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11 - Isotopes as Tracers of Atmospheric and Groundwater Methane Sources

from Part II - Environmental Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Amy Townsend-Small
Edited by
John Stolz ,
Daniel Bain  and
Michael Griffin
John Stolz
Affiliation:
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
Daniel Bain
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Michael Griffin
Affiliation:
Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania
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Summary

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and can create explosion risk at elevated concentrations. Because there are several major anthropogenic sources of methane and other natural sources of methane that are elevated due to climate feedbacks, there is currently no scientific consensus on the cause of increasing global atmospheric methane concentrations. Methane dissolved in groundwater can also have multiple sources that are difficult to distinguish. Luckily, methane has several naturally occurring stable and radioactive isotopes that can help to differentiate these sources. In this chapter I will present an overview of the isotopic composition of various methane sources, including stable and radioactive isotopes of both carbon and hydrogen; give examples of using isotopes to decipher atmospheric methane sources at the local, regional, and global level; and then give examples of using isotopes to distinguish between major sources of methane in groundwater. All of these examples will include natural gas sources, since that is the theme of this book, although isotope tools can be applied to many other types of methane sources.

Keywords

carbon-13carbon-14deuteriumbiogenic methanethermogenic methanecoalbed methane
Type
Chapter
Information
Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves , pp. 272 - 291
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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