A highly portable and inexpensive field sampling kit for radiocarbon analysis of carbon dioxide

Garnett, M. H. , Newton, J.-A. and Parker, T. C. (2021) A highly portable and inexpensive field sampling kit for radiocarbon analysis of carbon dioxide. Radiocarbon, 63(4), pp. 1355-1368. (doi: 10.1017/RDC.2021.49)

Abstract

Radiocarbon (14C) analysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) can be extremely useful in carbon cycle studies because it provides unique information that can infer the age and source of this greenhouse gas. Cartridges containing the CO2-adsorbing zeolite molecular sieve are small and highly portable, which makes them more suitable for field campaigns in remote locations compared to some other CO2 collection methods. However, sampling with molecular sieve cartridges usually requires additional equipment, such as an infrared gas analyser, which can reduce portability and pose limitations due to power demands. In addition, 14C analysis of CO2 is increasingly being used in field experiments which require high numbers of replicate CO2 collections, placing extra pressure on an expensive and cumbersome collection apparatus. We therefore designed and built a molecular sieve CO2 sampling kit that utilizes a small, low power CO2 sensor. We demonstrate the reliability of the new kit for the collection of CO2 samples for 14C analysis in a series of laboratory and field tests. This inexpensive sampling kit is small, light-weight, highly portable, and has low power demands, making it particularly useful for field campaigns in remote and inaccessible locations.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: We are grateful to the Natural Environment Research Council for funding. TCP is funded by NERC numbers NE/P002722/1 and NE/P002722/2.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Garnett, Dr Mark and Newton, Dr Josanne
• Authors: Garnett, M. H., Newton, J.-A., and Parker, T. C.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Radiocarbon
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0033-8222
• ISSN (Online): 1945-5755
• Published Online: 29 June 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Radiocarbon 63(4): 1355-1368
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher