Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Measurements of the18O/16O ratio of dissolved oxygen in the North Sea during FLEX 76

  • Biospheric Sources and Sinks of Atmospheric Trace Gases
  • Published:
pure and applied geophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In spring 1976 a special part of the North Sea was the subject of research by a group of international scientists in the so-called ‘Fladenground Experiment 1976’ (FLEX 76). Our team participated aboard the research shipPlanet in an attempt to study the oxygen exchange between sea and atmosphere and the mixing within the water column. The water samples were taken in a small area during a period of two weeks. The water depth did not exceed 140 m. The dissolved oxygen was extracted using a vacuum system, and stored after adsorption on a molecular sieve. In the laboratory the oxygen was burned to carbon dioxide and the18O/16O ratio was determined with a mass spectrometer. At the surface the sea water was saturated with air and showed the18O/16O ratio of atmospheric oxygen. Towards the deeper layers the oxygen was consumed, and as a result the heavier isotope18O was enriched. This enrichment can be seen in a very marked manner even in the upper 100 m of the sea. In our case the18O enrichment indicates that the mixing processes did not exchange the oxygen of the layers beneath the surface rapidly.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baertschi, P. (1976),Absolute 18Ocontent of standard mean ocean water, Earth Plan. Sci. Letters31, 341–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, H. (1961),Standard for reporting concentrations of deuterium and oxygen-18 in natural waters, Science,133, 1833–1834.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dole, M. (1935),The relative atomic weight of oxygen in water and in air, J. Am. Chem. Soc.57, 2731.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, S. andMayeda, T. (1953),Variation of 18Ocontent of waters from natural sources, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta4, 213–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Förstel, H., Weiner, B. andSchleser, G. (1976),Preparation of oxygen samples for 18O/16Omeasurements by a combined gas chromatography-burning technique, Int. J. Appl. Rad. Isotopes27, 211–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grasshoff, K. andGradl, A. (1975),Meereschemisches Praktikum I, Inst. f. Meeresforsch. an der Univ. Kiel, p. 23.

  • Horibe, Y., Shigehara, K. andTakakuwa, Y. (1973),Isotope separation factor of carbon-dioxide-water system and isotopic composition of atmospheric oxygen, J. Geophys. Res.78, 2625–2629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroopnick, P. M. (1971),Oxygen and carbon in the oceans and atmosphere: stable isotopes as tracers for consumption, production and circulation models, Diss. Univ. of California, San Diego.

  • Kroopnick, P. M. andCraig, H. (1972),Atmospheric oxygen: isotopic composition and solubility fractionation, Science175, 54–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroopnick, P. M. (1975),Respiration, photosynthesis, and oxygen isotope fractionation in oceanic surface water, Limnol. Oceanogr.20, 988–992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroopnick, P. M. andCraig, H. (1976),Oxygen isotope fractionation in dissolved oxygen in the deep sea, Earth Plan. Sci. Letters32, 375–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutyurin, V. M. (1969),The isotopic composition of oxygen liberated by plants, Israel Progr. Sci. Transl., Probl. of Geochem. 1969, 661–667.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane, G. A. (1955),A study of the fractionation of oxygen isotopes, Ph.D. Thesis, Northwestern Univ. Evanston Ill.

  • Lane, G. A. andDole, M. (1956),Fractionation of oxygen isotopes during respiration, Science123, 574–576.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morita, N. (1935),The increased density of air oxygen relative to water oxygen, J. Chem. Soc. Japan56, 1291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rakestraw, N. M., Rudd, D. P. andDole, M. (1951),Isotopic composition of oxygen in air dissolved in Pacific Ocean water as a function of depth, J. Am. Chem. Soc.73, 2976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schleser, G. andFörstel, H. (1975),Geochemical importance of isotopic fractionation during respiration, Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Stable Isotopes, Oak Brook Ill., 621–629.

  • Schleser, G. (1977),Die Isotopenfraktionierung des Sauerstoffs bei der Respiration, Diss. RWTH Aachen.

  • Vinogradov, A. P., Kutyurin, V. M., Ulumbekova, M. V. andZadorozhny, I. K. (1960),Isotopnij Sostav Kisloroda Fotosintesa i Duchanie, Doklady AN SSSR 134, 1486–1489.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Research Center (KFA), Institute of Chemistry 2, P.O.B. 1913, D 5170, Jülich, Fed. Rep. of Germany

    H. Förstel & H. Zielke

Authors
  1. H. Förstel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Zielke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Förstel, H., Zielke, H. Measurements of the18O/16O ratio of dissolved oxygen in the North Sea during FLEX 76. PAGEOPH 116, 486–496 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01636902

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01636902

Key Words

Search

Navigation