Methane data collected in the 36th CHINARE cruise during 2019-2020

Methane (CH₄) is one of the important greenhouse gases. CH₄ dry mole fractions in the atmosphere have increased continuously since the onset of the industrial revolution, contributing to more than 20% of the anthropogenic radiative forcing in the lower atmosphere since 1750. In addition, the ice-covered parts of the Antarctic are now a reservoir of organic carbon, suggesting that the Antarctic ice sheet may be a neglected but essential component of the global CH₄ budget.

Seawater samples for CH₄ analysis were collected onboard R/V “Xuelong 2” during the 36th Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) to the Ross Sea from 3–6 January 2020.

1. Equipment:

• Name gas chromatography
• Model: Agilent 7890A
• Method: purge-and-trap
• Calibration: CH₄:N₂ mixtures, China Institute of Metrology

2 Sampling and analysis

The samples were collected with a rosette water sampler equipped with Niskin bottles. Briefly, seawater was transferred to biochemical-oxygen-demand bottles (one for each depth), which were stored in the dark at 4 °C with after adding 180 μL of saturated HgCl₂.

3 Location

Ross Sea.