Ethane measurements in Greenland ice cores: Developing a preindustrial record

乙烷是大气中最丰富的碳氢化合物气体之一，其排放来自化石燃料的生产和使用、生物质燃烧以及各种地质来源。所有的乙烷源也会排放甲烷，甲烷是大气中第二大温室气体。然而，乙烷不具有甲烷的生物来源，这使它成为一个有用的替代甲烷的特定来源。该项目将分析古大气乙烷（C2H6），使用湿法提取技术，该技术已被用于测量南极冰芯中的乙烷，使用格陵兰岛Summit的冰芯样本，并产生第一个北半球乙烷记录。这些结果将有助于回答有关甲烷地质排放对工业化前大气的重要性，以及全新世晚期生物质燃烧排放变化的时间和幅度等问题。结合对南极冰芯的测量，该项目的数据将有助于确定工业化前大气中乙烷的南北半球间梯度。该项目包括支持加州大学欧文分校地球系统科学系的一名博士生和本科生研究人员。结果将用于博士论文和大四本科生的高级论文。该项目还将通过REU生物地球化学和气候变化现场计划为非研究活跃大学的本科生创造夏季研究机会。该计划和联合计划将参与旨在教育高中科学教师关于气候变化及其影响的校内和校外活动，包括在2011年美国国家科学教师协会的区域会议上发表演讲。这项工作的结果将通过同行评议出版物传播，并将有助于IPCC气候评估等与政策有关的活动。这个项目产生的数据将存档在一个国家数据储存库中。

Ethane is one of the most abundant hydrocarbon gases in the atmosphere with emissions from production and use of fossil fuels, from biomass burning, and from a variety of geologic sources. All ethane sources also emit methane, the second most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. However, ethane does not share the biological source of methane, making it a useful proxy for specific methane sources.This project will analyze of paleo-atmospheric ethane (C2H6), using a wet-extraction technique that has been used to measure ethane in Antarctic ice cores, using ice core samples from Summit, Greenland and producing the first northern hemisphere ethane record. The results will enable answers to questions about the importance of geological emissions of methane to the preindustrial atmosphere, and about the timing and magnitude of changes in biomass burning emissions during the late Holocene. In conjunction with measurements on Antarctic ice cores, the data from this project will help establish the north-south interhemispheric gradient of ethane in the preindustrial atmosphere.This project includes support for a PhD student and undergraduate researchers in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. The results will contribute to a PhD dissertation and senior theses of senior undergraduate students. This project will also create summer research opportunities for undergraduates from non- research active universities through the REU site program in Biogeochemistry and Climate Change. The PI and the co-PI will participate in on- and off-campus activities directed towards educating high-school science teachers about climate change and its impacts, including a presentation at the 2011 regional meeting of the National Science Teachers Association. The results of this work will be disseminated via peer-review publications and will contribute to policy-relevant activities such as the IPCC Climate Assessment. Data resulting from this project will be archived in a national data repository.