Articles | Volume 20, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8405-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8405-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Jul 2020
Research article |
| 17 Jul 2020
| 17 Jul 2020
Strong sensitivity of the isotopic composition of methane to the plausible range of tropospheric chlorine
Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
James S. Wang
Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
now at: Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies,
Potsdam, Germany
Michael Manyin
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Science Systems and Applications Inc. (SSAI), Lanham, MD, USA
Bryan Duncan
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Ryan Hossaini
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Christoph A. Keller
Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Sylvia E. Michel
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado,
Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
James W. C. White
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado,
Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
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Cited
28 citations as recorded by crossref.
- How do Cl concentrations matter for the simulation of CH4 and δ13C(CH4) and estimation of the CH4 budget through atmospheric inversions? J. Thanwerdas et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15489-2022
- Isotopic signatures of methane emissions from tropical fires, agriculture and wetlands: the MOYA and ZWAMPS flights E. Nisbet et al. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2021.0112
- Reactive halogens increase the global methane lifetime and radiative forcing in the 21st century Q. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30456-8
- ACEIC: a comprehensive anthropogenic chlorine emission inventory for China S. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11521-2024
- Enhancing long-term trend simulation of the global tropospheric hydroxyl (TOH) and its drivers from 2005 to 2019: a synergistic integration of model simulations and satellite observations A. Souri et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8677-2024
- Impact of Molecular Chlorine Production from Aerosol Iron Photochemistry on Atmospheric Oxidative Capacity in North China Q. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c02534
- What do we know about the global methane budget? Results from four decades of atmospheric CH4observations and the way forward X. Lan et al. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0440
- Photocatalytic chlorine atom production on mineral dust–sea spray aerosols over the North Atlantic M. van Herpen et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303974120
- Microbial driver of 2006–2023 CH 4 growth indicated by trends in atmospheric δD–CH 4 and δ 13 C–CH 4 B. Riddell-Young et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2516543122
- Anthropogenic emission is the main contributor to the rise of atmospheric methane during 1993–2017 Z. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab200
- Global Methane Budget 2000–2020 M. Saunois et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1873-2025
- Evaluation of Version 3 Total and Tropospheric Ozone Columns From Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera on Deep Space Climate Observatory for Studying Regional Scale Ozone Variations N. Kramarova et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2021.734071
- Extremely deuterium depleted methane revealed in high-temperature volcanic gases A. Ricci et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2023.10.019
- Atmospheric-methane source and sink sensitivity analysis using Gaussian process emulation A. Stell et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1717-2021
- Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources J. Rosentreter et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00715-2
- Atmospheric Methane: Comparison Between Methane's Record in 2006–2022 and During Glacial Terminations E. Nisbet et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GB007875
- Trends in global tropospheric hydroxyl radical and methane lifetime since 1850 from AerChemMIP D. Stevenson et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12905-2020
- Atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide: challenges alongthe path to Net Zero E. Nisbet et al. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0457
- Estimating emissions of methane consistent with atmospheric measurements of methane and δ13C of methane S. Basu et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022
- Atmospheric methane removal may reduce climate risks S. Abernethy & R. Jackson https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad3b22
- A global ozone profile climatology for satellite retrieval algorithms based on Aura MLS measurements and the MERRA-2 GMI simulation J. Ziemke et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6407-2021
- Widespread detection of chlorine oxyacids in the Arctic atmosphere Y. Tham et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37387-y
- Investigation of the renewed methane growth post-2007 with high-resolution 3-D variational inverse modeling and isotopic constraints J. Thanwerdas et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2129-2024
- Large Daytime Molecular Chlorine Missing Source at a Suburban Site in East China Q. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035796
- Anthropogenic Impacts on Tropospheric Reactive Chlorine Since the Preindustrial S. Zhai et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093808
- Methane emissions decreased in fossil fuel exploitation and sustainably increased in microbial source sectors during 1990–2020 N. Chandra et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01286-x
- Improved Constraints on Global Methane Emissions and Sinks Using δ13C‐CH4 X. Lan et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007000
- Improved global wetland carbon isotopic signatures support post-2006 microbial methane emission increase Y. Oh et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00488-5
28 citations as recorded by crossref.
