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

这个实验室把全世界的人都带走了？世界上最大的气源同位素比质谱仪。该仪器被称为“全景”，提供了迄今为止最大的质量分辨率的任何气体源同位素比仪器。主要调查人员将利用新仪器的独特功能追踪甲烷气体的来源。该奖项将提供资金建设基础设施，使他们能够处理甲烷气体进行同位素分析。 研究计划的好处超出了基础研究，包括许多（和一些不可预见的）有益于社会的实际应用。例如，甲烷作为温室气体的效果是二氧化碳的20倍。提高对大气甲烷源和汇的认识，对社会有明显的好处，因为它提供了一种了解大气甲烷浓度变化原因的方法。在任何特定事件中确定甲烷气体的来源迄今为止都是不准确的，但同位素键序的使用有希望获得更大的确定性。天然气的起源和高度不确定的全球大气中甲烷气体的预算是这种新的方法用于追踪甲烷来源的两个目标应用。键序将提供热力学平衡适用的形成温度。分析13 CH 3D/12 CH 4和12 CH 2D 2/12 CH 4将提供混合来源的证据，从而消除标准散装同位素比值的含义。这些同位素比也预测提供不同的动力学途径，包括运输，形成，或破坏甲烷的诊断模式。

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.