Detection of nitric acid (HNO<Subscript>3</Subscript>) in the atmosphere using the LOPAP technique

A new instrument (LOPAP: LOng Path liquid Absorption Photometer) for the sensitive detection of nitric acid (HNO₃) in the atmosphere is described. HNO₃ is sampled in a temperature controlled stripping coil mounted in an external sampling module to minimize sampling artefacts in sampling lines. After conversion into a strongly absorbing dye, HNO₃ is detected in long path absorption in special Teflon® AF 2400 tubes used as liquid core wave guides. For the correction of some interferences, due to for example HONO and particle nitrate, two channels are used in series. The interferences from several potential interfering compounds including particle nitrate were quantified in the laboratory and in a large outdoor simulation chamber. With the exception of the interference caused by N₂O₅, which is quantitatively measured by the instrument, all tested interferences can be corrected under atmospheric conditions. Thus, in the instrument only the sum of N(V) from HNO₃ and N₂O₅ is determined, which is expected to be a common problem of wet chemical HNO₃ instruments. The instrument has a detection limit of 5–30 pptv for a time response of 6–2 min, respectively and was validated against the FTIR technique in a large outdoor simulation chamber. In addition, the applicability of the instrument was demonstrated in a field campaign.     

Determination of Precious Metal Concentrations in a Polymetallic Nodule Reference Sample from the Indian Ocean by ICP-MS

A polymetallic nodule reference sample (No. 2388)collected from the Indian Ocean, and seven other samples, two from the United States Geological Survey, USA (Nod-A-1 and Nod-P-1), three from Russia (OOPE 601, OOPE 602, and OOPE 603), and two from China (GSPN-2 and GSPN-3), collected from different loca tions, are available for calibration purposes and as control samples in the analytical programs for polymetallic nodules and associated sediments to ensure accurate measurements. They are not certified for precious metal concentrations, however, and the data available are very scanty. An attempt has been made to provide working values for platinum, palladium, gold, and silver and indicative values for osmium, iridium, and ruthenium in these eight ferromanganese nodule reference samples, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). To assess the accuracy of the method, certified reference materials, WPR-1, WMS-1, WMG-1, and WGB-1 Canadian Certified Materials Project (CCRMP, Canada) were analyzed, and the data obtained were compared with the certified values. The estimate of analytical reproducibility was found to be better than 15 % RSD for most elements with comparable accuracy. The data presented for this set of manganese nodule reference samples may be useful in geochemical studies of manganese nodules and associated sediments.