Hydrogen Isotopic Reference

 δ²H Values of Hydrogen Isotopic Reference Materials

*  Exact values defining the delta scale

Recommendations on the Reporting of δ²H Measurements

At the 37th IUPAC General Assembly in 1993 in Lisbon, the Commission recommended that δ²H values of all hydrogen-bearing materials be measured and expressed relative to VSMOW reference water on a scale normalized by assigning consensus values of –428 ‰ to SLAP reference water, and authors should clearly state so in their reports. Previously, this recommendation applied only to water (ref. 1). 

Authors are encouraged to report their measurement results for δ²H values of NBS 22 oil, IAEA-CH-7 polyethylene foil, or other internationally distributed reference materials, as appropriate for the measurement method concerned, had they been analyzed with the author’s samples. 

Authors should discontinue reporting their δ²H values relative to SMOW. 

The full recommendation appears in:
Reporting of stable hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen isotopic abundances, Coplen, T. B., Pure Appl. Chem., 66, 273-276 (1994).  [full text - pdf 242 KB] {H, C, O Isotopic Rept Guidelines.pdf}

References

1. Gonfiantini, R., Standards for stable isotope measurements in natural compounds, Nature, 271, 534-536 (1978).
2. Gonfiantini, R., Stichler, W., and Rozanski, K., Standards and intercomparison materials distributed by the International Atomic Energy Agency for stable isotope measurements, in Reference and intercomparison materials for stable isotopes of light elements, Vienna, Austria, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA-TECDOC-825, 13-29 (1995).
3. Hut, G., Consultants' group meeting on stable isotope reference samples for geochemical and hydrological investigations, Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency, 42 p (1987).