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Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry Group

We belong to
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht (IMAU)
Faculty of Physics and Astronomy
Utrecht University

Dr Célia Julia Sapart

Where to find me? Room BBL686, 6th floor of the Buys Ballot Laboratorium, Princetonplein 5, 3584CC Utrecht.

How to reach me? +31 30 253 29 84 or by email: C.J.Sapart@uu.nl.

 

 

Research Interests – Current Projects

    Methane (CH4) plays an important role in the Earth’s climate system. The atmospheric CH4 concentration has increased in concert with the industrialization, but since the mid 80’s the CH4 growth rate decreased to reach a near-zero level in 2000 and started to increase again from 2007 on, but the underlying variations in sources and/or sinks that cause these variations are to date not well understood. To predict future climate, it is essential to unravel the processes controlling the CH4 cycle, especially in the Arctic regions, which are highly vulnerable to climate change and contain large CH4 reservoirs.

    The aim of my research is to better understand the role of the Arctic region in the methane budget using methane isotope analysis in atmospheric air, bubbles trapped in polar ice cores, basal ice, subarctic-lake ice and in the marine environment (sea ice, water column and sediment).

    At a more general level, I am very interested by paleo-research, especially paleaoclimatology, glaciology and paleaoceanography. Understanding the future by looking at the past is simply fascinating!

 

Short Curriculum Vitae

  • Postdoctoral research to investigate the role of land and sea ice on the methane budget using methane isotope analysis, Laboratoire de glaciologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. September 2013-present.
  • Guest Researcher at the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, The Netherlands. September 2013-present
  • Postdoctoral researcher to better understand the current methane atmospheric budget in measuring methane isotopes from air, ice, water and sediment samples, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, July 2012-August 2013
  • PhD student and Teaching assistant, IMAU, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, October 2007-2012. Title thesis: “Variations in the methane budget over the last two millennia”, defended on the 22nd of June 2012
  • Master Thesis “Measuring methane concentrations and stable isotope ratios in ice cores”, IMAU, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, 2007.
  • Master in “Climate Change”, University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), UK, 2006-2007.
  • Master 1 Thesis “Is there a climatic signal in the buried ice of the Antarctic Dry Valleys?”, Glaciology Lab, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, 2006.
  • Master 1 in “Oceanography and Environmental Sciences”, University Bordeaux 1, France, 2005-2006.
  • Bachelor in “Sciences of the Earth and of the Universe”, University Bordeaux 1, France, 2001-2005.
  • Bachelor Thesis “Paleoceanography and paleoclimatology of the Gulf of Alaska”, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), USA, 2004.
  • Baccalauréat and Maturité in Sciences, Lycee Denis-de-Rougemont, Neuchatel, Switzerland, 2001.

 

Publications:

