Construction of a gas-handling system for measurement of bond ordering in methane gas

本实验室承接了世界上最大的气源同位素比质谱仪S。该仪器被称为“全景”，提供了迄今为止所有气源同位素比率仪器中最高的质量分辨率。主要调查人员将利用新仪器的独特能力来追踪甲烷气体的来源。这项奖励将提供资金，用于建设基础设施，使他们能够处理甲烷气体进行同位素分析。该研究计划的好处不仅限于基础研究，还包括许多(以及一些意想不到的)有益于整个社会的实际应用。例如，甲烷作为一种温室气体的有效性是二氧化碳的20倍。更好地理解大气甲烷的来源和汇对社会有明显的好处，为了解大气甲烷浓度变化的原因提供了一种手段。到目前为止，在任何特定事件中确定甲烷气体的来源都是不准确的，但使用同位素键排序有望获得更大的确定性。天然气的来源和大气中甲烷气体的高度不确定的全球预算是这一新方法在追踪甲烷来源方面的两个目标应用。键的有序将提供热力学平衡适用的生成温度。对13CH3D/12CH4和12CH2D2/12CH4的分析将为其发生的来源混合提供证据，从而消除标准整体同位素比率的含义。这些同位素比率也被预测为提供涉及甲烷运输、形成或破坏的不同动力学路径的诊断模式。

This laboratory took delivery of the world?s largest gas-source isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The instrument, referred to as the "Panorama", offers by far the greatest mass resolution of any gas-source isotope ratio instrument. The principle investigators will use the unique capabilities of the new instrument for tracing the provenance of methane gas. This award will provide funding to construct the infrastructure to allow them to process methane gases for isotopic analysis. The benefits of the research program extend beyond basic research to include numerous (and some unforeseen) practical applications that benefit society in general. For example, methane is 20 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide. An improved understanding of the sources and sinks of atmospheric methane is of clear benefit to society in providing a means for understanding the causes of variations in atmospheric methane concentrations.Identifying the sources of methane gas with certainty in any particular occurrence has been until now, inexact, but the use of isotopic bond ordering holds the promise of greater certainty. The origins of natural gas and the highly uncertain global budget of methane gas in the atmosphere are two target applications of this novel approach for tracing the sources of methane. Bond ordering will afford temperatures of formation where thermodynamic equilibrium applies. Analyzing both 13CH3D/12CH4 and 12CH2D2/12CH4 will provide evidence for mixing of sources where it has occurred, thus disambiguating the meaning of standard bulk isotope ratios. These isotopologue ratios are also predicted to provide diagnostic patterns for different kinetic pathways involving transport, formation, or destruction of methane.