Isotopic measurements of carbon dioxide: the role of measurement science and standards

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DOI	Resolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-05000-2
Author	Search for: Meija, Juris¹ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3349-5535
Affiliation	National Research Council Canada. Metrology Research Centre
Format	Text, Article
Subject	metrology; climate change; carbon isotopes; air/gases; air; gases; geochemistry/geology; geochemistry; geology; mass spectrometry/IRMS; mass spectrometry; IRMS
Abstract	Isotopic measurements provide valuable information about the origin of greenhouse gases — as carbon dioxide levels increase, there is a corresponding shift towards lighter isotopic composition similar to that of fossil fuels. Detecting such isotopic shifts, however, requires extremely precise measurements, which must also be globally reproducible in order to make reliable policy decisions. This feature article outlines the collective search for the ideal standard for carbon isotope measurements since the 1950s. This tragicomedy of errors, if you wish, has strengthened the reliability of today’s measurements and has taken us from fictional oceans, to toilet seat marbles, and complex mathematical conventions that separate data from reliable results.
Publication date	2023-11-17
Publisher	Springer
Licence	Creative Commons, Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
In	Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 416, no. 9 (17 November 2023): 2013–2021.
Language	English
Peer reviewed	Yes
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Record identifier	9aef3693-7e46-4af4-8952-18674931cc42
Record created	2024-04-26
Record modified	2024-09-24

Date modified:: 2026-01-16