Hatton, Jade Elizabeth; Stehrer-Polášková, Anna; Pika, Philip; Garnett, Mark H; Klimova, Petra; Wentzel, Lia; Jakub, Zarsky; Arndt, Sandra; Alun, Hubbard; Jakub, Trubac; Yde, Jacob; Jon, Hawkings; Eva, Doting; Jack, Murphy; Guillaume, Lamarche-Gagnon; Wadham, Jemma; Sarah, Sapper; Christiansen, Jesper Riis; Christian, Jorgensen; Stibal, Marek (2026): Dissolved Methane release from the western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet (2021 - 2023) [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.993007 (DOI registration in progress)
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Published: 2026-03-30
Abstract:
A field sampling campaign spanning the entire western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet was conducted in the summer melt seasons of 2021, 2022, and 2023, to measure release of dissolved methane from meltwater streams draining the subglacial environment of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The campaign was designed to assess whether subglacial methane export is ubitiqous from the GrIS, and the source and age of this methane released.
Twenty-six rivers draining from the GrIS were sampled in the summers of 2021, 2022 and 2023 along the west coast of Greenland, forming a north to south transect from Qaanaaq to Narsarsuaq. We split these rivers into regional areas of northwest (NW), central west (CW), and southwest (SW). Most of these rivers drained directly from the subglacial environment, whether via an upwelling (proglacial spring) or subglacial portal. Samples were taken as close to the upwelling or portal as possible, to get the most representative view of the subglacial system, with limited off-gassing or dilution effects from supraglacial meltwaters.
Basic stream geochemistry (pH, EC, O2) was measured in the field using a WTW 3430 multimeter. Dissolved CH4 was extracted (Garnett et al., 2016) into a nitrogen headspace, via 5L water samples were collected into a 10L accordion water carrier, 1-2L of pure N2 headspace was added and the water carrier was shaken for 3 minutes to equilibrate the CH4. The headspace CH4 concentrations were measured directly in the field using a using a micro portable greenhouse gas analyser (MGGA, ABB GLA1313 Series, using Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) technology). The headspace with extracted sample was stored in a pre-evacuated 15L Silonite™ cannisters with TrueSeal Valve™ (Entech Instruments) or pre-evacuated 150ml glass serum vials (Wheaton™) using a 150 ml glass syringe and sealed with 15 mm crimped (13mm) chlorobutyl rubber stoppers (Bellco Glass) ahead of radio- and stable- carbon isotope analysis, respectively.
We provide measured and 'corrected' radiocarbon ages of dissolved methane. We recognise that the CH4 extracted and measured in each water sample is a homogenised sample, likely containing subglacially produced CH4 combined with some modern CH4, when supraglacial water is routed through moulins to the bed and through the subglacial system. Therefore, it is likely that our water samples encompass some portion of modern-day CH4, and accounting for this provides a more accurate assessment of the 14C-age of the subglacial carbon source for methanogenesis. We used a simple mass balance approach to consider what proportion of our sampled CH4 is potentially modern-day atmospheric, based on the measured atmospheric CH4 concentration measured during a survey of the supraglacial area inland.
Keyword(s):
Related to:
Garnett, Mark H; Gulliver, Pauline; Billett, Michael F (2016): A rapid method to collect methane from peatland streams for radiocarbon analysis. Ecohydrology, 9(1), 113-121, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1617
Hatton, Jade Elizabeth; et al. (accepted): Extensive Holocene retreat of the Greenland ice sheet revealed by subglacial methane release. Nature Geoscience
Yarnes, Chris (2013): δ 13 C and δ 2 H measurement of methane from ecological and geological sources by gas chromatography/combustion/pyrolysis isotope‐ratio mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 27(9), 1036-1044, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6549
Funding:
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 67.983945 * Median Longitude: -50.981386 * South-bound Latitude: 61.145410 * West-bound Longitude: -69.019667 * North-bound Latitude: 77.719667 * East-bound Longitude: -45.116580
Date/Time Start: 2021-08-05T15:30:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-07-15T18:00:00
Event(s):
MARCH4G_2021_CW4a_Chem * Latitude: 69.329768 * Longitude: -50.244147 * Date/Time: 2021-08-31T11:20:00 * Location: Ilulissat, Greenland * Campaign: MARCH4G_2021 * Method/Device: Portable 2-channel multimeter, Hach, HQ40D
MARCH4G_2021_CW4a_GHG-a * Latitude: 69.329768 * Longitude: -50.244147 * Date/Time: 2021-08-30T16:03:00 * Location: Ilulissat, Greenland * Campaign: MARCH4G_2021 * Method/Device: Microportable Greenhouse Gas Analyzer
MARCH4G_2021_CW4a_GHG-b * Latitude: 69.329768 * Longitude: -50.244147 * Date/Time: 2021-08-31T11:20:00 * Location: Ilulissat, Greenland * Campaign: MARCH4G_2021 * Method/Device: Microportable Greenhouse Gas Analyzer
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | ||||
| 2 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Geocode | |||
| 3 | Date/Time local | Date/Time local | ||||
| 4 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Geocode | |||
| 5 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Geocode | |||
| 6 | pH | pH | Portable multimeter, Hach, HQ4300 | |||
| 7 | Conductivity | Cond | mS/cm | Portable multimeter, Hach, HQ4300 | ||
| 8 | Oxygen | O2 | mg/l | Portable multimeter, Hach, HQ4300 | ||
| 9 | Methane, dissolved | CH4 diss | nmol/l | Off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) gas analyzer | Average calculated | |
| 10 | Methane, dissolved | CH4 diss | nmol/l | Off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) gas analyzer | Minimum | |
| 11 | Methane, dissolved | CH4 diss | nmol/l | Off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) gas analyzer | Maximum | |
| 12 | Activity of radiocarbon in percent of modern carbon | Activity | pMC | Age, 14C AMS | Uncorrected 14C-CH4 | |
| 13 | Activity of radiocarbon in percent of modern carbon, standard deviation | Activity std dev | ± | Age, 14C calibrated, OxCal 4.4 and IntCal20 | Uncorrected 14C-CH4 | |
| 14 | Age, dated, range, minimum | Age dated min | ka | Age, 14C calibrated, IntCal20 (Reimer et al. 2020) | Uncorrected 14C-CH4 | |
| 15 | Age, dated, range, maximum | Age dated max | ka | Age, 14C calibrated, IntCal20 (Reimer et al. 2020) | Uncorrected 14C-CH4 | |
| 16 | Activity of radiocarbon in percent of modern carbon | Activity | pMC | Age, 14C AMS | Atmospheric corrected | |
| 17 | Age, dated, range, minimum | Age dated min | ka | Age, 14C calibrated, IntCal20 (Reimer et al. 2020) | Atmospheric corrected | |
| 18 | Age, dated, range, maximum | Age dated max | ka | Age, 14C calibrated, IntCal20 (Reimer et al. 2020) | Atmospheric corrected | |
| 19 | δ13C, methane, dissolved | δ13C CH4 diss | ‰ PDB | GasBench+PreCon trace gas concentration system (ThermoFinnigan) coupled to a DELTA V plus IRMS | ||
| 20 | δ Deuterium, methane | δD CH4 | ‰ SMOW | GasBench+PreCon trace gas concentration system (ThermoFinnigan) coupled to a DELTA V plus IRMS |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
370 data points