The utilization of bioelectrochemical systems for methane production has attracted increasing attention, but producing methane in these systems requires additional voltage to overcome large cathode overpotentials. To eliminate the need for electrical grid energy, we constructed a microbial reverse-electrodialysis methanogenesis cell (MRMC) by placing a reverse electrodialysis (RED) stack betwee...

We measured CH4 fluxes from three major plant communities characteristic of alpine tundra in the Colorado Front Range. Plant communities in this ecosystem are determined by soil moisture regimes induced by winter snowpack distribution. Spatial patterns of CH4 flux during the snow-free season corresponded roughly with these plant communities. In Carex-dominated meadows, which receive the most mo...

With the densification of surface observing networks and the development of remote sensing of greenhouse gases from space, estimations of methane (CH4) sources and sinks by inverse modeling are gaining additional constraining data but facing new challenges. The chemical transport model (CTM) linking the flux space to methane mixing ratio space must be able to represent these different types of ...

Experiments using laser-heated diamond anvil cells show that methane (CH4) breaks down to form diamond at pressures between 10 and 50 gigapascals and temperatures of about 2000 to 3000 kelvin. Infrared absorption and Raman spectroscopy, along with x-ray diffraction, indicate the presence of polymeric hydrocarbons in addition to the diamond, which is in agreement with theoretical predictions. Di...

Lakes are significant sources of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. Within these systems, methanotrophs consume CH4 and act as a potential biofilter mitigating the emission of this potent greenhouse gas. However, it is still not well understood how spatial and temporal variation in environmental parameters influence the abundance, diversity, and community structure of methanotrophs in lakes. To a...

Global generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is now ~1200 Tg/yr (1 Tg = 10 g), >70% of which is landfilled. Landfilling of waste contributes ~30-35 Tg methane (CH4 )annually to the world's total CH4 emission of ~550 Tg/yr. Recycling and thermal treatment of waste in wasteto-energy (WtE) facilities contribute equally to diverting MSW from the waste stream destined for landfills and to mitiga...

[1] Changes in emissions of ozone (O3) precursors affect both air quality and climate. We first examine the sensitivity of surface O3 concentrations (O3 ) and net radiative forcing of climate (RFnet) to reductions in emissions of four precursors – nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and methane (CH4). We show that long-term CH4-induced changes in O3, ...

[1] Atmospheric column abundances of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have been measured above the South Coast air basin (SCB), a densely populated urban region of Southern California, USA, which includes Los Angeles and the surrounding suburbs. Large diurnal variations in CO and CH4 are observed which correlate well with those in CO2. Weaker cor...

The possible trends for atmospheric carbon monoxide in the next 100 years have been illustrated using a coupled atmospheric chemistry and climate model driven by emissions predicted by a global economic development model. Various model runs with different assumptions regarding emissions or model parameters have been carried out to investigate the impacts of model and emission uncertainties on t...

We report a molecular beam study of the effect of vibrational excitation on the physisorption of methane on a Pt(111) surface. Our experiments use a continuous molecular beam of CH4, prepared in its antisymmetic C−H stretch mode ν3 by infrared laser pumping via rapid adiabatic passage. Physisorbed CH4(ads) is detected on a Pt(111) surface by reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy. At a sur...