Discrepancies Between Isotope Ratio Infrared Spectroscopy and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry for the Stable Isotope Analysis of Plant and Soil Waters
The use of isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy (IRIS) for the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopeanalysis of water is increasing. While IRIS has many advantages over traditional isotope ratio massspectrometry (IRMS), it may also be prone to errors that do not impact upon IRMS analyses. Ofparticular concern is the potential for contaminants in the water sample to interfere with thespectroscopy, thus leading to erroneous stable isotope data. Water extracted from plant and soilsamples may often contain organic contaminants.