Articles | Volume 19, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-6823-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-6823-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Review article
| 
29 Oct 2026
Review article |
| 29 Oct 2026
| 29 Oct 2026
Review of the Radon Tracer Method for GHG emission estimates: development, application guidelines, improvements, and caveats
ANSTO Environment Research and Technology Group, Lucas Heights, 2234, Australia
Ute Karstens
ICOS ERIC Carbon Portal, Lund University, Lund, 22362, Sweden
Alan D. Griffiths
ANSTO Environment Research and Technology Group, Lucas Heights, 2234, Australia
Stefan Röttger
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig, 38116, Germany
Arnoud Frumau
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Petten, 1755 LE, the Netherlands
Christopher T. Roulston
CSIRO Environment, Aspendale, 3195, Australia
Peter Sperlich
New Zealand Institute for Earth Science Ltd., Hataitai, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand
Felix Vogel
Climate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Toronto, ON, M3H 5T4, Canada
Agnieszka Podstawczyńska
Department of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Lodz, Łódź, 90-139, Poland
Dafina Kikaj
National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK
Maksym Gachkivskyi
Institut für Umweltphysik, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
Michel Ramonet
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Blagoj Mitrevski
CSIRO Environment, Aspendale, 3195, Australia
Janja Vaupotič
Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
Xuemeng Chen
Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
Annette Röttger
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig, 38116, Germany
Editorial note: please first read the author comment AC1 that was posted in the discussion of this preprint. The authors intend to make some additional changes to Section 3.8 of the manuscript as originally submitted. These changes are summarised and explained in author comment AC1.
Data sets
Figure data for "Review of the Radon Tracer Method for GHG emission estimates: development, application guidelines, improvements, and caveats" by Chambers et al. Scott Chambers https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22768535
Download
Please read the editorial note first before accessing the article.
- Article
(7406 KB) - Full-text XML
Short summary
The Radon Tracer Method (RTM) is a top-down approach to estimate greenhouse gas emissions. While simple in principle, incorrect use can complicate interpretation of results. Based on observations from a range of contrasting sites, this article reviews the underlying assumptions and key considerations for applying the RTM. It also introduces the concept of coupling RTM analyses with nocturnal stability classification, to reduce uncertainty of fetch estimates and improve interpretation of results.
The Radon Tracer Method (RTM) is a top-down approach to estimate greenhouse gas emissions. While...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint