(a) The total concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon in a sample of sedimentary pore water is 5.576 mmol/kg. Isotopic analysis of this DIC yields a δ13C = -37‰ vs. PDB. It’s known that the pore water initially contained some CH4 with δ13C = -84‰ vs. PDB, that the CH4 has been converted quantitatively to CO2, that pore waters in which no CH4 was oxidized have δ13C = -12‰ vs. PDB, and that the pore water in question has neither lost nor gained DIC except by the oxidation of CH4. What were the initial concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon and CH4 in the pore water?
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