A direct and simultaneous method for detecting atmospheric Ar, O2, and N2 by a gas chromatograph equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (GC-TCD)
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) fluxes are inversely linked through the processes of fossil fuel combustion, terrestrial photosynthesis, and respiration, while with no correlation during air-sea exchange. This behavior of CO2 and O2 fluxes provides an insight into distinguishing the terrestrial and oceanic sinks for anthropogenic CO2 by measuring atmospheric O2 and concurrent CO2 concentrations. In addition, atmospheric Ar/N2 ratio is expected to undergo very slight variations due to exchanges of Ar and N2 across the air-sea interface, driven by ocean solubility changes and thus observing such minute variations may provide useful constraints on large-scale fluxes of heat across the air-sea interface. In our study, we described a direct and simultaneous method for detecting atmospheric Ar, O2, and N2 by a gas chromatograph equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (GC-TCD) with the aid of a HP-PLOT molecule sieve capillary column and semiconductor cryogenic technology. Preliminary results showed this method could provide a good separation between Ar and O2 in the atmosphere, but a litter difficulty to measuring such minute changes in the atmospheric Ar/N2 and O2/N2 ratios.
- Publication:
-
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- April 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018EGUGA..20.5870Z