Articles | Volume 7, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4455-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-4455-2014
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Dec 2014
Research article |
| 17 Dec 2014
Investigating uptake of N2O in agricultural soils using a high-precision dynamic chamber method
N. J. Cowan
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK
School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
D. Famulari
Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK
P. E. Levy
Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK
M. Anderson
Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK
D. S. Reay
School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
U. M. Skiba
Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, UK
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Experimental evidence from a network of 40 monitoring sites in Europe suggests that atmospheric nitrogen deposition to forests and other semi-natural vegetation impacts the carbon sequestration rates in ecosystems, as well as the net greenhouse gas balance including other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane. Excess nitrogen deposition in polluted areas also leads to other environmental impacts such as nitrogen leaching to groundwater and other pollutant gaseous emissions.
Chris R. Flechard, Marcel van Oijen, David R. Cameron, Wim de Vries, Andreas Ibrom, Nina Buchmann, Nancy B. Dise, Ivan A. Janssens, Johan Neirynck, Leonardo Montagnani, Andrej Varlagin, Denis Loustau, Arnaud Legout, Klaudia Ziemblińska, Marc Aubinet, Mika Aurela, Bogdan H. Chojnicki, Julia Drewer, Werner Eugster, André-Jean Francez, Radosław Juszczak, Barbara Kitzler, Werner L. Kutsch, Annalea Lohila, Bernard Longdoz, Giorgio Matteucci, Virginie Moreaux, Albrecht Neftel, Janusz Olejnik, Maria J. Sanz, Jan Siemens, Timo Vesala, Caroline Vincke, Eiko Nemitz, Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ute M. Skiba, and Mark A. Sutton
Biogeosciences, 17, 1621–1654, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1621-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1621-2020, 2020
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Nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere to unfertilized terrestrial vegetation such as forests can increase carbon dioxide uptake and favour carbon sequestration by ecosystems. However the data from observational networks are difficult to interpret in terms of a carbon-to-nitrogen response, because there are a number of other confounding factors, such as climate, soil physical properties and fertility, and forest age. We propose a model-based method to untangle the different influences.
Nicholas Cowan, Peter Levy, Andrea Moring, Ivan Simmons, Colin Bache, Amy Stephens, Joana Marinheiro, Jocelyn Brichet, Ling Song, Amy Pickard, Connie McNeill, Roseanne McDonald, Juliette Maire, Benjamin Loubet, Polina Voylokov, Mark Sutton, and Ute Skiba
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Emily D. White, Matthew Rigby, Mark F. Lunt, T. Luke Smallman, Edward Comyn-Platt, Alistair J. Manning, Anita L. Ganesan, Simon O'Doherty, Ann R. Stavert, Kieran Stanley, Mathew Williams, Peter Levy, Michel Ramonet, Grant L. Forster, Andrew C. Manning, and Paul I. Palmer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4345–4365, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4345-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4345-2019, 2019
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Understanding carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes from the terrestrial biosphere on a national scale is important for evaluating land use strategies to mitigate climate change. We estimate emissions of CO2 from the UK biosphere using atmospheric data in a top-down approach. Our findings show that bottom-up estimates from models of biospheric fluxes overestimate the amount of CO2 uptake in summer. This suggests these models wrongly estimate or omit key processes, e.g. land disturbance due to harvest.
Rongting Xu, Hanqin Tian, Shufen Pan, Shree R. S. Dangal, Jian Chen, Jinfeng Chang, Yonglong Lu, Ute Maria Skiba, Francesco N. Tubiello, and Bowen Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 175–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-175-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-175-2019, 2019
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We provide three gridded datasets of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer and manure N inputs in global pastures and rangelands at a resolution of 0.5° × 0.5° for the period 1860–2016 (i.e., annual manure N deposition (by grazing animals) rate, synthetic N fertilizer use rate and manure N application rate). These three datasets could fill data gaps of N inputs in global and regional grasslands and serve as input drivers for earth system models.
Robbie Ramsay, Chiara F. Di Marco, Mathew R. Heal, Marsailidh M. Twigg, Nicholas Cowan, Matthew R. Jones, Sarah R. Leeson, William J. Bloss, Louisa J. Kramer, Leigh Crilley, Matthias Sörgel, Meinrat Andreae, and Eiko Nemitz
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Peter Levy, Marcel van Oijen, Gwen Buys, and Sam Tomlinson
Biogeosciences, 15, 1497–1513, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1497-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1497-2018, 2018
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We present a new method for estimating land-use change using a Bayesian data assimilation approach. This allows us to constrain estimates of gross land-use change with reliable national-scale census data whilst retaining the information available from several other sources. This includes detailed spatial data; further data sources, such as new satellites, could easily be added in future. Uncertainty is propagated appropriately into the output.
Sarah R. Leeson, Peter E. Levy, Netty van Dijk, Julia Drewer, Sophie Robinson, Matthew R. Jones, John Kentisbeer, Ian Washbourne, Mark A. Sutton, and Lucy J. Sheppard
Biogeosciences, 14, 5753–5764, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5753-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5753-2017, 2017
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Nitrogen deposition was experimentally increased on a Scottish peat bog over a period of 13 years (2002–2015), simulating pollution from agricultural and fossil-fuel sources. We measured emissions of the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O), in response to the increased nitrogen input. In the plots treated with ammonium and nitrate solution, no response was seen. Areas subjected to high ammonia emitted more N2O than expected. Differences were related to impacts on the vegetation.
