skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: CH[sub 4] production via CO[sub 2] reduction in a temperate bog: A source of [sup 13]C-depleted CH[sub 4]

Journal Article · · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States)
; ;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Washington, Seattle (United States)

The flux and [delta][sup 13]C of CH[sub 4] released from an acidic peat bog (pH = 3.5), located in the foothills of the Cascade Range in Washington state, USA, were measured over two annual cycles. The CH[sub 4] flux ranged from 1-380 mg CH[sub 4]-C/m[sup 2]d, with an annual average of 73-mg CH[sub 4]-C/m[sup 2]d, and correlated with soil temperature. Ebullition accounted for 89% of the methane flux. The average [delta][sup 13]C of the CH[sub 4] flux was [minus]74 [plus minus] 5 [per thousand], with no relationship between the [delta][sup 13]C and flux of CH[sub 4]. The [delta][sup 13]C of CH[sub 4] and CO[sub 2] in bubbles disturbed from the peat soil was [minus]73 [plus minus] 4 and [minus]2 [plus minus] 3 [per thousand], respectively. The [delta]D of CH[sub 4] in bubbles was [minus]308 [plus minus] 35 [per thousand], and the [delta]D of soil water was [minus]65 [plus minus] 3 [per thousand]. Measurements of the rate of aceticlastic methanogenesis and CO[sub 2] reduction in peat soil, using [sup 14]C-labeled acetate and sodium bicarbonate, show that acetate was not an important CH[sub 4] precursor and that CO[sub 2] reduction could account for all of the CH[sub 4] production. The in situ kinetic isotope effect for CO[sub 2] reduction ([alpha][sub r]), calculated using the [delta][sup 13]C of soil water CO[sub 2] and the CH[sub 4] flux, was 0.932 [plus minus] 0.007. The [delta][sup 13]C of CH[sub 4] and CO[sub 2] coexisting in soil waters provides an isotopic tracer of CH[sub 4] production via CO[sub 2] reduction.

OSTI ID:
6955165
Journal Information:
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States), Vol. 56:9; ISSN 0016-7037
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Carbon isotopic composition of bacterial methane in a soil incubation experiment: Contributions of acetate and CO[sub 2]/H[sub 2]
Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States) · OSTI ID:6955165

The carbon isotope biogeochemistry of acetate from a methanogenic marine sediment
Journal Article · Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States) · OSTI ID:6955165

Measurements of stable isotope ratios ({sup 13}CH{sub 4}/{sup 12}CH{sub 4}; {sup 12}CH{sub 3}/{sup 12}CH{sub 3}) in landfill methane using a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer
Journal Article · Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1995 · Global Biogeochemical Cycles · OSTI ID:6955165