Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 06:38
Forums
Nutrient Transport in Arctic Watersheds

Hi! We were wondering why you use helium gas and not another gas? Is it because it has such a low density? Matthew Springs School

Sat, 06/23/2012 - 10:30

Melissa Barker

Hello Matthew,I hope you got my answer to your question from your teacher, Ms. Seff. I passed the answer along to her because I didn't have Internet.
But in case you are still wondering or anyone else is...
We use ultra-high purity Helium. UHP means it is 99.9% Helium, so we are not
introducing contaminants to our samples. He is inert, and is the same
gas we use as the carrier gas on the gas chromatograph, so it will not
interfere with detection of the gases of interest such as methane, Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide.
Thanks for your question and have a great summer!
Melissa