Comparison of sample preparation methods for stable isotope analysis of dissolved sulphate in forested watersheds

Pretreatment methods for measuring stable sulphur (δ(34)S) and oxygen (δ(18)O) isotope ratios of dissolved sulphate from watersheds have evolved throughout the last few decades. The current study evaluated if there are differences in the measured stable S and O isotope values of dissolved sulphate from forested watersheds when pretreated using three different methods: Method 1 (M1): adsorb sulphate on anion exchange resins and send directly to isotope facility; Method 2 (M2): adsorb sulphate on anion exchange resins, extract sulphate from anion exchange resins, and send the produced BaSO(4) to the isotope facility; and Method 3 (M3): directly precipitate BaSO(4) without anion exchange resins with the precipitates being sent to the isotope facility. We found an excellent agreement of the δ(34)S(sulphate) values among all the three methods. However, some differences were observed in the δ(18)O(sulphate) values (M1 versus M2:-1.5 ‰; M1 versus M3:-1.2 ‰) associated with possible O contamination before isotope measurement. Several approaches are recommended to improve the pretreatment procedures for δ(18)O(sulphate) analysis.