Within WP3, soil samples from an ammonia release experiment have been collected. KIT have carried out extensive preparation of these samples prior to various analytical tests, including nitrogen isotope analysis. Soil preparation has included freeze-drying followed by milling/grinding to a fine powder.
For nitrogen isotope analysis by EA-IRMS, a few hundred microgrammes of nitrogen are required. This therefore required the painstaking task of precisely weighing out 5-6mg of each soil sample into small tin capsules. Scientists at KIT did this in duplicate for almost 50 soil samples. The prepared capsules containing soil were then shipped to LGC for analysis.