- How do Cl concentrations matter for the simulation of CH4 and δ13C(CH4) and estimation of the CH4 budget through atmospheric inversions? J. Thanwerdas et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15489-2022
- Isotopic signatures of methane emissions from tropical fires, agriculture and wetlands: the MOYA and ZWAMPS flights E. Nisbet et al. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2021.0112
- Reactive halogens increase the global methane lifetime and radiative forcing in the 21st century Q. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30456-8
- ACEIC: a comprehensive anthropogenic chlorine emission inventory for China S. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11521-2024
- Enhancing long-term trend simulation of the global tropospheric hydroxyl (TOH) and its drivers from 2005 to 2019: a synergistic integration of model simulations and satellite observations A. Souri et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8677-2024
- Impact of Molecular Chlorine Production from Aerosol Iron Photochemistry on Atmospheric Oxidative Capacity in North China Q. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c02534
- What do we know about the global methane budget? Results from four decades of atmospheric CH4observations and the way forward X. Lan et al. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0440
- Photocatalytic chlorine atom production on mineral dust–sea spray aerosols over the North Atlantic M. van Herpen et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303974120
- Microbial driver of 2006–2023 CH 4 growth indicated by trends in atmospheric δD–CH 4 and δ 13 C–CH 4 B. Riddell-Young et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2516543122
- Anthropogenic emission is the main contributor to the rise of atmospheric methane during 1993–2017 Z. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab200
- Global Methane Budget 2000–2020 M. Saunois et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1873-2025
- Evaluation of Version 3 Total and Tropospheric Ozone Columns From Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera on Deep Space Climate Observatory for Studying Regional Scale Ozone Variations N. Kramarova et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2021.734071
- Extremely deuterium depleted methane revealed in high-temperature volcanic gases A. Ricci et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2023.10.019
- Atmospheric-methane source and sink sensitivity analysis using Gaussian process emulation A. Stell et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1717-2021
- Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources J. Rosentreter et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00715-2
- Atmospheric Methane: Comparison Between Methane's Record in 2006–2022 and During Glacial Terminations E. Nisbet et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GB007875
- Trends in global tropospheric hydroxyl radical and methane lifetime since 1850 from AerChemMIP D. Stevenson et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12905-2020
- Atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide: challenges alongthe path to Net Zero E. Nisbet et al. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2020.0457
- Estimating emissions of methane consistent with atmospheric measurements of methane and δ13C of methane S. Basu et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022
- Atmospheric methane removal may reduce climate risks S. Abernethy & R. Jackson https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad3b22
- A global ozone profile climatology for satellite retrieval algorithms based on Aura MLS measurements and the MERRA-2 GMI simulation J. Ziemke et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6407-2021
- Widespread detection of chlorine oxyacids in the Arctic atmosphere Y. Tham et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37387-y
- Investigation of the renewed methane growth post-2007 with high-resolution 3-D variational inverse modeling and isotopic constraints J. Thanwerdas et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2129-2024
- Large Daytime Molecular Chlorine Missing Source at a Suburban Site in East China Q. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035796
- Anthropogenic Impacts on Tropospheric Reactive Chlorine Since the Preindustrial S. Zhai et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093808
- Methane emissions decreased in fossil fuel exploitation and sustainably increased in microbial source sectors during 1990–2020 N. Chandra et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01286-x
- Improved Constraints on Global Methane Emissions and Sinks Using δ13C‐CH4 X. Lan et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007000
- Improved global wetland carbon isotopic signatures support post-2006 microbial methane emission increase Y. Oh et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00488-5
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 17 Jun 2026
Short summary
The 13C : 12C isotopic ratio in methane (CH4) provides information about CH4 sources, but loss of CH4 by reaction with OH and chlorine (Cl) also affects this ratio. Tropospheric Cl provides a small and uncertain sink for CH4 but has a large effect on its isotopic ratio. We use the GEOS model with several different Cl fields to test the sensitivity of methane's isotopic composition to tropospheric Cl. Cl affects the global mean, hemispheric gradient, and seasonal cycle of the isotopic ratio.
The 13C : 12C isotopic ratio in methane (CH4) provides information about CH4 sources, but loss...
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