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@article{Zazzeri:2025:10.5194/amt-18-319-2025,
author = {Zazzeri, G and Wacker, L and Haghipour, N and Gautschi, P and Laemmel, T and Szidat, S and Graven, H},
doi = {10.5194/amt-18-319-2025},
journal = {Atmospheric Measurement Techniques},
pages = {319--325},
title = {A new portable sampler of atmospheric methane for radiocarbon measurements},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-319-2025},
volume = {18},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Radiocarbon (14C) is an optimal tracer of methane emissions, as 14C measurements enable distinguishing between fossil methane and biogenic methane (CH4). However, 14C measurements in atmospheric methane are still rare, mainly because of the technical challenge of collecting enough carbon for 14C analysis from ambient air samples. In this study, we address this challenge by advancing the system in Zazzeri et al. (2021) into a much more compact and portable sampler and by coupling the sampler with the MICADAS (MIni CArbon DAting System) accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) system at ETH Zurich, using a gas interface.Here, we present the new sampler setup, the assessment of the system contamination and a first inter-laboratory comparison with LARA (Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS) at the University of Bern.With our sampling line, we achieved a very low blank, 0.7 µgC compared to 5.5 µgC in Zazzeri et al. (2021), and a sample precision of 0.9 %, comparable with other measurement techniques for 14CH4, while reducing the sample size to 60 L of air. We show that this technique, with further improvements, will enable routine 14CH4 measurements in the field for an improved understanding of CH4 sources.
AU - Zazzeri,G
AU - Wacker,L
AU - Haghipour,N
AU - Gautschi,P
AU - Laemmel,T
AU - Szidat,S
AU - Graven,H
DO - 10.5194/amt-18-319-2025
EP - 325
PY - 2025///
SN - 1867-1381
SP - 319
TI - A new portable sampler of atmospheric methane for radiocarbon measurements
T2 - Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-319-2025
VL - 18
ER -