in international scientific journals:
  • Sapart, C.J.. Martinerie, P., Chappellaz, J., van de Wal, R.S.W., Sperlich, P., van der Veen, C., Bernard, S., Sturges, W.T., Blunier, T., Witrant, E., Schwander, J., Etheridge, D., and Röckmann, T.: Reconstruction of the carbon isotopic composition of methane over the last 50 yearr based on firn air measurements at 11 polar sites, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6993-7005, 2013. Impact Factor: 5.52.
  • Sperlich, P., Buizert, C., Jenk, T. M., Sapart, C. J., Prokopiou, M., Röckmann, T., and Blunier, T.: An automated GC-C-GC-IRMS setup to measure palaeoatmospheric δ13C-CH4, δ15N-N2O and δ18O-N2O in one ice core sample, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2027-2041, 2013. Impact Factor: 3.34.
  • Schmitt, J., Seth, B., Bock, M., van der Veen, C., Möller, L., Sapart, C.J., Prokopiou, M., Sowers, T., Röckmann, T., and Fischer, H.: On the interference of 86Kr2+ during carbon isotope analysis of atmospheric methane using continuous flow combustion – isotope ratio mass spectrometry, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1425-1445, 2013. Impact Factor: 3.34
  • Dahl-Jensen, D.J. et al. (Sapart, C. J.).: Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core, Nature, 493, 489-494, 2013. Impact Factor: 36.28.
  • Sapart, C.J., Monteil, G., Prokopiou, M., Van de Wal, R.S.W., Kaplan, J.O., Sperlich, P., Krumhardt, K.M., Van der Veen, C., Houweling, S., Krol, M.C., Blunier, T., Sowers, T., Martinerie, P., Witrant, E., Dahl-Jensen, D., and Röckmann, T.: Natural and anthropogenic variations in methane sources during the past two millennia, Nature, 490, 85-88, doi:10.1038/nature11461, 2012. Impact Factor: 36.28.
  • Beck, V., Chen. H., Gerbig, C., Bergamaschi, P., Bruhwiler, L., Houweling, S., Röckmann, T., Kolle, O., Steinbach, J., Koch, T., Sapart, C.J., van der Veen, C., Frankenberg, C., Andreae, M.O., Artaxo, P., Longo, Wofsy, K.M.: Methane airborne measurements and comparison to global models during BARCA, JGR-Atmosphere, 117, D15310, doi:10.1029/2011JD017345, 2012. Impact Factor: 3.02
  • Sperlich, P., Guillevic, M., Buizert, C., Jenk, T.M., Sapart, C.J., Schaefer, H., and Blunier, T.: A combustion setup to precisely reference δ13C and δ2H isotope ratios of pure CH4 to produce isotope reference gases of δ13C-CH4 in synthetic air, Atm. Meas. Tech., 5, 2227-2236, 2012. Impact Factor: 3.34.
  • Sapart, C.J., van de Veen, C., Vigano, I., Brass, M., van de Wal, R. S. W., Bock, M., Fischer, H., Sowers, T., Buizert, C., Sperlich, P., Blunier, T., Behrens, M., Schmitt, J., Seth, B. and Röckmann, T.: Simultaneous stable isotope analysis of methane and nitrous oxide on ice core samples, Atm. Meas. Tech., 4, 2607-2618, 2011.Impact Factor: 3.34
  • Bock, M., Schmitt, J., Behrens, M., Moller, L., Schneider, R., Sapart, C.J., and Fischer, H.: A gas chromatography/pyrolysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry system for high-precision δD measurements of atmospheric CH4 extracted from ice cores, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 24, 621-633, DOI: 10.1002/rcm.4429, 2010. Impact Factor: 2.79.
Popular science articles:
  • Sapart, C.J., “Zuurstof van eeuwen geleden ligt opgeslagen in het poolijs”, Telegraaf (Dutch National Journal), February 2013 (in Dutch)
  • Sapart, C.J., “Des petites bulles qui nous font voyager dans le passé”, Société Neuchâteloise des Sciences Naturelles, March 2013 (in French)
  • Sapart, C.J., Humans did affect the atmosphere-even before the industrialization, The Conversation-online popular scientific journal, Australia, 29 October 2012 (in English) (link: https://theconversation.edu.au/humans-did-affect-the-atmosphere-even-before-industrialisation-9941)
  • Sapart, C.J., Wat ijskernen vertellen?, Meteorologica (The journal of the Dutch Meteorological Society)”, December 2008 (in Dutch)

 

Award:

 

Field Work:

  • North Greenland Eemian Ice Core drilling program (NEEM) (http://neem.dk/), 2 months of field work on top of the Greenland ice sheet being part of the processing line, NEEM camp, Greenland, May to July 2009.
  • Divers cruises and geological field campaign, in France, Belgium, England and Alaska.

 

Teaching Experience:

  • “Nature, Life & Technology (NLT) modules”, organizing and teaching ice and climate practicals for last year high school students, Utrecht,  The Netherlands, 2008-2011.
  • “Masterclass Ice and Climate”, organizing and teaching ice and climate practicals for high school students, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2008.
  • “High-school science projects”, supervising two high-school students for end of the year project entitled: “Greenhouse gases atmospheric concentration measurements”, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2008.
  • “Climate Change bachelor course”, teaching assistant, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2008-2010.
  • “Physics, Mathematics and French tutorial”, First Tutor Organization, Norwich, United Kingdom, 2006-2007.
  • “Geology and Environmental Sciences Tutorial”, University of Bordeaux 1, Bordeaux, France, 2004-2005.