Stephanie K. Jones, Carole Helfter, Margaret Anderson, Mhairi Coyle, Claire Campbell, Daniela Famulari, Chiara Di Marco, Netty van Dijk, Y. Sim Tang, Cairistiona F. E. Topp, Ralf Kiese, Reimo Kindler, Jan Siemens, Marion Schrumpf, Klaus Kaiser, Eiko Nemitz, Peter E. Levy, Robert M. Rees, Mark A. Sutton, and Ute M. Skiba
Biogeosciences, 14, 2069–2088, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2069-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2069-2017, 2017
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We assessed the nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and greenhouse gas (GHG) budget from an intensively managed grassland in southern Scotland using flux budget calculations as well as changes in soil N and C pools over time. Estimates from flux budget calculations indicated that N and C were sequestered, whereas soil stock measurements indicated a smaller N storage and a loss of C from the ecosystem. The GHG sink strength of the net CO2 ecosystem exchange was strongly affected by CH4 and N2O emissions.
Kerry J. Dinsmore, Julia Drewer, Peter E. Levy, Charles George, Annalea Lohila, Mika Aurela, and Ute M. Skiba
Biogeosciences, 14, 799–815, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-799-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-799-2017, 2017
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Release of greenhouse gases from northern soils contributes significantly to the global atmosphere and plays an important role in regulating climate. This study, based in N. Finland, aimed to measure and understand release of CH4 and N2O, and using satellite imagery, upscale our results to a 2 × 2 km area. Wetlands released large amounts of CH4, with emissions linked to temperature and the presence of Sphagnum; landscape emissions were 2.05 mg C m−2 hr−1. N2O fluxes were consistently near-zero.
Nicholas J. Cowan, Peter E. Levy, Daniela Famulari, Margaret Anderson, Julia Drewer, Marco Carozzi, David S. Reay, and Ute M. Skiba
Biogeosciences, 13, 4811–4821, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4811-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4811-2016, 2016
Short summary
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Using a quantum cascade laser we measured N2O fluxes before and after a tillage event on a long-term grazed grassland field using the flux chamber and eddy covariance methods. The measurements were gap-filled using a generalised additive model which used meteorological data at the site. Results suggest that tillage of soils containing plant material (crop residues) releases a relatively large amount of N2O-N, similar in magnitude to approximately 0.9 % of the nitrogen in the plant materials.
Rebecca M. McKenzie, Mustafa Z. Özel, J. Neil Cape, Julia Drewer, Kerry J. Dinsmore, Eiko Nemitz, Y. Sim Tang, Netty van Dijk, Margaret Anderson, Jacqueline F. Hamilton, Mark A. Sutton, Martin W. Gallagher, and Ute Skiba
Biogeosciences, 13, 2353–2365, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2353-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2353-2016, 2016
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Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) contributes significantly to the overall nitrogen budget and can potentially be biologically available as a source of N. Despite this it is not routinely measured. This study found that DON contributed up to 10 % of the total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) found in precipitation and was the most dominant fraction in soil water (99 %) and stream water (75 %).
D. Fowler, C. E. Steadman, D. Stevenson, M. Coyle, R. M. Rees, U. M. Skiba, M. A. Sutton, J. N. Cape, A. J. Dore, M. Vieno, D. Simpson, S. Zaehle, B. D. Stocker, M. Rinaldi, M. C. Facchini, C. R. Flechard, E. Nemitz, M. Twigg, J. W. Erisman, K. Butterbach-Bahl, and J. N. Galloway
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13849–13893, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13849-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13849-2015, 2015
C. Helfter, C. Campbell, K. J. Dinsmore, J. Drewer, M. Coyle, M. Anderson, U. Skiba, E. Nemitz, M. F. Billett, and M. A. Sutton
Biogeosciences, 12, 1799–1811, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1799-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1799-2015, 2015
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The CO2 sink strength of a temperate peatland in SE Scotland exhibited large inter-annual variability which was well-correlated to the length of the growing season. Mean winter air temperature explained 87% of the inter-annual variability in the sink strength of the following summer, indicating a phenological memory effect. Autotrophic respiration is thought to be dominant, but heterotrophic processes might have been enhanced during dry spells increasing the loss of CO2 to the atmosphere.
N. J. Cowan, P. Norman, D. Famulari, P. E. Levy, D. S. Reay, and U. M. Skiba
Biogeosciences, 12, 1585–1596, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1585-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1585-2015, 2015
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The spatial variability of N2O fluxes measured at the field scale were investigated using a high-precision closed loop dynamic chamber. The results highlight the large and often unpredictable variation in N2O flux magnitude measured from agricultural soils at a relatively small scale. Available nitrogen content of the soils accounts for some of the variability in N2O emissions. The study suggests animal waste is an important source of N2O emissions released from livestock farms.
S. Sitch, P. Friedlingstein, N. Gruber, S. D. Jones, G. Murray-Tortarolo, A. Ahlström, S. C. Doney, H. Graven, C. Heinze, C. Huntingford, S. Levis, P. E. Levy, M. Lomas, B. Poulter, N. Viovy, S. Zaehle, N. Zeng, A. Arneth, G. Bonan, L. Bopp, J. G. Canadell, F. Chevallier, P. Ciais, R. Ellis, M. Gloor, P. Peylin, S. L. Piao, C. Le Quéré, B. Smith, Z. Zhu, and R. Myneni
Biogeosciences, 12, 653–679, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-653-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-653-2015, 2015
S. J. O'Shea, G. Allen, M. W. Gallagher, K. Bower, S. M. Illingworth, J. B. A. Muller, B. T. Jones, C. J. Percival, S. J-B. Bauguitte, M. Cain, N. Warwick, A. Quiquet, U. Skiba, J. Drewer, K. Dinsmore, E. G. Nisbet, D. Lowry, R. E. Fisher, J. L. France, M. Aurela, A. Lohila, G. Hayman, C. George, D. B. Clark, A. J. Manning, A. D. Friend, and J. Pyle
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13159–13174, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13159-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13159-2014, 2014
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This paper presents airborne measurements of greenhouse gases collected in the European Arctic. Regional scale flux estimates for the northern Scandinavian wetlands are derived. These fluxes are found to be in excellent agreement with coincident surface measurements within the aircraft's sampling domain. This has allowed a significant low bias to be identified in two commonly used process-based land surface models.
