TY - JOUR A1 - Tatzel, Michael A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Rosner, M. A1 - Henehan, M. J. A1 - Tütken, T. T1 - Triple Isotope Fractionation Exponents of Elements Measured by MC-ICP-MS - An Example of Mg JF - Analytical Chemistry N2 - In most chemical reactions, stable isotopes are fractionated in a mass-dependent manner, yielding correlated isotope ratios in elements with three or more stable isotopes. The proportionality between isotope ratios is set by the triple isotope fractionation exponent θ that can be determined precisely for, e.g., sulfur and oxygen by IRMS, but not for metal(loid) elements due to the lower precision of MC-ICP-MS analysis and smaller isotopic variations. Here, using Mg as a test case, we compute a complete metrologically robust uncertainty budget for apparent θ values and, with reference to this, present a new measurement Approach that reduces uncertainty on θ values by 30%. This approach, namely, direct educt-product bracketing (sample−sample bracketing), allows apparent θ values of metal(loid) isotopes to be determined precisely enough to distinguish slopes in three-isotope space. For the example of Mg, we assess appropriate quality Control standards for interference-to-signal ratios and Report apparent θ values of carbonate−seawater pairs. We determined apparent θ values for marine biogenic carbonates, where the foraminifera Globorotalia menardii yields 0.514 ± 0.005 (2 SD), the coral Porites, 0.515 ± 0.006 (2 SD), and two specimens of the giant clam Tridacna gigas, 0.508 ± 0.007 (2 SD) and 0.509 ± 0.006 (2 SD), documenting differences in the uptake pathway of Mg among marine calcifiers. The capability to measure apparent θ values more precisely adds a new dimension to metal(loid) δ values, with the potential to allow us to resolve different modes of fractionation in industrial and natural processes. KW - Isotope fractionation KW - Delta value KW - Biogenic carbonates KW - Calcification KW - Magnesium isotope ratios KW - Measurement uncertainty KW - Sample-sample bracketing PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b02699 VL - 91 IS - 22 SP - 14314 EP - 14322 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-49818 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -