Articles | Volume 17, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5283-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5283-2023
Research article
 | 
13 Dec 2023
Research article |  | 13 Dec 2023

Characterization of atmospheric methane release in the outer Mackenzie River delta from biogenic and thermogenic sources

Daniel Wesley, Scott Dallimore, Roger MacLeod, Torsten Sachs, and David Risk

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Cited articles

Allan, W., Manning, M. R., Lassey, K. R., Lowe, D. C., and Gomez, A. J.: Modeling the variation of δ13C in atmospheric methane: Phase ellipses and the kinetic isotope effect, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 15, 467–481, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GB001282, 2001. 
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Baskaran, L., Elder, C., Bloom, A. A., Ma, S., Thompson, D., and Miller, C. E.: Geomorphological patterns of remotely sensed methane hot spots in the Mackenzie Delta, Canada, Environ. Res. Lett., 17, 015009, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac41fb, 2022. 
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Short summary
The Mackenzie River delta (MRD) is an ecosystem with high rates of methane production from biologic and geologic sources, but little research has been done to determine how often geologic or biogenic methane is emitted to the atmosphere. Stable carbon isotope analysis was used to identify the source of CH4 at several sites. Stable carbon isotope (δ13C-CH4) signatures ranged from −42 to −88 ‰ δ13C-CH4, indicating that CH4 emission in the MRD is caused by biologic and geologic sources.
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