Real-Time Monitoring of Methane Isotopes in Ambient Air

Objective

Methane is one of the three most important greenhouse gases and is considered responsible for 20% of the observed enhanced greenhouse effect. As one of six gases targeted under the Kyoto protocol, EU member states require accurate knowledge of their methane emissions to meet their annual reporting requirements. Whilst total global emissions are well constrained, emissions by source sector are less well known and current observation networks are unable to verify emission reductions at a national level. A valuable tool for distinguishing amongst emission sources is isotopic measurement. The acquisition of real-time, high-precision isotopic methane data, when coupled with back-trajectory analysis, provides a measureable discriminant which can identify methane emissions by geographic location, time and source type. Such information will be invaluable in providing a quantitative understanding of methane sources and sinks, which in turn will be critical for the implementation of methane emission mitigation strategies and enforcement of regulatory legislation. The development and application of a transportable, ultra-sensitive optical spectrometer is thus proposed, to allow, for the first time, real-time measurement of the ratios of stable methane isotopologues in atmospheric samples. This will permit measurements on a timescale sufficient for back-trajectory analysis. The project focuses on developing a new analytical technique capable of detecting 12CH4, 13CH4 and CH3D in atmospheric samples at sub parts-per-billion sensitivity, and providing information on the isotopic fractionation within these samples on a 1 Hz timescale, with measurements that can be traceable to the SI system. The applicant will incorporate his chemical physics experience in gas phase molecular spectroscopy with the optical detection expertise of the host institute on a project which can provide significant contributions to the fields of atmospheric research and environmental monitoring.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• natural sciences physical sciences molecular and chemical physics
• natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
• natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF - Marie Curie Action: "International Incoming Fellowships"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-IIF - International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

Coordinator

Participants (1)