Another reason is to understand how carbon atoms cycle through an ecosystem, where they can be stored as part of the matter that makes up plants and animals, or emitted as gases such as methane, and thus leave the ecosystem. So to look for methane production, look for a low oxygen environment with something around to decay. These conditions are found in a variety of places, including wet areas such as bogs, marshes, and rice fields, the insides of cattle and other animals, and in the buried garbage of landfills. Methane is also produced by geological processes related to oil production. The Arctic tundra is a vast and interesting ecosystem.
Permafrost prevents water from draining into the soil, so that the ground is boggy in the summer.
Dead plant matter covered by water can decay anaerobically to release methane. Working with Prof. W. Oechel's research group from San Diego State University, Southwest Sciences set up a methane flux meter. The light from a miniature laser is brought to a sensor head on the tower using fiber optics, where the beam passes through the air, making 100 bounces between a pair of mirrors. To determine the emission rate, the concentration measurements are combined with three dimensional wind speed measurements using a technique called eddy correlation, because it takes advantages of the natural movements or eddies of the air. If there is more methane in the air that blows up from the surface, then the surface is a source of methane.