Articles | Volume 18, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-319-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-319-2025
Research article
 | 
20 Jan 2025
Research article |  | 20 Jan 2025

A new portable sampler of atmospheric methane for radiocarbon measurements

Giulia Zazzeri, Lukas Wacker, Negar Haghipour, Philip Gautschi, Thomas Laemmel, Sönke Szidat, and Heather Graven

Related authors

Radiocarbon in atmospheric CH4 and CO2 at Jungfraujoch in 2019–2024: influence of regional nuclear emissions and current global atmospheric 14CH4 signal
Thomas Laemmel, Dylan Geissbühler, Stephan Henne, Ryo Fujita, Heather Graven, Christophe Espic, Matthias Bantle, Negar Haghipour, Franz Conen, Dominik Brunner, Martin Steinbacher, Giulia Zazzeri, Samuel Hammer, Markus Leuenberger, and Sönke Szidat
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-265,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-265, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary

Cited articles

Eisma, R., Vermeulen, A. T., and Van Der Borg, K.: 14CH4 emissions from nuclear power plants in northwestern Europe, Radiocarbon, 37, 475–483, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200030952, 1995. 
Espic, C., Liechti, M., Battaglia, M., Paul, D., Röckmann, T., and Szidat, S.: Compound-specific radiocarbon analysis of atmospheric methane: a new preconcentration and purification setup, Radiocarbon, 61, 1461–1476, https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2019.76, 2019. 
Fahrni, S. M., Wacker, L., Synal, H. A., and Szidat, S.: Improving a gas ion source for 14C AMS, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 294, 320–327, 2013. 
Mann, W. B.: An International Reference Material for Radiocarbon Dating, Radiocarbon, 25, 519–527, 1983. 
Palonen, V., Uusitalo, J., Seppälä, E., and Oinonen, M.: A portable methane sampling system for radiocarbon-based bioportion measurements and environmental CH4 sourcing studies, Rev. Sci. Instrum., 88, 075102 , https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4993920, 2017. 
Download
Short summary
Radiocarbon (14C) is an optimal tracer of methane (CH4) emissions, as 14C measurements enable distinguishing between fossil methane and biogenic methane. However, these measurements are particularly challenging, mainly due to technical difficulties in the sampling procedure. We made the sample extraction much simpler and time efficient, providing a new technology that can be used by any research group, with the goal of expanding 14C measurements for an improved understanding of methane sources.
Share