M. Vieno, M. R. Heal, S. Hallsworth, D. Famulari, R. M. Doherty, A. J. Dore, Y. S. Tang, C. F. Braban, D. Leaver, M. A. Sutton, and S. Reis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8435–8447, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8435-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8435-2014, 2014
J. B. Fisher, M. Sikka, W. C. Oechel, D. N. Huntzinger, J. R. Melton, C. D. Koven, A. Ahlström, M. A. Arain, I. Baker, J. M. Chen, P. Ciais, C. Davidson, M. Dietze, B. El-Masri, D. Hayes, C. Huntingford, A. K. Jain, P. E. Levy, M. R. Lomas, B. Poulter, D. Price, A. K. Sahoo, K. Schaefer, H. Tian, E. Tomelleri, H. Verbeeck, N. Viovy, R. Wania, N. Zeng, and C. E. Miller
Biogeosciences, 11, 4271–4288, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-4271-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-4271-2014, 2014
C. Le Quéré, R. J. Andres, T. Boden, T. Conway, R. A. Houghton, J. I. House, G. Marland, G. P. Peters, G. R. van der Werf, A. Ahlström, R. M. Andrew, L. Bopp, J. G. Canadell, P. Ciais, S. C. Doney, C. Enright, P. Friedlingstein, C. Huntingford, A. K. Jain, C. Jourdain, E. Kato, R. F. Keeling, K. Klein Goldewijk, S. Levis, P. Levy, M. Lomas, B. Poulter, M. R. Raupach, J. Schwinger, S. Sitch, B. D. Stocker, N. Viovy, S. Zaehle, and N. Zeng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 5, 165–185, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-165-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-165-2013, 2013
U. Skiba, S. K. Jones, J. Drewer, C. Helfter, M. Anderson, K. Dinsmore, R. McKenzie, E. Nemitz, and M. A. Sutton
Biogeosciences, 10, 1231–1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1231-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1231-2013, 2013
L. J. Sheppard, I. D. Leith, S. R. Leeson, N. van Dijk, C. Field, and P. Levy
Biogeosciences, 10, 149–160, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-149-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-149-2013, 2013
E. Vogt, C. F. Braban, U. Dragosits, M. R. Theobald, M. F. Billett, A. J. Dore, Y. S. Tang, N. van Dijk, R. M. Rees, C. McDonald, S. Murray, U. M. Skiba, and M. A. Sutton
Biogeosciences, 10, 119–133, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-119-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-119-2013, 2013
O. Hertel, C. A. Skjøth, S. Reis, A. Bleeker, R. M. Harrison, J. N. Cape, D. Fowler, U. Skiba, D. Simpson, T. Jickells, M. Kulmala, S. Gyldenkærne, L. L. Sørensen, J. W. Erisman, and M. A. Sutton
Biogeosciences, 9, 4921–4954, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-4921-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-4921-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Improving the quantification of peak concentrations for air quality sensors via data weighting
Long-term observations of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 trends and comparison of two measurement systems at Pallas-Sammaltunturi station in Northern Finland
Calibrating adsorptive and reactive losses of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes in dynamic chambers using deuterated surrogates
Orphaned Oil & Gas Well Methane Emission Rates Quantified with Gaussian Plume Inversions of Ambient Observations
OF–CEAS laser spectroscopy to measure water isotopes in dry environments: example of application in Antarctica
Performance evaluation of air quality sensors for environmental epidemiology
Interpretation of mass spectra by a Vocus proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) at an urban site: insights from gas-chromatographic pre-separation
Towards a high-quality in situ observation network for oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) in Europe: transferring metrological traceability to the field
Improving Consistency in Methane Emission Quantification from the Natural Gas Distribution System across Measurement Devices
Validation of formaldehyde products from three satellite retrievals (OMI SAO, OMPS-NPP SAO, and OMI BIRA) in the marine atmosphere with four seasons of Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) aircraft observations
Methodology and uncertainty estimation for measurements of methane leakage in a manufactured house
Alternate materials for the capture and quantification of gaseous oxidized mercury in the atmosphere
Lower-cost eddy covariance for CO2 and H2O fluxes over grassland and agroforestry
Evaluation of optimized flux chamber design for measurement of ammonia emission after field application of slurry with full-scale farm machinery
Preparation of low-concentration H2 test gas mixtures in ambient air for calibration of H2 sensors
Pico-Light H2O: intercomparison of in situ water vapour measurements during the AsA 2022 campaign
Mobile air quality monitoring and comparison to fixed monitoring sites for instrument performance assessment
Intercomparison of eddy-covariance software for urban tall-tower sites
Assessment of current methane emission quantification techniques for natural gas midstream applications
Performance assessment of state-of-the-art and novel methods for remote compliance monitoring of sulfur emissions from shipping
Intercomparison of detection and quantification methods for methane emissions from the natural gas distribution network in Hamburg, Germany
Comparison of photoacoustic spectroscopy and cavity ring-down spectroscopy for ambient methane monitoring at Hohenpeißenberg
Comparison of atmospheric CO, CO2 and CH4 measurements at the Schneefernerhaus and the mountain ridge at Zugspitze
Intercomparison of commercial analyzers for atmospheric ethane and methane observations
Real-time measurement of phase partitioning of organic compounds using a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer coupled to a CHARON inlet
A quantitative comparison of methods used to measure smaller methane emissions typically observed from superannuated oil and gas infrastructure
Comparing airborne algorithms for greenhouse gas flux measurements over the Alberta oil sands
Characterization of inexpensive metal oxide sensor performance for trace methane detection
Intercomparison of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric water vapor measurements over the Asian Summer Monsoon during the StratoClim campaign
Air pollution measurement errors: is your data fit for purpose?
