Rapid photochemical equilibration of isotope bond ordering in O2

Abstract

AbstractThe abundances of 18O18O and 17O18O in the atmosphere were recently found to be enriched relative to the stochastic distribution of isotopes in O2. The enrichment is believed to arise from O(3P) + O2 isotope exchange reactions, which reorder the isotopes in O2 to a distribution that favors bonds between heavy isotopes. Theoretical predictions and laboratory experiments suggest that the reordered distribution of isotopes should reflect internal isotopic equilibrium, but a laboratory test of this hypothesis for the complete O2 isotopologue system has not yet been realized. Here we use a simple photochemical experiment that reorders the isotopes in O2 at temperatures between 200 K and 350 K. Using simultaneous measurements of five O2 isotopologues, we show that O(3P) + O2 reorders the isotopes in O2 to isotopic equilibrium. Furthermore, we use this scheme to calibrate measurements of isotopic ordering in samples of O2, obtaining Δ36 and Δ35 values within ±0.1‰. Measurements of atmospheric O2 sampled at the University of California, Los Angeles, from 2012 to 2014 have mean values of Δ36 = 1.97 ± 0.07‰ and Δ35 = 1.0 ± 0.1‰ (2 SE; n = 23), with no detectable long‐term trend. These measurements are consistent with values for air reported earlier, but with a threefold to fourfold improvement in precision. Together, the experiments and observations support the case that isotopic ordering in tropospheric O2 is altered by O(3P) + O2; however, they also suggest that tropospheric Δ36 and Δ35 values do not reflect complete isotopic equilibration in the troposphere. Isotopic ordering in atmospheric O2 likely reflects the decadal‐scale balance of stratospheric and tropospheric air masses modulated by variations in tropospheric photochemistry and convection.