Andi Smith is a Stable Isotope Geochemist at the BGS. Here he tells us about the facility's new Sercon GryoGas instrument, which was presented at the EGU General Assembly...
The British Geological Survey has recently
invested in a first of its kind, automated system for the analysis of methane
isotopes (both C and H). This system was designed and built as part of a
collaborative project between Sercon Ltd and members of staff at the National
Environmental Isotope Facility, BGS Keyworth. The system is set up to undertake
rapid throughput, high precision isotope measuments and is perfect for
analysing the kind of baseline samples regularly collected by the BGS, as well
offering a great new facility for the wider research community.
Andi presenting at EGU |
Recent requirements for understanding methane formation
processes has led to investment in a new stable isotope mass spectrometer by
the BGS. This instrument is specifically designed to analyse both carbon and
hydrogen isotopes in water and gas samples and is perfectly set up to support
large groundwater and soil gas surveys. As part of the launch of this equipment
the stable isotope team including Prof. Melanie Leng and Dr Andi Smith went and
presented the new instrumentation at European
General Assembly last month.
The Sercon CryoGas unit |
The system
uses the Sercon CryoGas unit with a series of cryogenic and chemical traps,
alongside gas chromatography columns to separate methane from other gasses,
including major gases such as oxygen, CO2 and nitrogen. Once
separated the methane is broken down into its component parts (carbon and
hydrogen) and each can be analysed on the Sercon 2022 mass spectrometer for
stable isotope composition. The automatic sampling unit means that between 21
and 250 samples can be run in an automated batch, drastically increasing sample
throughput.
Currently the system is being used to analyse carbon in
methane and our first BGS soil survey samples will be analysed within the next
few weeks. We also have the option to analyse carbon isotopes in CO2,
so this instrument could be of wider interest to a number of groups within the
BGS.
I am very excited to develop new applications and collaborations surrounding the isotope analysis of methane and CO2, so please free to contact me or come along and discuss your project ideas!
I am very excited to develop new applications and collaborations surrounding the isotope analysis of methane and CO2, so please free to contact me or come along and discuss your project ideas!
To find out more about the research in this post contact Dr Andi Smith or via Twitter @AndiSmith10.
EGU provides a great platform for sharing and discussing new research with scientists from around the world, holding workshops, attending short courses and training sessions, and meeting up with colleagues. To catch up with all the BGS activity at the conference check out #EGU19 and also be sure to take a look at the @BritGeoSurvey Twitter feed.
EGU provides a great platform for sharing and discussing new research with scientists from around the world, holding workshops, attending short courses and training sessions, and meeting up with colleagues. To catch up with all the BGS activity at the conference check out #EGU19 and also be sure to take a look at the @BritGeoSurvey Twitter feed.
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