Performance characterization of low-cost air quality sensors for off-grid deployment in rural Malawi
Comment on “Comparison of ozone measurement methods in biomass burning smoke: an evaluation under field and laboratory conditions” by Long et al. (2021)
Homogenization of the Observatoire de Haute Provence electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozonesonde data record: comparison with lidar and satellite observations
Long-term behavior and stability of calibration models for NO and NO2 low-cost sensors
Controlled-release experiment to investigate uncertainties in UAV-based emission quantification for methane point sources
Ozone formation sensitivity study using machine learning coupled with the reactivity of volatile organic compound species
Evaluating uncertainty in sensor networks for urban air pollution insights
Estimating oil sands emissions using horizontal path-integrated column measurements
Global evaluation of the precipitable-water-vapor product from MERSI-II (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager) on board the Fengyun-3D satellite
Field testing two flux footprint models
Validation of a new cavity ring-down spectrometer for measuring tropospheric gaseous hydrogen chloride
Comparison of formaldehyde measurements by Hantzsch, CRDS and DOAS in the SAPHIR chamber
A field intercomparison of three passive air samplers for gaseous mercury in ambient air
Beef cattle methane emissions measured with tracer-ratio and inverse dispersion modelling techniques
Methane emissions from an oil sands tailings pond: a quantitative comparison of fluxes derived by different methods
Performance of open-path GasFinder3 devices for CH4 concentration measurements close to ambient levels
Water vapor density and turbulent fluxes from three generations of infrared gas analyzers
Quantifying fugitive gas emissions from an oil sands tailings pond with open-path Fourier transform infrared measurements
Robust statistical calibration and characterization of portable low-cost air quality monitoring sensors to quantify real-time O3 and NO2 concentrations in diverse environments
A miniature Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) for real-driving monitoring of motorcycles
Caroline Frischmon, Jonathan Silberstein, Annamarie Guth, Erick Mattson, Jack Porter, and Michael Hannigan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 3147–3159, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3147-2025, 2025
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Air quality sensors often underpredict peak concentrations, which is a major issue in applications such as emission event detection. Here, we detail a novel approach involving data weighting to improve quantification of these peak values. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we applied data weighting to carbon monoxide, methane, and volatile organic compound sensor data. This work broadens our ability to use air sensors in contexts where accurate quantification of peak concentrations is essential.
Antti Laitinen, Hermanni Aaltonen, Christoph Zellweger, Aki Tsuruta, Tuula Aalto, and Juha Hatakka
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 3109–3133, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3109-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3109-2025, 2025
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This paper presents long-term observations of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 mole fractions and a comparison of two permanent and two mobile measurement systems located in Northern Finland. Furthermore, the observed mole fractions are compared against the mean marine boundary layer product for the Northern Hemisphere. The comparisons of all the systems show good agreement in relation to the World Meteorological Organization/Global Atmosphere Watch network compatibility goal limits for CO2 and CH4.
Jianqiang Zeng, Yanli Zhang, Haofan Ran, Weihua Pang, Hao Guo, Zhaobin Mu, Wei Song, and Xinming Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1811–1821, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1811-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1811-2025, 2025
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This study revealed the existence of significant species-specific adsorptive and reactive losses of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes in dynamic chambers. The deuterated α-pinene-d3 and β-caryophyllene-d2 were proven as effective surrogates in tracing these losses for some key monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The findings highlight the importance of selecting internal surrogates that closely match the adsorptive and reactive behaviors of target compounds for precise loss correction.
Emily Follansbee, James E. Lee, Mohit L. Dubey, Jonathan F. Dooley, Curtis Shuck, Ken Minschwaner, Andre Santos, Sebastien C. Biraud, and Manvendra K. Dubey
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-344, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-344, 2025
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This work uses ambient methane and wind measurements to quantify methane emissions from a leaking orphaned oil and gas well using Gaussian plume inversions. Our analysis shows that existing Gaussian plume methods that assume atmospheric stability are prone to large errors. We report a more robust analysis that determines plume dispersion coefficients from our in situ observations. Our technique enables more accurate methane quantification of orphaned oil and gas wells to prioritize plugging.
Thomas Lauwers, Elise Fourré, Olivier Jossoud, Daniele Romanini, Frédéric Prié, Giordano Nitti, Mathieu Casado, Kévin Jaulin, Markus Miltner, Morgane Farradèche, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Amaëlle Landais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1135–1147, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1135-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1135-2025, 2025
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Water vapour isotopes are important tools to better understand processes governing the atmospheric hydrological cycle. In polar regions, their measurement helps to improve the interpretation of water isotopic records in ice cores. However, in situ water vapour isotopic monitoring is an important challenge, especially in dry places of East Antarctica. We present here an alternative laser spectroscopy technique adapted for such measurements, with a limit of detection down to 10 ppm humidity.
Miriam Chacón-Mateos, Héctor García-Salamero, Bernd Laquai, and Ulrich Vogt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-587, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-587, 2025
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This study evaluates air quality sensors in indoor & outdoor environments to support health research. Sensors were calibrated using data from reference instruments, and regression and machine learning models were tested for data correction. Results highlight the importance of using high-quality training data during co-location. Integrating metadata, such as activity logs, helps validate calibrated sensor data. These findings can enhance the use of air quality sensors in health studies globally.
Ying Zhang, Yuwei Wang, Chuang Li, Yueyang Li, Sijia Yin, Megan S. Claflin, Brian M. Lerner, Douglas Worsnop, and Lin Wang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-757, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-757, 2025
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This study provides insight into how individual ions measured by proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry are produced by multiple volatile organic compounds. A reference table is provided for attributing the PTR signal to contributing VOC species. The signals are grouped according to the complexity of their potential identities. We find that a number of signal ions such as C6H7+ for benzene and C5H9+ for isoprene merely give an upper limit of their corresponding concentration.
