| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 27, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 22, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1745078 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Paul Cutler
pcutler@nsf.gov (703)292-4961 OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | January 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $489,383.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $538,140.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2020 = $130,155.00 FY 2021 = $48,757.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1500 SW JEFFERSON AVE CORVALLIS OR US 97331-8655 (541)737-4933 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
104 CEOAS Admin, OSU Corvallis OR US 97331-5503 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
ANT Glaciology, Integrat & Collab Ed & Rsearch |
| Primary Program Source: |
0100XXXXDB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
This project will develop methods to measure the ratios of carbon-13 to carbon-12, and heavy to light hydrogen in methane in air trapped in ice cores. The ratios of the different forms of carbon and hydrogen are "fingerprints" of different sources of this gas in the past--for example wetlands in the tropics versus methane frozen in the sea floor. Once the analysis method is developed, the measurements will be used to examine why methane changed abruptly in the past, both during the last ice age, and during previous warm periods. The data will be used to understand how methane sources like wildfires, methane hydrates, and wetlands respond to climate change. This information is needed to understand future risks of large changes in methane in the atmosphere as Earth warms.
The project involves two tasks. First, the investigators will build and test a gas extraction system for methane isotopic measurements using continuous flow methods, with the goal of equaling or bettering the precision attained by the few other laboratories that make these measurements. The system will be interfaced with existing mass spectrometers at Oregon State University. The system consists of a vacuum chamber and sequence of traps, purification columns, and furnaces that separate methane from other gases and convert it to carbon dioxide or hydrogen for mass spectrometry. Second, the team will measure the isotopic composition of methane across large changes in concentration associated with two past interglacial periods and during abrupt methane changes of the last ice age. These measurements will be used to understand if the main reason for these concentration changes is climate-driven changes in emissions from wetlands, or whether other sources are involved, for example methane hydrates or wildfires.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This award supported the development of an analytical system that measures the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 and hydrogen-2 to hydrogen-1 in methane (CH4) in air trapped in polar ice cores. These ratios can be used to understand what changes in methane sources and removal mechanisms contribute to changes in the amount of methane in the atmosphere over time. The OSU group acquired and built the required equipment to separate CH4 from air and purify it, then analyze the ratios of carbon-13 to carbon-12 and hydrogen-2 to hydrogen-1. The procedures for the carbon measurements were completely developed and applied to understanding abrupt changes in methane during the last ice age (between 60,000 and 10,000 years ago). Hydrogen isotope methods were not completed during the award period due to COVID-related disruptions.
We found evidence for short pulses of biomass burning (burning forests, grasslands, etc.) associated with northern hemisphere warming and with unusual episodes of cold conditions in the northern hemisphere that are believed to correspond with southerly shifts of tropical rainfall. As part of this award, we received a supplement from an NSF program designed to place graduate students in non-academic internships. This funding allowed an OSU graduate student to participate in a six-month internship with the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) in Boulder, CO where they worked on modern atmospheric CH4 isotopic data.
Last Modified: 07/03/2023
Modified by: Edward J Brook
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