Atmospheric concentration measurements are used to adjust the daily to monthly budget of CO₂ emissions from the AirParif inventory of the Paris agglomeration. We use 5 atmospheric monitoring sites including one at the top of the Eiffel tower. The atmospheric inversion is based on a Bayesian approach, and relies on an atmospheric transport model with a spatial resolution of 2…

Weekly samples from surface waters, springs, soil water and rainfall were collected in a 76.9 km2 mountain rain forest catchment and its tributaries in southern Ecuador. Time series of the stable water isotopes δ18O and δ2H were used to calculate mean transit times (MTTs) and the transit time distribution functions (TTDs) solving the convolution…

We present CH₄ concentration [CH₄] and the partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) in bulk sea ice from subarctic, land-fast sea ice in the Kapisillit fjord, Greenland. The bulk ice [CH₄] ranged from 1.8 to 12.1 nmol L⁻¹, which corresponds to a partial pressure range of 3 to 28 ppmv. This is markedly higher than the…

The addition of pyrogenic carbon (C) in the soil is considered a potential strategy to achieve direct C sequestration and potential reduction of non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we investigated the long term effects of charcoal addition on C sequestration and soil physico-chemical properties by studying a series of abandoned charcoal hearths in…

Extra-tropical cyclones, such as 2012 Superstorm Sandy, pose a significant climatic threat to the northeastern United Sates, yet prediction of hydrologic and thermodynamic processes within such systems is complicated by their interaction with mid-latitude water patterns as they move poleward. Fortunately, the evolution of these systems is also recorded in the stable isotope ratios of storm-…

Accumulation is a key parameter governing the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet. Several studies have documented the spatial variability of accumulation over wide spatial scales, primarily using point data, remote sensing or modeling. Direct measurements of spatially extensive, detailed profiles of accumulation in Greenland, however, are rare. We used 400 MHz ground-penetrating radar…

The groundwater flow systems and chemistry in the deep part of the coastal area of Japan have attracted attention over recent decades due to government projects such as geological disposal of radioactive waste. However, the continuous groundwater flow system moving from the shallow to deep parts of the sedimentary soft rock has not yet been characterized. Therefore, the Cl^–, δD…

The destructive effects of sulfate attack on concrete structures are well known, but the reaction paths and mechanisms that cause the deterioration are still under debate. The aim of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding on investigating concrete damage by introducing a novel and promising multi proxy approach method. The methodology comprises advanced…

RATIONALE:

Low-budget rain collectors for water isotope analysis, such as the 'ball-in-funnel type collector' (BiFC), are widely used in studies on stable water isotopes of rain. To date, however, an experimental quality assessment of such devices in relation to climatic factors does not exist.

METHODS:

We used Cavity Ring-Down…

Development of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) has enabled real-time monitoring of carbon stable isotope ratios of carbon dioxide and methane in air. Here we demonstrate that CRDS can be adapted to assess aquatic carbon cycling processes from microbial to ecosystem scales. We first measured in situ isotopologue concentrations of dissolved CO₂ (¹²CO_2…

Changes in atmospheric circulation over the past five decades have enhanced the wind-driven inflow of warm ocean water onto the Antarctic continental shelf, where it melts ice shelves from below. Atmospheric circulation changes have also caused rapid warming…

Scarcity of mercury species records in the Southern Hemisphere is a critical weak point for the development of appropriate modeling and regulation scenarios. Under the framework of the “Global Mercury Observation System” (GMOS) project, a monitoring station has been set up on Amsterdam Island (37_480 S, 77_340 5 E) in the remote southern Indian Ocean. For the first time in the Southern…

Background and aims

Positive relationships between temperature and soil respiration rate are widely observed, but it remains unclear if the relationships are due to increases in soil organic matter mineralisation (R _om), or in root and rhizosphere respiration (R _roots), or increases in both. This study aims to determine the relative…