Maitane Iturrate-Garcia, Thérèse Salameh, Paul Schlauri, Annarita Baldan, Martin K. Vollmer, Evdokia Stratigou, Sebastien Dusanter, Jianrong Li, Stefan Persijn, Anja Claude, Rupert Holzinger, Christophe Sutour, Tatiana Macé, Yasin Elshorbany, Andreas Ackermann, Céline Pascale, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 371–403, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-371-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-371-2025, 2025
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Accurate and comparable measurements of oxygenated organic compounds (OVOCs) are crucial in assessing tropospheric ozone burdens and trends. However, the monitoring of many OVOCs remains challenging because of their low atmospheric abundance and lack of stable and traceable calibration standards. This paper describes the calibration standards developed for OVOCs at a low amount of substance fractions (<100 nmol mol-1) to transfer traceability of the International System of Units to the field.
Judith Tettenborn, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Daan Stroeken, Hossein Maazallahi, Carina van der Veen, Arjan Hensen, Ilona Velzeboer, Pim van den Bulk, Felix Vogel, Lawson Gillespie, Sebastien Ars, James France, David Lowry, Rebecca Fisher, and Thomas Röckmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3620, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3620, 2025
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Measurements of methane with vehicle-based sensors are an effective method to identify and quantify leaks from urban gas distribution systems. We deliberately released methane in different environments, and calibrated the response of different methane analyzers when they transect the plumes in a vehicle. We derived an improved statistical function for consistent emission estimations using different instruments. Repeated transects reduce the uncertainty in emission rate estimates.
Jin Liao, Glenn M. Wolfe, Alexander E. Kotsakis, Julie M. Nicely, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Gonzalo González Abad, Caroline R. Nowlan, Zolal Ayazpour, Isabelle De Smedt, Eric C. Apel, and Rebecca S. Hornbrook
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1-2025, 2025
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Validation of satellite HCHO over the remote marine regions is relatively low, and modeled HCHO in these regions is usually added as a global satellite HCHO background. This paper intercompares three satellite HCHO retrievals and validates them against in situ observations from the NASA ATom mission. All retrievals are correlated with ATom-integrated columns over remote oceans, with OMI SAO (v004) showing the best agreement. A persistent low bias is found in all retrievals at high latitudes.
Anna Karion, Michael F. Link, Rileigh Robertson, Tyler Boyle, and Dustin Poppendieck
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 7065–7075, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7065-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7065-2024, 2024
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Methane leaks into houses that use natural gas from appliances, pipes, and fittings. We measured methane emitted from a manufactured house under different ventilation conditions using indoor and outdoor concentration measurements. We injected methane at prescribed rates into the house and then measured the emissions using our method. We report the error in the calculation based on these tests. We also describe the method and provide guidance on conducting this type of experiment.
Livia Lown, Sarrah M. Dunham-Cheatham, Seth N. Lyman, and Mae S. Gustin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6397–6413, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6397-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6397-2024, 2024
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New sorbent materials are needed to preconcentrate atmospheric oxidized mercury for analysis by developing mass spectrometry methods. Chitosan, α-Al2O3, and γ-Al2O3 were tested for quantitative gaseous oxidized mercury sorption in ambient air under laboratory and field conditions. Although these materials sorbed gaseous oxidized mercury without sorbing elemental mercury in the laboratory, less oxidized mercury was recovered from these materials compared to cation exchange membranes in the field.
Justus G. V. van Ramshorst, Alexander Knohl, José Ángel Callejas-Rodelas, Robert Clement, Timothy C. Hill, Lukas Siebicke, and Christian Markwitz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6047–6071, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6047-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6047-2024, 2024
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In this work we present experimental field results of a lower-cost eddy covariance (LC-EC) system, which can measure the ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and water vapour with the atmosphere. During three field campaigns on a grassland and agroforestry grassland, we compared the LC-EC with a conventional eddy covariance (CON-EC) system. Our results show that LC-EC has the potential to measure EC fluxes at only approximately 25 % of the cost of a CON-EC system.
Johanna Pedersen, Sasha D. Hafner, Andreas Pacholski, Valthor I. Karlsson, Li Rong, Rodrigo Labouriau, and Jesper N. Kamp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4493–4505, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4493-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4493-2024, 2024
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Field-applied animal slurry is a significant source of NH3 emission. A new system of dynamic flux chambers for NH3 measurements was developed and validated using three field trials in order to assess the variability after application with a trailing hose at different scales: manual (handheld) application, a 3 m slurry boom, and a 30 m slurry boom. The system facilitates NH3 emission measurement with replication after both manual and farm-scale slurry application with relatively high precision.
Niklas Karbach, Lisa Höhler, Peter Hoor, Heiko Bozem, Nicole Bobrowski, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4081–4086, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4081-2024, 2024
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The system presented here can accurately generate and reproduce a stable flow of gas mixtures of known concentrations over several days using ambient air as a dilution medium. In combination with the small size and low weight of the system, this enables the calibration of hydrogen sensors in the field, reducing the influence of matrix effects on the accuracy of the sensor. The system is inexpensive to assemble and easy to maintain, which is the key to reliable measurement results.
Mélanie Ghysels, Georges Durry, Nadir Amarouche, Dale Hurst, Emrys Hall, Kensy Xiong, Jean-Charles Dupont, Jean-Christophe Samake, Fabien Frérot, Raghed Bejjani, and Emmanuel D. Riviere
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3495–3513, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3495-2024, 2024
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A tunable diode laser hygrometer, “Pico-Light H2O”, is presented and its performances are evaluated during the AsA 2022 balloon-borne intercomparison campaign from Aire-sur-l'Adour (France) in September 2022. A total of 15 balloons were launched within the framework of the EU-funded HEMERA project. Pico-Light H2O has been compared in situ with the NOAA Frost Point Hygrometer in the upper troposphere and stratosphere, as well as with meteorological sondes (iMet-4 and M20) in the troposphere.
