Development and applications of stable bromine isotope measurements

Methods to measure the stable isotope composition of bromine have been developed since 1992 in parallel to methods to measure chlorine stable isotopes. Crucial in the development was to find a method to separate bromine from chlorine, as, especially in inorganic samples chlorine is present in a large surplus. The method proposed was copied from a method used in the 19th century and based upon the different redox potentials of the chloride and bromide ions. Since 2000 a few methods have been developed to measure stable bromine isotopes in both inorganic and organic samples, however the number of studies of natural samples is still rather limited. Even more so only very few experimental studies have been done in order to understand the variations that were found in these studies. In this talk I will summarise the methods and the studies done on natural samples and experimental processes done so far, and hopefully show some ideas for future research in stable bromine isotopes.
Séminaire de Géochimie