Rebecca Fisher
Rebecca Fisher
I am an atmospheric scientist with a current research focus on understanding the variability of the concentration of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere. In the greenhouse gas research group we measure concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide at a number of sites globally, from the Arctic to Antarctic. We measure methane isotopic composition (δ13C and δD) to identify which sources are changing.
Field campaigns, using mobile equipment such as our new mobile lab (MIGGAS), allow us to locate and quantify methane emissions and determine the source using methane isotope or methane:ethane ratios. We’ve recently mapped urban gas leaks (e.g. in London, Birmingham and Bucharest) using vehicle mounted instruments and characterised methane elevations from Fennoscandian wetlands, African wetlands and biomass burning and North Sea gas installations during flights on the UK’s FAAM aircraft. The atmospheric measurements we make can be used to see which types of greenhouse gas emission are changing and where mitigation efforts should be focussed as we work towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
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Measurements of methane mole fraction above Northern Fennoscandia showing elevations over wetlands on a FAAM campaign (Fisher et al., 2017) |
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Collecting air samples for methane isotopic measurement close to camels at ILRI’s Kapiti research station in Kenya |
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Making mobile measurements of methane near Bacton gas terminal in Norfolk |
References
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Fisher, R, France, J, Lowry, D, Lanoiselle, M, Brownlow, R, Pyle, J, Cain, M, Warwick, N, Skiba, U, Drewer, J, Dinsmore, K, Leeson, S, Bauguitte, S, Wellpott, A, O'Shea, S, Allen, G, Gallagher, M, Pitt, J, Percival, C, Bower, K, George, C, Hayman, G, Aalto, T, Lohila, A, Aurela, M, Laurila, T, Crill, P, McCalley, C & Nisbet, E 2017, 'Measurement of the 13C isotopic signature of methane emissions from northern European wetlands', Global Biogeochemical Cycles, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 605–623. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GB005504
- Berchet, A, Bousquet, P, Pison, I, Locatelli, R, Chevallier, F, Paris, J-D, Dlugokencky, EJ, Laurila, T, Hatakka, J, Viisanen, Y, Worthy, DEJ, Nisbet, E, Fisher, R, France, J, Lowry, D, Ivakhov, V & Hermansen, O 2016, 'Atmospheric constraints on the methane emissions from the East Siberian Shelf', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 4147-4157. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4147-2016
- Myhre, CL, Ferré, B, Platt, SM, Silyakova, A, Hermansen, O, Allen, G, Pisso, I, Schmidbauer, N, Stohl, A, Pitt, J, Jansson, P, Greinert, J, Percival, C, Fjaeraa, AM, O'Shea, SJ, Gallagher, M, Le Breton, M, Bower, KN, Bauguitte, SJB, Dalsøren, S, Vadakkepuliyambatta, S, Fisher, RE, Nisbet, EG, Lowry, D, Myhre, G, Pyle, JA, Cain, M & Mienert, J 2016, 'Extensive release of methane from Arctic seabed west of Svalbard during summer 2014 does not influence the atmosphere', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 43, no. 9, pp. 4624-4631. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068999
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Nisbet, E, Fisher, R, Lowry, D, France, J, Allen, G, Bakkaloglu, S, Broderick, TJ, Cain, M, Coleman, M, Fernandez, J, Forster, G, Griffiths, PT, Iverach, CP, Kelly, BFJ, Manning, MR, Nisbet-Jones, P, Pyle, JA, Townsend-Small, A, al-Shalaan, A, Warwick, N & Zazzeri, G 2020, 'Methane Mitigation: Methods to Reduce Emissions, on the Path to the Paris Agreement', Reviews of Geophysics, vol. 58, no. 1, e2019RG000675, pp. 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000675
Nisbet, E, Fisher, R, Lowry, D, France, J, Allen, G, Bakkaloglu, S, Broderick, TJ, Cain, M, Coleman, M, Fernandez, J, Forster, G, Griffiths, PT, Iverach, CP, Kelly, BFJ, Manning, MR, Nisbet-Jones, P, Pyle, JA, Townsend-Small, A, al-Shalaan, A, Warwick, N & Zazzeri, G 2020, 'Methane Mitigation: Methods to Reduce Emissions, on the Path to the Paris Agreement', Reviews of Geophysics, vol. 58, no. 1, e2019RG000675, pp. 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000675