Andrew R. Whitehill, Melissa Lunden, Brian LaFranchi, Surender Kaushik, and Paul A. Solomon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2991–3009, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2991-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2991-2024, 2024
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We present an analysis from two large-scale mobile air quality monitoring campaigns in Colorado and California. We compare mobile measurements of air quality to measurements from nearby regulatory sites. The goal of this paper is to explore how fixed-site measurements (such as regulatory site measurements) can be used for ongoing instrument performance assessment of mobile monitoring platforms over extended measurement campaigns.
Changxing Lan, Matthias Mauder, Stavros Stagakis, Benjamin Loubet, Claudio D'Onofrio, Stefan Metzger, David Durden, and Pedro-Henrique Herig-Coimbra
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2649–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2649-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2649-2024, 2024
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Using eddy-covariance systems deployed in three cities, we aimed to elucidate the sources of discrepancies in flux estimations from different software packages. One crucial finding is the impact of low-frequency spectral loss corrections on tall-tower flux estimations. Our findings emphasize the significance of a standardized measurement setup and consistent postprocessing configurations in minimizing the systematic flux uncertainty resulting from the usage of different software packages.
Yunsong Liu, Jean-Daniel Paris, Gregoire Broquet, Violeta Bescós Roy, Tania Meixus Fernandez, Rasmus Andersen, Andrés Russu Berlanga, Emil Christensen, Yann Courtois, Sebastian Dominok, Corentin Dussenne, Travis Eckert, Andrew Finlayson, Aurora Fernández de la Fuente, Catlin Gunn, Ram Hashmonay, Juliano Grigoleto Hayashi, Jonathan Helmore, Soeren Honsel, Fabrizio Innocenti, Matti Irjala, Torgrim Log, Cristina Lopez, Francisco Cortés Martínez, Jonathan Martinez, Adrien Massardier, Helle Gottschalk Nygaard, Paula Agregan Reboredo, Elodie Rousset, Axel Scherello, Matthias Ulbricht, Damien Weidmann, Oliver Williams, Nigel Yarrow, Murès Zarea, Robert Ziegler, Jean Sciare, Mihalis Vrekoussis, and Philippe Bousquet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1633–1649, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1633-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1633-2024, 2024
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We investigated the performance of 10 methane emission quantification techniques in a blind controlled-release experiment at an inerted natural gas compressor station. We reported their respective strengths, weaknesses, and potential complementarity depending on the emission rates and atmospheric conditions. Additionally, we assess the dependence of emission quantification performance on key parameters such as wind speed, deployment constraints, and measurement duration.
Jörg Beecken, Andreas Weigelt, Simone Griesel, Johan Mellqvist, Alexander V. Conde Jacobo, Daniëlle van Dinther, Jan Duyzer, Jon Knudsen, Bettina Knudsen, and Leonidas Ntziachristos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5883–5895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5883-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5883-2023, 2023
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Air pollution from shipping is a debated topic in science and politics. We compare different monitoring systems currently used in different European countries for the enforcement of emission limits regarding air pollution from ships according to regulation. The system performances were individually assessed in the field by comparison with true values. Non-compliant vessels with actual fuel sulfur contents > 0.15–0.19 % Sm/m can be detected by the compared systems with 95 % confidence.
Hossein Maazallahi, Antonio Delre, Charlotte Scheutz, Anders M. Fredenslund, Stefan Schwietzke, Hugo Denier van der Gon, and Thomas Röckmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5051–5073, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5051-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5051-2023, 2023
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Measurement methods are increasingly deployed to verify reported methane emissions of gas leaks. This study describes unique advantages and limitations of three methods. Two methods are rapidly deployed, but uncertainties and biases exist for some leak locations. In contrast, the suction method could accurately determine leak rates in principle. However, this method, which provides data for the German emission inventory, creates an overall low bias in our study due to non-random site selection.
Max Müller, Stefan Weigl, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Matthias Lindauer, Thomas Rück, Simon Jobst, Rudolf Bierl, and Frank-Michael Matysik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4263–4270, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4263-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4263-2023, 2023
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Over a period of 5 d, a photoacoustic methane sensor was compared with a Picarro cavity ring-down (G2301) spectrometer. Both devices measured the ambient methane concentration at the meteorological observatory Hohenpeißenberg. Cross-sensitivities on the photoacoustic signal, due to fluctuating ambient humidity, were compensated by applying the CoNRad algorithm. The results show that photoacoustic sensors have the potential for accurate and precise greenhouse gas monitoring.
Antje Hoheisel, Cedric Couret, Bryan Hellack, and Martina Schmidt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2399–2413, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2399-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2399-2023, 2023
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High-precision CO2, CH4 and CO measurements have been carried out at Zugspitze for decades. New technologies make it possible to analyse these gases with high temporal resolution. This allows the detection of local pollution. To this end, measurements have been performed on the mountain ridge (ZGR) and are compared to routine measurements at the Schneefernerhaus (ZSF). Careful manual flagging of pollution events in the ZSF data leads to consistency with the little influenced ZGR time series.
Róisín Commane, Andrew Hallward-Driemeier, and Lee T. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1431–1441, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1431-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1431-2023, 2023
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Methane / ethane ratios can be used to identify and partition the different sources of methane, especially in areas with natural gas mixed with biogenic methane emissions, such as cities. We tested three commercially available laser-based analyzers for sensitivity, precision, size, power requirement, ease of use on mobile platforms, and expertise needed to operate the instrument, and we make recommendations for use in various situations.
