Difference between revisions of "Stable carbon isotopes"
From Linked Earth Wiki
(Create page on stable carbon isotope) |
m (fix improper HTML code) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon Carbon] in nature exists in oxidized (i.e., [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide CO<sub>2</sub>] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonate carbonates]), elemental (i.e., [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite graphite] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond diamond]), and reduced (i.e., [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane methane] and organic matter]) forms. Carbon has two [[Isotope | stable isotopes]]: the light isotope <sup>12</sup>C (abundance: 98.9%, mass: 12.000000 amu) and the heavy isotope <sup>13</sup>C (abundance: 1.1%, mass: 13.003355 amu). Since the mass of <sup>13</sup>C is higher than the mass of < | + | [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon Carbon] in nature exists in oxidized (i.e., [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide CO<sub>2</sub>] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonate carbonates]), elemental (i.e., [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite graphite] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond diamond]), and reduced (i.e., [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane methane] and organic matter]) forms. Carbon has two [[Isotope | stable isotopes]]: the light isotope <sup>12</sup>C (abundance: 98.9%, mass: 12.000000 amu) and the heavy isotope <sup>13</sup>C (abundance: 1.1%, mass: 13.003355 amu). Since the mass of <sup>13</sup>C is higher than the mass of <sup>12</sup>C, the carbon isotopes are fractionated by chemical and biological processes. In general, <sup>12</sup>C is strongly partitioned into organic matter (reduced form) while the heavy isotope is concentrated in the oxidized forms of carbon. |
Latest revision as of 14:17, 2 February 2016
Carbon in nature exists in oxidized (i.e., CO2 and carbonates), elemental (i.e., graphite and diamond), and reduced (i.e., methane and organic matter]) forms. Carbon has two stable isotopes: the light isotope 12C (abundance: 98.9%, mass: 12.000000 amu) and the heavy isotope 13C (abundance: 1.1%, mass: 13.003355 amu). Since the mass of 13C is higher than the mass of 12C, the carbon isotopes are fractionated by chemical and biological processes. In general, 12C is strongly partitioned into organic matter (reduced form) while the heavy isotope is concentrated in the oxidized forms of carbon.
