A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis
International audience Methane (CH4) is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Rapid variations of the CH4 concentration, as frequently registered, for example, during the last ice age, have been used as reliable time markers for the definition of a common time sca...
Published in: | Environmental Science & Technology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2009
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Online Access: | https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003137 |
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Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA |
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ftinraparis |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology |
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[SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology Schupbach, Simon Federer, Urs R. Kaufmann, Patrik A. Hutterli, Manuel Buiron, Daphné Blunier, Thomas Fischer, Hubertus F. Stocker, Thomas A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis |
topic_facet |
[SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology |
description |
International audience Methane (CH4) is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Rapid variations of the CH4 concentration, as frequently registered, for example, during the last ice age, have been used as reliable time markers for the definition of a common time scale of polar ice cores. In addition, these variations indicate changes in the sources of methane primarily associated with the presence of wetlands. In order to determine the exact time evolution of such fast concentration changes, CH4 measurements of the highest resolution in the ice core archive are required. Here, we present a new, semicontinuous and field-deployable CH4 detection method, which was incorporated in a continuous flow analysis (CFA) system. In CFA, samples cut along the axis of an ice core are melted at a melt speed of typically 3.5 cm/min. The air from bubbles in the ice core is extracted continuously from the meltwater and forwarded to a gas chromatograph (GC) for high-resolution CH4 measurements. The GC performs a measurement every 3.5 min, hence, a depth resolution of 15 cm is achieved at the chosen melt rate. An even higher resolution is not necessary due to the low pass filtering of air in ice cores caused by the slow bubble enclosure process and the diffusion of air in firn. Reproducibility of the new method is 3%, thus, for a typical CH4 concentration of 500 ppb during an ice age, this corresponds to an absolute precision of 15 ppb, comparable to traditional analyses on discrete samples. Results of CFA-CH4 measurements on the ice core from Talos Dome (Antarctica) illustrate the much higher temporal resolution of our method compared with established melt-refreeze CH4 measurements and demonstrate the feasibility of the new method. |
author2 |
Physics Institute Bern Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE) Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Centre for Ice and Climate Copenhagen Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen (NBI) Faculty of Science Copenhagen University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-Faculty of Science Copenhagen University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH) Swiss National Science Foundation and by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, The Talos Dome Ice core Project (TALDICE) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Schupbach, Simon Federer, Urs R. Kaufmann, Patrik A. Hutterli, Manuel Buiron, Daphné Blunier, Thomas Fischer, Hubertus F. Stocker, Thomas |
author_facet |
Schupbach, Simon Federer, Urs R. Kaufmann, Patrik A. Hutterli, Manuel Buiron, Daphné Blunier, Thomas Fischer, Hubertus F. Stocker, Thomas |
author_sort |
Schupbach, Simon |
title |
A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis |
title_short |
A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis |
title_full |
A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis |
title_fullStr |
A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis |
title_sort |
new method for high-resolution methane measurements on polar ice cores using continuous flow analysis |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003137 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica ice core |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica ice core |
op_source |
ISSN: 0013-936X EISSN: 1520-5851 Environmental Science and Technology https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 Environmental Science and Technology, 2009, 43 (14), pp.5371-5376. ⟨10.1021/es9003137⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1021/es9003137 insu-00421251 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 doi:10.1021/es9003137 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003137 |
container_title |
Environmental Science & Technology |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
14 |
container_start_page |
5371 |
op_container_end_page |
5376 |
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1810493638394773504 |
spelling |
ftinraparis:oai:HAL:insu-00421251v1 2024-09-15T17:45:44+00:00 A New Method for High-Resolution Methane Measurements on Polar Ice Cores Using Continuous Flow Analysis Schupbach, Simon Federer, Urs R. Kaufmann, Patrik A. Hutterli, Manuel Buiron, Daphné Blunier, Thomas Fischer, Hubertus F. Stocker, Thomas Physics Institute Bern Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE) Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Centre for Ice and Climate Copenhagen Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen (NBI) Faculty of Science Copenhagen University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-Faculty of Science Copenhagen University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH) Swiss National Science Foundation and by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, The Talos Dome Ice core Project (TALDICE) 2009 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003137 en eng HAL CCSD American Chemical Society info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1021/es9003137 insu-00421251 https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 doi:10.1021/es9003137 ISSN: 0013-936X EISSN: 1520-5851 Environmental Science and Technology https://insu.hal.science/insu-00421251 Environmental Science and Technology, 2009, 43 (14), pp.5371-5376. ⟨10.1021/es9003137⟩ [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2009 ftinraparis https://doi.org/10.1021/es9003137 2024-07-30T14:12:32Z International audience Methane (CH4) is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Rapid variations of the CH4 concentration, as frequently registered, for example, during the last ice age, have been used as reliable time markers for the definition of a common time scale of polar ice cores. In addition, these variations indicate changes in the sources of methane primarily associated with the presence of wetlands. In order to determine the exact time evolution of such fast concentration changes, CH4 measurements of the highest resolution in the ice core archive are required. Here, we present a new, semicontinuous and field-deployable CH4 detection method, which was incorporated in a continuous flow analysis (CFA) system. In CFA, samples cut along the axis of an ice core are melted at a melt speed of typically 3.5 cm/min. The air from bubbles in the ice core is extracted continuously from the meltwater and forwarded to a gas chromatograph (GC) for high-resolution CH4 measurements. The GC performs a measurement every 3.5 min, hence, a depth resolution of 15 cm is achieved at the chosen melt rate. An even higher resolution is not necessary due to the low pass filtering of air in ice cores caused by the slow bubble enclosure process and the diffusion of air in firn. Reproducibility of the new method is 3%, thus, for a typical CH4 concentration of 500 ppb during an ice age, this corresponds to an absolute precision of 15 ppb, comparable to traditional analyses on discrete samples. Results of CFA-CH4 measurements on the ice core from Talos Dome (Antarctica) illustrate the much higher temporal resolution of our method compared with established melt-refreeze CH4 measurements and demonstrate the feasibility of the new method. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica ice core Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA Environmental Science & Technology 43 14 5371 5376 |