Yarong Peng, Hongli Wang, Yaqin Gao, Shengao Jing, Shuhui Zhu, Dandan Huang, Peizhi Hao, Shengrong Lou, Tiantao Cheng, Cheng Huang, and Xuan Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 15–28, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-15-2023, 2023
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This work examined the phase partitioning behaviors of organic compounds at hourly resolution in ambient conditions with the use of the CHemical Analysis of aeRosols ONline (CHARON) inlet coupled to a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS). Properly accounting for the neutral losses of small moieties during the molecular feature extraction from PTR mass spectra could significantly reduce uncertainties associated with the gas–particle partitioning measurements.
Stuart N. Riddick, Riley Ancona, Mercy Mbua, Clay S. Bell, Aidan Duggan, Timothy L. Vaughn, Kristine Bennett, and Daniel J. Zimmerle
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6285–6296, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6285-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6285-2022, 2022
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This describes controlled release experiments at the METEC facility in Fort Collins, USA, that investigates the accuracy and precision of five methods commonly used to measure methane emissions. Methods include static/dynamic chambers, hi flow sampling, a backward Lagrangian stochastic method, and a Gaussian plume method. This is the first time that methods for measuring CH4 emissions from point sources less than 200 g CH4 h−1 have been quantitively assessed against references and each other.
Broghan M. Erland, Cristen Adams, Andrea Darlington, Mackenzie L. Smith, Andrew K. Thorpe, Gregory R. Wentworth, Steve Conley, John Liggio, Shao-Meng Li, Charles E. Miller, and John A. Gamon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5841–5859, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5841-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5841-2022, 2022
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Accurately estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential to reaching net-zero goals to combat the climate crisis. Airborne box-flights are ideal for assessing regional GHG emissions, as they can attain small error. We compare two box-flight algorithms and found they produce similar results, but daily variability must be considered when deriving emissions inventories. Increasing the consistency and agreement between airborne methods moves us closer to achieving more accurate estimates.
Daniel Furuta, Tofigh Sayahi, Jinsheng Li, Bruce Wilson, Albert A. Presto, and Jiayu Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5117–5128, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5117-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5117-2022, 2022
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Methane is a major greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change with various human-caused and natural sources. Currently, atmospheric methane is expensive to sense. We investigate repurposing cheap methane safety sensors for atmospheric sensing, finding several promising sensors and identifying some of the challenges in this approach. This work will help in developing inexpensive sensor networks for methane monitoring, which will aid in reducing methane leaks and emissions.
Clare E. Singer, Benjamin W. Clouser, Sergey M. Khaykin, Martina Krämer, Francesco Cairo, Thomas Peter, Alexey Lykov, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, Simone Brunamonti, and Elisabeth J. Moyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4767–4783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, 2022
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In situ measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere are necessary to study cloud formation and hydration of the stratosphere but challenging due to cold–dry conditions. We compare measurements from three water vapor instruments from the StratoClim campaign in 2017. In clear sky (clouds), point-by-point differences were <1.5±8 % (<1±8 %). This excellent agreement allows detection of fine-scale structures required to understand the impact of convection on stratospheric water vapor.
Sebastian Diez, Stuart E. Lacy, Thomas J. Bannan, Michael Flynn, Tom Gardiner, David Harrison, Nicholas Marsden, Nicholas A. Martin, Katie Read, and Pete M. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4091–4105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4091-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4091-2022, 2022
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Regardless of the cost of the measuring instrument, there are no perfect measurements. For this reason, we compare the quality of the information provided by cheap devices when they are used to measure air pollutants and we try to emphasise that before judging the potential usefulness of the devices, the user must specify his own needs. Since commonly used performance indices/metrics can be misleading in qualifying this, we propose complementary visual analysis to the more commonly used metrics.
Ashley S. Bittner, Eben S. Cross, David H. Hagan, Carl Malings, Eric Lipsky, and Andrew P. Grieshop
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3353–3376, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3353-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3353-2022, 2022
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We present findings from a 1-year pilot deployment of low-cost integrated air quality sensor packages in rural Malawi using calibration models developed during collocation with US regulatory monitors. We compare the results with data from remote sensing products and previous field studies. We conclude that while the remote calibration approach can help extract useful data, great care is needed when assessing low-cost sensor data collected in regions without reference instrumentation.
Noah Bernays, Daniel A. Jaffe, Irina Petropavlovskikh, and Peter Effertz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3189–3192, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3189-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3189-2022, 2022
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Ozone is an important pollutant that impacts millions of people worldwide. It is therefore important to ensure accurate measurements. A recent surge in wildfire activity in the USA has resulted in significant enhancements in ozone concentration. However given the nature of wildfire smoke, there are questions about our ability to accurately measure ozone. In this comment, we discuss possible biases in the UV measurements of ozone in the presence of smoke.
Gérard Ancellet, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Herman G. J. Smit, Ryan M. Stauffer, Roeland Van Malderen, Renaud Bodichon, and Andrea Pazmiño
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3105–3120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3105-2022, 2022
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The 1991–2021 Observatoire de Haute Provence electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozonesonde data have been homogenized according to the recommendations of the Ozonesonde Data Quality Assessment panel. Comparisons with ground-based instruments also measuring ozone at the same station (lidar, surface measurements) and with colocated satellite observations show the benefits of this homogenization. Remaining differences between ECC and other observations in the stratosphere are also discussed.
Horim Kim, Michael Müller, Stephan Henne, and Christoph Hüglin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2979–2992, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2979-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2979-2022, 2022
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In this study, the performance of electrochemical sensors for NO and NO2 for measuring air quality was determined over a longer operating period. The performance of NO sensors remained reliable for more than 18 months. However, the NO2 sensors showed decreasing performance over time. During deployment, we found that the NO2 sensors can distinguish general pollution levels, but they proved unsuitable for accurate measurements due to significant biases.
