Automated cavity ring down spectroscopy was used to make continuous measurements of dissolved methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide in a coral reef lagoon for 2 weeks (Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef). Radon (²²²Rn) was used to trace the influence of tidally driven pore water exchange on greenhouse gas dynamics. Clear tidal variation was…

Floods frequently produce deoxygenation and acidification in waters of artificially drained coastal acid sulfate soil (CASS) wetlands. These conditions are ideal for carbon dioxide and methane production. We investigated CO₂ and CH₄ dynamics and quantified carbon loss within an artificially drained CASS wetland during and after a flood. We separated the…

Fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from unconventional gas extraction processes (e.g. shale gas, tight gas and coal bed methane/coal seam gas) are poorly understood due in part to the extensive area over which these emissions may occur. We apply a rapid qualitative approach for source assessment at the scale of a large gas field. A mobile cavity ring down spectrometer (Picarro G2201-…

The replacement of native species by invasive Phragmites australis in coastal wetlands may impact ecosystem processes including fluxes of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄). To investigate differences in daytime CH…

We present a study of methane emissions from oil and gas producing well pad facilities in the Barnett Shale region of Texas, measured using an innovative ground-based mobile flux plane (MFP) measurement system, as part of the Barnett Coordinated Campaign. Using only public roads, we measured the emissions from nearly 200 well pads over 2 weeks in October 2013. The population of…

This study presents two methods for estimating methane emissions from a waste water treatment plant (WWTP) along with results from a measurement campaign at a WWTP in Valence, France. These methods, chamber measurements and tracer release, rely on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and cavity ring-down spectroscopy instruments. We show that the tracer release method is suitable…

A portable Wavelength Scanned-Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer (Picarro L2120) fitted with a diffusion sampler (DS-CRDS) was used for the first time to continuously measure δ¹⁸O and δ²H of stream water. The experiment took place during a storm event in a wet tropical agricultural catchment in north-eastern Australia. At a temporal…

Temperature reconstructions across Heinrich stadials 1–3 are presented from an absolute-dated speleothem from Abaco Island in the Bahamas to understand the nature of climate change across these intervals in the subtropical Atlantic. The stalagmite carbonate record, dated by the U–Th geochronometry technique, includes higher δ¹⁸O and …

Insights into the effects of stormwater control measures (SCMs) on urban stream hydrology and in-stream processes are required to understand their effectiveness in mitigating the environmental problems associated with urbanization. Stable water isotopes were applied to understand processes occurring within SCMs and their effects on water sourcing in urban streams. We sampled ten…

The isotopic composition of near surface (or planetary boundary layer) water vapor on the south coast of Iceland (63.83°N, 21.47°W) has been monitored in situ between November 2011 and April 2013. The calibrated data set documents seasonal variations in the relationship between δ¹⁸O and local humidity (ppmv) and between deuterium…

Laser-based spectroscopic techniques, such as cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), provide a new, costeffective and more widely available approach to measure the oxygen isotope ratio in water molecules, H218O/H216O (d18O), and are used increasingly to measure d18O in the world’s oceans. Here, we present results froman interlaboratory comparison designed to evaluate the quality of…

Deuterium (dD) and oxygen (d18O) isotopes are powerful tracers of the hydrological cycle and have been extensively used for paleoclimate reconstructions as they can provide information on past precipitation,temperature and atmospheric circulation. More recently, the use of 17O excess derived from precise measurement of d17O and d18O gives new and additional insights in tracing the…

A correction for the undesirable effects of direct and indirect cross-interference from water vapour on ammonia (NH₃) measurements was developed using an optical laser sensor based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy. This correction relied on new measurements of the collisional broadening due to water vapour of two NH₃ spectral…

Describes development of and results obtained from an analyzer engineered by Picarro for measuring six important atmospheric contaminants (hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane) that are of interest to researchers monitoring Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).

Picarro has developed a field-deployable, real time, ambient gas monitor capable of measuring atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia with parts-per-billion (ppbv) sensitivity and water vapor with parts-per-million (ppmv) sensitivity. Results from field trials of three different CO2 analyzers at Harvard, Penn State, and the NOAA facility in Boulder CO…

Description of field-deployable instrumentation that measures carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor with both high-accuracy and high-precision would reduce the uncertainty in the determination of terrestrial sources and sinks of these dominant greenhouse gases.

Results presented from field trials at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and laboratory tests at INSTAAR of a newly available analyzer capable of performing continuous measurements of stable isotopes (δD and δ18O) of liquid water and / or water vapor samples.

Picarro has developed an isotope analyzer for lab and field measurements of carbon isotopes in CO₂ with the goal of allowing turnkey analysis to be done without the need for flask samples and complex IRMS methods. Here we present a description of the analyzer and its technology as well as recent results from two different collaborators who utilized the analyzer.

Describing work by CSIRO, CO2 CRC and Picarro to characterize sequestration site leaks using tracers and isotopes.

Describes the first field data taken by Oregon State University of Picarro's dual-species Eddy-Covariance analyzer.

Describes work by INSTAAR, NOAA & Picarro on both liquid water and water vapor measurements of stable water isotopes.

From the EGU 2009 General Assembly, describing measurements of edible oils and chocolates made with Picarro's iTOC-CRDS Isotopic Carbon Analyzer.

Describes specific design aspects of WS-CRDS-based analyzers and how these details result in ultra-stable field measurements.

Describes liquid water and water vapor isotope measurements with the Picarro isotopic water analyzer.