Measurements of Atmospheric Methane and ¹³C/¹²C of Atmospheric Methane from Flask Air Samples

Paul Quay and Johnny Stutsman, School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

Prepared by Tom Boden and Linda Allison, CDIAC

(1999) (http://cdiac.ornl.gov/ndps/quay.html)

Precise measurements of atmospheric methane and ¹³C/¹²C in atmospheric methane from flask air samples collected at eight sites worldwide and aboard NOAA cruises in the Pacific Ocean are offered in this database. The eight sites include Olympic Peninsula, Washington; Cape Grim, Tasmania; Fraserdale, Ontario; Marshall Islands; Baring Head, New Zealand; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Point Barrow, Alaska; and American Samoa. The measurements span the period 1988 to mid-1996. All isotopic measurements are reported in per mil (‰) and have been corrected for standard drift.

These data are useful for global methane budget analyses, for determining spatial and temporal trends in the atmospheric isotopic composition of methane, and for constraining the magnitude of the fossil and biogenic CH₄ source strengths. WDC-A database

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kng 09/99