A11I-0176
WHY METHANE INCREASING IN THE ATMOSPHERE IS PUSHING US TOWARDS NEW ANALYTICAL APPROACHES FOR STABLE ISOTOPE RATIOS
Monday, 14 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
James W C White, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States, Sylvia Englund Michel, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, Bruce H Vaughn, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States, John B Miller, NOAA Boulder, ESRL, Boulder, CO, United States, Kenneth Alan Masarie, NOAA, Boulder, CO, United States, Edward J Dlugokencky, NOAA Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, Owen Sherwood, University of Colorado at Boulder, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO, United States and Pieter P Tans, NOAA/Earth System Research Lab, Boulder, CO, United States
Abstract:
Methane is increasing again in the atmosphere after nearly a decade of stable concentrations. As methane has risen by 2.5 times since the beginning of the industrial era, such a rise in concentrations is not surprising. Carbon isotopes, however, make it clear that the recent rise is not simply a resumption of the dramatic rise in the 1900s, but that other causes are at play, and that multiple fluxes may be interacting to yield the observed rise. At the same time, cautious attention is focused on the Arctic, where vast stores of carbon are poised for release as frozen soils melt, and some of that carbon will be released as methane. These realities make it imperative that we improve our monitoring of methane and methane isotopes in the atmosphere. This talk will address the issues that we face in meeting this challenge in the NOAA Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, including targets for precision and accuracy needed to calculate regional and global fluxes, technological advances in analytical equipment, maintaining standards, ensuring adequate monitoring sites and meeting all of these needs in an era of funding cuts and uncertainty for environmental monitoring.
