Dear Isogeochemers,

As a follow up to the on-going disussion about isotope analysis of 
waters, I was hoping to broaden the discussion concerning laser 
spectroscopy isotope analysis, using the instruments from vendors 
such as Los Gatos Research and Picarro (we're considering acquiring 
one of these instruments in our lab for analysis of liquid waters, to 
help reduce the analytical load on our SIRMS instruments).

It sounds like Len and Nabil have both had very positive experiences 
with these instruments, but I was wondering if any one else had any 
comments (advantages and disadvantages) they might like to share? 
Judging by the vendors' literature and the Lis et al. (2008) paper, 
these instruments sound fantastic, but I was curious if there a 
little bit "more than meets the eye" in terms of practical use?  One 
small question in particular: the vendors suggest that these 
instruments are portable/useable in the field - has anyone actually 
tried doing this?

Thanks in advance for any comments.  If people would prefer to e-mail 
me directly, rather than to the list, I'd be happy to compile the 
comments and edit for anonymity, and then post to the list.

Cheers,
Simon

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Simon Poulson
Research Associate Professor
Dept. of Geological Sciences & Engineering MS-172
University of Nevada - Reno
1664 N. Virginia St.
Reno, NV 89557-0138. USA
(775) 784-1104
Fax: (775) 784-1833
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http://www.mines.unr.edu/isotope/simonhome.html
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