Chemical and stable isotopic compositions (δD, δ¹⁸O, and δ³⁴S) of non-volcanic hot spring waters around the Miocene Kofu granitic complex surrounding the Kofu basin in the South Fossa Magna region of central Honshu, Japan, were analyzed in order to investigate water–rock interactions and to determine the origin and sulfur isotopic characteristics of their trace amounts…

A new method of extracting regional background concentration of CO₂ in Yangtze River Delta was established based on the observations of both black carbon concentration and meteorological parameters. The concentrations of CO₂ and black carbon were observed at Lin'an regional background station from 2009 to 2011. The regional background concentration of CO_…

Radiocarbon can be used to trace fossil fuel CO₂ (CO₂ff) in the atmosphere, because radiocarbon has been depleted in fossil fuels. Here we present our study on the spatial distribution and temporal variations of CO₂ff in Xi'an City, China using Δ¹⁴C of both green foxtail (Setaria viridis, L. Beauv.) leaf samples and…

Assessing the impacts of methane released from hydrate-bearing environments on global carbon cycling would require detailed insights into the distributions and capacities of microbial communities at different horizons of sediment column. In this study, we conducted geochemical, gene abundance and diversity analyses for a sediment core retrieved from a potential hydrate-bearing region off…

The Siberian region is still sparsely covered by ecosystem observatories, which motivates the exploitation of existing data sets to gain spatially and temporally better-resolved carbon budgets. The Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO; 60°48' N, 89°21' E) observations of CO₂ and CH₄ mole fractions as well as meteorological parameters from six different…

The Picarro G1301 has been designed specifically to focus on the needs of the atmospheric monitoring community and to serve as the backbone for greenhouse gas monitoring networks.

Exploration of unconventional natural gas reservoirs such as impermeable shale basins through the use ofhorizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has changed the energy landscape in the USA providing a vastnew energy source. The accelerated production of natural gas has triggered a debate concerning thesafety and possible environmental impacts of these operations. This study investigates…

A novel instrument, based on cavity-ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS), has been developed for trace gas detection. The new instrument utilizes a widely tunable optical parametric oscillator (OPO), which incorporates a zinc–germanium–phosphide (ZGP) crystal that is pumped at 2.8 μm by a 25-Hz Er,Cr:YSGG laser. The resultant mid-IR beam profile is nearly Gaussian, with energies exceeding 200…

Cavity enhanced spectroscopy (CES) methodology provides a much higher degree of sensitivity than that available from conventional absorption spectrometers. The aim of this chapter is to present the fundamentals of the method, and the various modifications and extensions that have been developed. In order to set the stage, the limitations of traditional absorption spectrometers are…

High fluences inside cavity ring-down spectroscopy optical resonators lend themselves to fluorescence or Raman spectroscopy. An instrument at 488 nm was developed to measure extinction, and fluorescence of aerosols. A detection limit of 6 x 10^-9 cm^-1Hz^-1/2 (0.6 Mm^-1Hz^-1/2) was achieved. The fluorescence spectral power collected from a single fluorescent microsphere was 10 to 20 pW/nm.…

An historical overview of laser-based, spectroscopic methods that employ high-finesse optical resonators is presented. The overview begins with the early work in atomic absorption (1962) and optical cavities (1974) that led to the first mirror reflectivity measurements in 1980. This paper concludes with very recent extensions of cavity-enhanced methods for the study of condensed-phase media…

We describe the application of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) to the detection of trace levels of ethylene in ambient air in a cold storage room of a fruit packing facility over a several month period. We compare these results with those obtained using gas chromatography (GC), the current gold standard for trace ethylene measurements in post-harvest applications. The CRDS instrument…

Recent measurements of carbon isotopes in carbon dioxide using near-infrared, diode-laser-based cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) are presented. The CRDS system achieved good precision, often better than 0.2‰, for 4% CO₂ concentrations, and also achieved 0.15–0.25‰ precision in a 78 min measurement time with cryotrap-based pre-concentration of ambient CO₂…

