine biogenic carbonates, where the foraminifera <i>Globorotalia menardii</i> yields 0.514 ± 0.005 (2 SD), the coral <i>Porites</i>, 0.515 ± 0.006 (2 SD), and two specimens of the giant clam <i>Tridacna gigas</i>, 0.508 ± 0.007 (2 SD) and 0.509 ± 0.006 (2 SD), documenting differences in the uptake pathway of Mg among marine calcifiers. The capability to measure apparent θ values more precisely adds a new dimension to metal(loid) δ values, with the potential to allow us to resolve different modes of fractionation in industrial and natural processes.