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Science 24 July 1998:
Vol. 281. no. 5376, pp. 544 - 546
DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5376.544
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Reports

Mass-Independent Oxygen Isotope Fractionation in Atmospheric CO as a Result of the Reaction CO + OH

T. Röckmann, C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer, G. Saueressig, P. Bergamaschi, J. N. Crowley, H. Fischer, P. J. Crutzen

Atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) exhibits mass-independent fractionation in the oxygen isotopes. An 17O excess up to 7.5 per mil was observed in summer at high northern latitudes. The major source of this puzzling fractionation in this important trace gas is its dominant atmospheric removal reaction, CO + OH rightarrow  CO2 + H, in which the surviving CO gains excess 17O. The occurrence of mass-independent fractionation in the reaction of CO with OH raises fundamental questions about kinetic processes. At the same time the effect is a useful marker for the degree to which CO in the atmosphere has been reacting with OH.

Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Postfach 3060, 55020 Mainz, Germany.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Mass-independent Oxygen Isotope Variation in the Solar Nebula.
E. D. Young, K. Kuramoto, R. A. Marcus, H. Yurimoto, and S. B. Jacobsen (2008)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 68, 187-218
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)