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Aircraft measurements of the stable carbon isotopic ratio of atmospheric methane over Siberia
Author(s) -
Sugawara Satoshi,
Nakazawa Takakiyo,
Inoue Gen,
Machida Toshinobu,
Mukai Hitoshi,
Vinnichenko Nikolay K.,
Khattatov Vyachaslav U.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/96gb00038
Subject(s) - troposphere , atmosphere (unit) , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , δ13c , isotopes of carbon , methane , isotopic ratio , carbon dioxide , isotope analysis , stable isotope ratio , environmental chemistry , isotope , total organic carbon , geology , chemistry , oceanography , meteorology , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Air samples collected using aircraft during the Siberian Terrestrial Ecosystem‐Atmosphere‐Cryosphere Experiments (STEACE) in the summer of 1993 and 1994 were analyzed for the carbon isotopic ratio, δ 13 C, of atmospheric CH 4 as well as for the CH 4 concentration. The CH 4 concentrations and δ 13 C values observed in the lower troposphere over wetlands in the West Siberian Lowland varied considerably, showing a clear negative correlation between the two components. From the relationships between measured values of the CH 4 concentration and δ 13 C, values of δ 13 C of CH 4 released from wetlands into the atmosphere were estimated to be −75 to −67‰. The results observed over oil wells and pipelines showed isotopic evidence for leakage of natural gas. Mean values of δ 13 C measured in the middle and upper troposphere over Siberia in the summer season were −47.9±0.3 and −47.8±0.2‰ for 1993 and 1994, respectively, which are quite similar to each other.