UK Relic Air Extraction and Gas Analysis System (UK RArE-GAS)

英国遗迹空气提取和气体分析系统 (UK RArE-GAS)

• 批准号: NE/T008911/1
• 负责人: Elizabeth Thomas
• 金额: $ 38.18万
• 依托单位: British Antarctic Survey
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FT008911%2F1
• 关键词: UK; Relic; Air; Extraction; Gas

The rise in atmospheric CO2, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuel, is the most important factor driving the recent change in our planet's climate. Direct measurements of atmospheric CO2 only started in the 1950s - so how do we know that the rise in atmospheric CO2 is unprecedented? To look into the past we use a unique geologic archive: the bubbles of air trapped in ice cores from the polar ice sheets. Ice cores from specially selected sites, can yield, detailed yearly records for recent centuries, or records spanning the last 800 thousand years (the time that anatomically modern humans first appeared). Uniquely among natural archives of change, ice cores contain samples of the three major greenhouses gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) captured a little after the snow fell, and an isotopic record of atmosphere temperature. Ice cores thus provide the most compelling evidence that the changing concentration of greenhouse gases is driving natural climate change, which has taken the planet through many cycles of glaciation and warmth. In coming years, ice cores will answer key questions. 1) What is the lag between rising greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations and global temperature? 2) Why did the Earth enter a regular cycle of glacial to interglacial transitions 500 thousand years ago that dominated planetary change until the industrial era? 3) How did the higher than pre-industrial concentrations of GHG affect our planet in the last interglacial period 120 thousand years ago? Existing and planned ice cores, collected from Antarctica, Greenland and high-mountain glaciers, are a unique window into the past changes in the atmosphere. Providing crucial data to drive and test computer models exploring how and why climate changed in the past. This in turn informs projections of how the climate will change in the future. We propose to develop a facility, UK-RArE-GAS, at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), to help scientists from around the UK, and their collaborators, to extract and analyse ancient air samples from ice. The custom system will incorporate an extraction method, facilities to ensure proper stewardship of these precious ancient air samples, and analysis with a novel laser spectrometer. No such facility is currently available in the UK, and this limits our scientists to collaborating and paying for analyses in one or two laboratories in the EU or US. UK-RArE-GAS will be augmented into the existing ice core laboratory at BAS, the centre of ice core science in the UK and a leader in the international community. The existing ice core lab hosts a large laboratory freezer, state-of-the-art ice chemistry instrumentation (ICP-mass spectrometry and Fast-ion chromatography), and a continuous flow analysis system to measure a suite of chemistry and stable water isotopes in ice. BAS also provides a suite of rapid-access, shallow, intermediate and deep ice-core drills that are widely used by the UK community and our collaborators. The innovative 'gas-line' will considerably enhance the existing capabilities, providing an unparalleled capability to UK science. Dr Thomas Bauska, who joined BAS as a Royal Society Fellow has direct experience in development of similar ice-core gas methods, and will oversee design and development of the facility.The UK-RArE-GAS laboratory will create a centre for collaboration among UK and International partners who can use the laboratory to extract gases in glacial ice samples.

大气二氧化碳的上升主要是由于化石燃料的燃烧而引起的，是推动我们地球气候变化的最重要因素。大气二氧化碳的直接测量仅始于1950年代 - 那么我们如何知道大气二氧化碳的上升是前所未有的？为了展望过去，我们使用了独特的地质档案馆：从极地冰盖中捕获的空气气泡。来自特殊选择的网站的冰芯可以产生近代几个世纪的每年详细记录，或者跨越了最后80万年的记录（解剖学上现代人类首次出现的时间）。在自然变化的独特档案中，冰芯包含三种主要温室气体（二氧化碳，甲烷和氧化碳）的样品，降雪后捕获了一点，并捕获了大气温度的同位素记录。因此，冰芯提供了最令人信服的证据，表明温室气体的浓度变化正在推动自然气候变化，这使地球通过了许多冰川和温暖的循环。在未来几年中，冰芯将回答关键问题。 1）温室气体（GHG）浓度和全球温度之间的滞后是什么？ 2）为什么地球进入50万年前的冰川间过渡到冰川间过渡的常规周期，直到工业时代，行星变化占主导地位？ 3）高于工业前的温室气体浓度在120千年前的最后一次冰河间时如何影响我们的星球？从南极洲，格陵兰岛和高山冰川收集的现有和计划的冰芯是通往大气变化的独特窗口。提供关键数据来驱动和测试计算机模型，以探讨过去气候如何以及为什么变化。这反过来介绍了未来气候如何变化的预测。我们建议在英国南极调查（BAS）上开发一个工厂，英国 - 鲁尔天然气，以帮助英国各地的科学家及其合作者从ICE中提取和分析古代空气样本。自定义系统将结合一种提取方法，设施，以确保这些珍贵的古老空气样品的适当管理，并使用新颖的激光光谱仪进行分析。目前在英国尚无此类设施，这限制了我们的科学家在欧盟或美国的一两个实验室进行合作和付费。英国 - 鲁尔天然气将被扩展到BAS的现有冰核实验室，BAS，英国冰核科学中心，国际社会的领导者。现有的ICE Core Lab设有大型实验室冰柜，最先进的冰化学仪器（ICP-MAS光谱法和快速离子色谱法），以及一个连续的流量分析系统，以测量冰中的化学和稳定水同位素的套件。 BAS还提供了一套由英国社区和我们的合作者广泛使用的快速访问，浅层，中级和深层冰核演习。创新的“天然气线”将大大增强现有功能，从而为英国科学提供无与伦比的能力。托马斯·鲍斯卡（Thomas Bauska）博士加入BAS的皇家学会研究员，在开发类似的冰核天然气方法方面具有直接的经验，并将监督该设施的设计和开发。英国 - 稀有的加拿大 - 加利福尼亚实验室将在英国和国际合作伙伴之间建立一个合作中心，这些合作伙伴可以利用该实验室在冰川冰样中提取气体。

项目成果

Reconciling ice core CO2 and land-use change following New World-Old World contact.

协调新世界与旧世界接触后冰芯二氧化碳和土地利用变化。

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45894-9
• 发表时间: 2024
• 期刊: Nature communications
• 影响因子: 16.6
• 作者: King ACF

A high-accuracy Total Air Content setup: System performance and first results from Skytrain Ice Rise, Antarctica

高精度总空气含量设置：系统性能和南极洲 Skytrain Ice Rise 的初步结果

• DOI: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-9210
• 发表时间: 2022
• 作者: Nehrbass-Ahles C

Abrupt Holocene ice loss due to thinning and ungrounding in the Weddell Sea Embayment

由于威德尔海海湾变薄和不接地导致全新世冰突然流失

• DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01375-8
• 发表时间: 2024
• 期刊: Nature Geoscience
• 影响因子: 18.3
• 作者: Grieman M

The Little Ice Age CO2 drop:  Natural, Anthropogenic or Artefact? 

小冰河时代二氧化碳排放量下降：

• DOI: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-2075
• 发表时间: 2022
• 作者: King A

Towards continuous ice core measurements of N2O and CO2

实现 N2O 和 CO2 的连续冰芯测量

• DOI: 10.5194/egusphere-egu24-19981
• 发表时间: 2024
• 作者: Rowell I