 

Courses:

  • “Relevant and Clear Scientific Communication Course” Utrecht University, The Netherlands, January-February 2013.
  • “Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry training” by Thermo Fischer instructor, Utrecht, The Netherlands, June 2011.
  • “Scientific writing course”, James Boswell Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2010.
  • “Science, Media and communication course”, Dutch National Television channel, Hilversum, The Netherlands, November 2009.
  • “Bert Bolin Center Arctic Climate summer school”, Abisko and Tarfala research station, Sweden, August 2009. Won the first price of the group proposal.
  •  “Advanced Dutch language course”, James Boswell Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2008-2009.
  • “Aerosols, clouds and Radiation Msc course”, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands, March-June 2008.
  • “Training course Marie Curie-iLEAPS - Model-data assimilation”, Smear II station, Hyytiala, Finland, March 2008.

 

Conferences & workshops:

  • Goldschmidt Conference, , “Unravel the role of sub-arctic lake ice cover on the methane budget: A multiproxy analysis”, Florence, Italy, August 2013 (TALK).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), , “Using isotopes to understand methane formation, removal and transport in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf”, Vienna, Austria, April 2013 (TALK).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), , “Can the carbon isotopic composition of methane be reconstructed from multi-site firn air measurements?”, Vienna, Austria, April 2013 (POSTER).
  • American Geosciences Union Conference (AGU), , “Natural and anthropogenic variations in methane sources during the past two millennia”, San Francisco, The United States of America, December 2012 (TALK).
  • PERGAMON meeting, , “The use of isotopes to understand methane arctic emissions: The example of permafrost lake ice”, November 2012 (TALK).
  • International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS), , “Natural and Anthropogenic variations in methane sources during the past 2 millennia”, October 2012 (POSTER).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), “Natural and Anthropogenic variations in methane sources over the last 2 millennia”, April 2012 (POSTER)
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), “Methane isotopic signature of gas bubbles in permafrost winter lake ice: a tool for quantifying variable oxidation levels”, April 2012 (POSTER).
  • Dutch Polar Symposium, “Natural and Anthropogenic variations in methane sources over the last 2 millennia”, December 2011 (TALK).
  • NEEM Steering Committee Meeting, “Natural and Anthropogenic variations in methane sources over the last 2 millennia”, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 2011 (TALK).
  • Buys Ballot Research School (BBOS) autumn symposium, “Measuring stable isotope ratios from air trapped in ice cores”, Oranjewoud, The Netherlands, October 2011 (POSTER), nominated second best poster of the symposium.
  • International Quaternary conference (INQUA), “Isotopic composition and mixing ratios of methane and nitrous oxide over the last millennia”, Bern, Switzerland, July 2011 (POSTER).
  • International Quaternary conference (INQUA), “Simultaneous stable isotope analysis of methane and nitrous oxide on ice core samples”, Bern, Switzerland, July 2011 (POSTER).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), “Can we reconstruct the CH4 budget with δ13C and δD measurements of firn air?”, Vienna, Austria, April 2011 (TALK).
  • NEEM Steering Committee Meeting, “ Methane and its isotopes from firn air: State of the art and open questions”, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 2010 (TALK).
  • Buys Ballot Research School (BBOS) autumn symposium, “Methane atmospheric budget over the last 50 years”, Callantsoog, The Netherlands, October 2010 (TALK).
  • International Stable Isotope meeting (ISI), “An analytical method for stable isotope measurements of Methane and Nitrous Oxide from small ice core samples”, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 2010 (POSTER).
  • International Stable Isotope meeting (ISI), “Understanding the CH4 and N2O budget over the last 50 years with stable isotope measurements of firn air”, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 2010 (POSTER).
  • Benelux Annual Stable Isotope Science meeting (BASIS), “Understanding the methane budget over the last 50 years with stable isotopes”, Arnhem, The Netherlands, April 2010 (TALK).
  • NEEM Steering Committee Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 2009.
  • Buys Ballot Research School (BBOS) autumn symposium, “Methane and Nitrous oxide stable isotope ratio measurements of NEEM 2008 firn air”, Oisterwijk, The Netherlands, October 2009 (POSTER).
  • 15th WMO/IAEA Meeting on Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse Gases, and Related Tracer Measurement Techniques, “Methane and nitrous oxide isotope ratio measurements on NEEM firn air”, Jena, Germany, September 2009 (TALK).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), “Methane and nitrous oxide stable isotope ratio measurements of NEEM2008 firn air”, Vienna, Austria, April 2009 (POSTER).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), “Dry extraction for stable isotope analysis of methane and nitrous oxide from ice cores”, Vienna, Austria, April 2009 (POSTER).
  • Poolbelevenis (Closure of the Dutch International Polar Year),” Comparison between wet and dry extractions for isotope analysis of methane and nitrous oxide from ice cores”, Middelburg, The Netherlands, March 2009 (POSTER).
  • Gas Hydrate Workshop, Texel, The Netherlands, February 2009.
  • EPICA Meeting, “Comparison between wet and dry extractions for isotope analysis of methane and nitrous oxide from ice cores”, Venice, Italy, November 2008 (POSTER).
  • Buys Ballot Research School (BBOS) autumn symposium, “Measuring stable isotope ratios from air trapped in ice cores”, Texel, The Netherlands, October 2008 (TALK). Nominated third best talk of the symposium.
  • Dutch Polar Symposium, ”A dry extraction method for isotope analysis of atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide from ice cores”, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 2008 (POSTER).
  • European Geosciences Union Conference (EGU), “A dry extraction method for isotope analysis of atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide from ice cores”, Vienna, Austria, April 2008 (POSTER).

