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Development of a membrane inlet system for in-situ and continuous monitoring of noble and greenhouse gas fluxes in snowpacks & soils with a portable mass spectrometer system

Research Project
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01.03.2023
 - 31.08.2024

A crucial element in better understanding climate change and its impact on hydrological, biogeochemical and ecosystem dynamics lies in the accurate monitoring of hydrological and biogeochemical processes. Most available analytical techniques for the measurement of (greenhouse) gases in the environment, however, are either laboratory based or based on instrumentation that is built for in-field applications in warm and temperate climates. In (sub)polar and high-altitude regions, existing analytical techniques face significant challenges related to the very cold and typically harsh weather. Currently, there is no existing system to measure the (greenhouse) gas concentrations and fluxes all the way from the subsurface, through soils, water bodies and snowpacks, to the atmosphere in very cold environments. With this SPI Technogrant, we will develop a new membrane system for continuous and automated measurements of the gas composition of interstitial air in snowpacks and soils as well as in surface waters and groundwaters in sub-arctic to arctic environments. The new system will extend a recently developed portable gas equilibrium-membrane inlet mass spectrometer (GE-MIMS), a breakthrough technology for the on-site and near real-time, continuous measurement of 4 He, 40 Ar, 84 Kr, N 2 , O 2 , CO 2 , CH 4 and H 2 in air and dissolved in water [1]. Our new extended gas monitoring system will, for the first time, enable continuous and autonomous on-site monitoring of greenhouse gas fluxes, sources and sinks in and through soils, snowpacks, surface water and groundwater in subarctic to arctic regions, thus providing a critical missing piece in the global greenhouse gas puzzle. The new system will be assembled and systematically tested at the University of Basel, and subsequently implemented in collaboration with Oulu University and the Finnish Meteorological Institute for continuous and automated in-situ monitoring of noble and greenhouse gases in snowpack, soils, groundwater, and surface water at the largest atmosphere watch site of the circumpolar region, the Pallas atmosphere-ecosystem super site [2]. References [1] Brennwald et al. (2016). A portable and autonomous mass spectrometric system for on-site environmental gas analysis. Environ. Sci. Technol., 50, 13455-12463. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b03669 [2] Marttila et al. (2021). Subarctic catchment water storage and carbon cycling - Leading the way for future studies using integrated datasets at Pallas, Finland. Hydrol. Process., 35, e14350. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14350 Coordinates of the implementation location: Pallas atmosphere-ecosystem super site, 67°59'50.2"N 24°12'33.8"E

Funding

Development of a membrane inlet system for in-situ and continuous monitoring of noble and greenhouse gas fluxes in snowpacks & soils with a portable mass spectrometer system

Swiss Polar Institute, 03.2023-08.2025 (30)
PI : Schilling, Oliver.
CI : Tomonaga, Yama.

Members (2)

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Oliver Schilling

PI
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Yama Tomonaga

Co-PI