Oxygen isotope composition of stratospheric carbon dioxide -: art. no. 1582

[1] Heavy oxygen isotope enrichment in stratospheric CO2 has been identified in the past as a direct result of the large O-3 isotope anomaly though no simultaneous measurements are known. Results from 8 stratospheric balloon flights at two latitudes are reported that provide now a complete oxygen isotope analysis of both gases. An unambiguous, very tight correlation between enrichments of O-17 and O-18 in CO2 has been found. The large ratio delta(17)O/delta(18)O of 1.71 +/- 0.03 shows a faster transfer of O-17 than of O-18 into CO2 and establishes a standard throughout the lower and middle stratosphere between midlatitudes and high northern latitudes. Ozone isotope transfer can now be treated in models with reliable atmospheric data.