 

Talks at internal meetings:

  • “Variations in the methane budget over the last two millennia”, IMAU Colloquim on 29th of May 2012 (PhD thesis TALK).
  • “Historical methane: Constraining the methane budget with stable isotopes analysis of air trapped in ice sheets”, Methane Meeting of the 29th on August 2011.
  • “The Arctic methane emissions”, work discussion of the 13th on January 2010.
  • “NEEM, ice drilling, processing and gezelligheid”, lunchtalk on the 15th of October 2009.
  • “Methane isotope measurements from NEEM firn air”, work discussion on the 8th of April 2009.
  • “Methane emissions from Siberian thaw lakes and from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf”, work discussion on the 30th of July 2008.
  • “Measuring methane stable isotope ratios from air trapped in ice cores”, work discussion on the 13th of February 2008.
  • “Measuring methane concentrations and stable isotope ratios in ice cores: testing a new dry extraction method”, work discussion on the 6th of June 2007.

 

Talks for general public:

  • General public conferences in museums and environmental organizations, “Des petites bulles qui nous font voyager dans le passé”, Switzerland, 2012, 2013.
  • Public conferences in French for secondary school teachers and pupils entitled, “The treasures buried in the polar ice sheets”, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 2010, 2011.
  • Presentation in Dutch for politicians and journalists in the Climate Train to Copenhagen within the frame of the United Union Climate Conference of Copenhagen entitled “What can we learn from air trapped in ice cores?”, 12th of December 2009.

 

Some international press articles and on my research:

(in English) (in Dutch) (in French)

 

Visits:

  • Department of Applied Environmental Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden, February 2013.
  • Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland, August 2012.
  • Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement (LGGE), Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France, September 2010.
  • Center for Ice and Climate (CIC), University of Copenhagen, Denmark, November 2009.
  • Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Switzerland, January 2009.
  • Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven, Germany, December 2008.

 

Other activities:

  • Classical and modern singing.
  • “Directing” the choir “Earth, Wind and Choir” (https://sites.google.com/site/2011voices/)
  • Long distance swimming and biking.
  • Volunteering work for the integration and the wellbeing of mentally handicapped persons.

 

Favorite quote:

  • “Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss, you will land among the stars…” (O.Wilde/L.Brown)