System for High Throughput Water Extraction from Soil Material for Stable Isotope Analysis of Water
- 1 Wind, Erosion, and Water Conservation Research Unit, Cropping Systems Research Laboratory USDA-ARS#, Lubbock, USA.
- 2 Wind, Erosion, and Water Conservation Research Unit, Cropping Systems Research Laboratory USDA-ARS#, Lubbock, USA.
Abstract
A major limitation in the use of stable isotope of water in ecological studies is the time that is required to extract water from soil and plant samples. Using vacuum distillation the extraction time can be less than one hour per sample. Therefore, assembling a distillation system that can process multiple samples simultaneously is advantageous and necessary for ecological or hydrological investigations. Presented here is a vacuum distillation apparatus, having six ports, that can process up to 30 samples per day. The distillation system coupled with the Los Gatos Research DLT - 100 Liquid Water Isotope Analyzer is capable of analyzing all of the samples that are generated by vacuum distillation. These two systems allow larger sampling rates making investigations into water movement through an ecological system possible at higher temporal and spatial resolution.
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