Researchers investigating global climate change need measurements of greenhouse gases with extreme precision and accuracy to enable the development and benchmarking of better climate models. Existing atmospheric monitors based on non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors have known problems – they are non-linear, sensitive to water vapor concentration, and susceptible to drift. Many cannot…

Eleven instruments for the measurement of ambient concentrations of atmospheric ammonia gas (NH₃), based on eight different measurement methods were inter-compared above an intensively managed agricultural field in late summer 2008 in S. Scotland. To test the instruments over a wide range of concentrations, the field was fertilised with urea midway through the experiment, leading…

This study demonstrates the application of Wavelength-Scanned Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (WS-CRDS) technology which is used to measure the stable isotopic composition of water. This isotopic water analyzer incorporates an evaporator system that allows liquid water as well as water vapor to be measured with high precision. The analyzer can measure H…

A continuous-flow cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) system integrating a chromatographic separation technique, a catalytic combustor, and an isotopic¹³C/¹²C optical analyzer is described for the isotopic analysis of a mixture of organic compounds. A demonstration of its potential is made for the geochemically important class of short-chain hydrocarbons. The system…

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) mole fractions were continuously measured from January 2009 to December 2011 at four atmospheric observatories in China using cavity ring-down spectroscopy instruments. The stations are Lin'an (LAN), Longfengshan (LFS), Shangdianzi (SDZ), and Waliguan (WLG), which are regional (LAN, LFS, SDZ) or global (WLG) measurement stations of the World…

Measurements of the ¹⁷O_excess of H₂O were obtained from ice cores in West and East Antarctica. Combined with previously-published results from East Antarctica, the new data provide the most complete spatial and temporal view of Antarctic ¹⁷O_excess to date. There is a steep spatial gradient of ¹⁷O_excess in present-…

Facilitation and competition between different vegetation layers may have a large impact on small-scale vegetation development. We propose that this should not only influence overall herbaceous layer yield but also species distribution and understory longevity, and hence the ecosystems carbon uptake capacity especially during spring. We analyzed the effects of trees on…

We report trends in springtime ozone (O₃) and carbon monoxide (CO) at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory (MBO) in central Oregon, U.S.A. from 2004 to 2013. Over the 10-year period the median and 95th percentile springtime O₃ increased by 0.76 ± 0.61 ppbv yr⁻¹ (1.7 ± 1.4% yr⁻¹) and 0.87 ± 0.73 ppbv…

Biogeochemical dynamics under seasonal ice cover were investigated in the shallow (<10 m) water column of highly productive Georgetown Lake, western Montana, USA. This high altitude (1,800 m) reservoir is well-mixed in summer, but becomes strongly stratified under ice cover (mid-November–mid-May). A rapid drop in dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and rise in dissolved…

Stable isotopes in water (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) are important indicators of hydrological and ecological pattern and process. δ²H and δ¹⁸O of water are incorporated into geological and biological systems in a predictable manner and have been used extensively as tracers in hydrological, ecological and forensic studies. Physical processes result in spatial…

An instrumented sample holder was developed for time-lapse micro-tomography of snow samples to enable in-situ nondestructive spatial and temporal measurements under controlled advective airflows, temperature gradients, and air humidities. The design was aided by computational fluid dynamics simulations to evaluate the airflow uniformity across the snow sample. Morphological and mass…

In the Ziz Basin, located in arid area in southeastern Morocco, surface waters are scarce and local populations are entirely dependent on groundwater resources for drinking and irrigation. In order to evaluate the main factors controlling the origin and salinization of groundwater resources, we have investigated the chemical and stable isotope compositions of groundwater and surface water…

The chemical and physical properties of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed by the photochemical degradation of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) are as yet still poorly constrained. The evolution of the complex refractive index (RI) of SOA, formed from purely biogenic VOC and mixtures of biogenic and anthropogenic VOC, was studied over a diurnal cycle in the…