Abstract
This chapter focuses on the progress made in the analysis of oxygen isotope ratios of phosphates. Phosphorus is a critical nutrient for biological processes, occurring as a tetrahedral PO43- chemical group present in minerals, organic matter and natural waters. Wet chemistry procedures based on the isolation of phosphate radicals using ion-exchange resins and precipitation as stable crystals of silver phosphate have ensured a comparison of oxygen isotope ratios among biogenic phosphates characterized by oxygen-bearing compounds present in varying proportions. Extraction of oxygen from Ag3PO4 as CO2 or CO can be performed by fluorination or by graphite reduction. High-precision oxygen isotope measurements can be made in both cases. These allow for high-sensitivity estimates of paleotemperature, paleohumidity and isotopic compositions of water. Oxygen can also be extracted from untreated biogenic phosphates by in situ laser analysis. The result is a high-spatial resolution isotopic analysis with a good internal reproducibility despite the analysis of bulk samples. The use of laser-based systems may also improve the spatial resolution of sampling. The explored biologically mediated reactions of phosphate and kinetics of isotopic exchange under inorganic conditions.
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