NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Carbon and hydrogen isotopic characterization of methane from wetlands and lakes of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Western AlaskaThe results are reported of a study of the carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition of methane from tundra environments of the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta of western Alaska. The delta C-13 value of diffusive methane emissions from wet meadow tundra of the Delta is -65.82 +/- 2.21 per mil (n=18). Detritus-rich sediments of tundra lakes are loaded with methane-rich gas bubbles during the warm season. Spatial trend is the major gas concentration and isotopic values of methane in these gas bubbles appear to reflect processes associated with production rate and mechanisms; high methane concentrations, lightest delta C-13 values, the heaviest delta D value occur in detritus-rich sediments isolated from emergent vegetation. Heavier delta C-13 and lighter delta D values in methane from heavily vegetated lake margins suggest a shift toward a larger role for acetate fermentation in association with aquatic plants and plant detritus. Bubble ebullition is estimated to account for up to 17 percent of total Delta methane emissions.
Document ID
19930032548
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Martens, Christopher S.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Kelley, Cheryl A.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Chanton, Jeffrey P.
(North Carolina Univ. Chapel Hill, United States)
Showers, William J.
(North Carolina State Univ. Raleigh, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
October 30, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 97
Issue: D15
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
93A16545
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-834
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-1455
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available