Randulph Morales, Jonas Ravelid, Katarina Vinkovic, Piotr Korbeń, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Huilin Chen, Martina Schmidt, Sebastian Humbel, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2177–2198, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2177-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2177-2022, 2022
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Mapping trace gas emission plumes using in situ measurements from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is an emerging and attractive possibility to quantify emissions from localized sources. We performed an extensive controlled-release experiment to develop an optimal quantification method and to determine the related uncertainties under various environmental and sampling conditions. Our approach was successful in quantifying local methane sources from drone-based measurements.
Junlei Zhan, Yongchun Liu, Wei Ma, Xin Zhang, Xuezhong Wang, Fang Bi, Yujie Zhang, Zhenhai Wu, and Hong Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1511–1520, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1511-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1511-2022, 2022
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Our study investigated the O3 formation sensitivity in Beijing using a random forest model coupled with the reactivity of volatile organic
compound (VOC) species. Results found that random forest accurately predicted O3 concentration when initial VOCs were considered, and relative importance correlated well with O3 formation potential. The O3 isopleth curves calculated by the random forest model were generally comparable with those calculated by the box model.
Daniel R. Peters, Olalekan A. M. Popoola, Roderic L. Jones, Nicholas A. Martin, Jim Mills, Elizabeth R. Fonseca, Amy Stidworthy, Ella Forsyth, David Carruthers, Megan Dupuy-Todd, Felicia Douglas, Katie Moore, Rishabh U. Shah, Lauren E. Padilla, and Ramón A. Alvarez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 321–334, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-321-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-321-2022, 2022
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We present more than 2 years of NO2 pollution measurements from a sensor network in Greater London and compare results to an extensive network of expensive reference-grade monitors. We show the ability of our lower-cost network to generate robust insights about local air pollution. We also show how irregularities in sensor performance lead to some uncertainty in results and demonstrate ways that future users can characterize and mitigate uncertainties to get the most value from sensor data.
Timothy G. Pernini, T. Scott Zaccheo, Jeremy Dobler, and Nathan Blume
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 225–240, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-225-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-225-2022, 2022
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We demonstrate a novel approach to estimating emissions from oil sands operations that utilizes the GreenLITE™ gas concentration measurement system and an atmospheric model. While deployed at a facility in the Athabasca region of Alberta, Canada, CH4 emissions from a tailings pond were estimated to be 7.2 t/d for July–October 2019, and 5.1 t/d for March–July 2020. CH4 emissions from an open-pit mine were estimated to be 24.6 t/d for September–October 2019.
Wengang Zhang, Ling Wang, Yang Yu, Guirong Xu, Xiuqing Hu, Zhikang Fu, and Chunguang Cui
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7821–7834, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7821-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7821-2021, 2021
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Global precipitable water vapor (PWV) derived from MERSI-II (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager) is compared with PWV from the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA). Our results show a good agreement between PWV from MERSI-II and IGRA and that MERSI-II PWV is slightly underestimated on the whole, especially in summer. The bias between MERSI-II and IGRA grows with a larger spatial distance between the footprint of the satellite and the IGRA station, as well as increasing PWV.
Trevor W. Coates, Monzurul Alam, Thomas K. Flesch, and Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7147–7152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7147-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7147-2021, 2021
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A field study tested two footprint models for calculating surface emissions from downwind flux measurements. Emission rates from a 10 × 10 m synthetic source were estimated with the simple Kormann–Meixner model and a sophisticated Lagrangian stochastic model. Both models underestimated emissions by approximately 30 %, and no statistical differences were observed between the models. Footprint models are critically important for interpreting eddy covariance measurements.
Teles C. Furlani, Patrick R. Veres, Kathryn E. R. Dawe, J. Andrew Neuman, Steven S. Brown, Trevor C. VandenBoer, and Cora J. Young
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5859–5871, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5859-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5859-2021, 2021
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This study characterized and validated a commercial spectroscopic instrument for the measurement of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the atmosphere. Near the Earth’s surface, HCl acts as the dominant reservoir for other chlorine-containing reactive chemicals that play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. The properties of HCl make it challenging to measure. This instrument can overcome many of these challenges, enabling reliable HCl measurements.
Marvin Glowania, Franz Rohrer, Hans-Peter Dorn, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Frank Holland, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Andreas Wahner, and Hendrik Fuchs
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4239–4253, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4239-2021, 2021
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Three instruments that use different techniques to measure gaseous formaldehyde concentrations were compared in experiments in the atmospheric simulation chamber SAPHIR at Forschungszentrum Jülich. The results demonstrated the need to correct the baseline in measurements by instruments that use the Hantzsch reaction or make use of cavity ring-down spectroscopy. After applying corrections, all three methods gave accurate and precise measurements within their specifications.
Attilio Naccarato, Antonella Tassone, Maria Martino, Sacha Moretti, Antonella Macagnano, Emiliano Zampetti, Paolo Papa, Joshua Avossa, Nicola Pirrone, Michelle Nerentorp, John Munthe, Ingvar Wängberg, Geoff W. Stupple, Carl P. J. Mitchell, Adam R. Martin, Alexandra Steffen, Diana Babi, Eric M. Prestbo, Francesca Sprovieri, and Frank Wania
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3657–3672, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3657-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3657-2021, 2021
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Mercury monitoring in support of the Minamata Convention requires effective and reliable analytical tools. Passive sampling is a promising approach for creating a sustainable long-term network for atmospheric mercury with improved spatial resolution and global coverage. In this study the analytical performance of three passive air samplers (CNR-PAS, IVL-PAS, and MerPAS) was assessed over extended deployment periods and the accuracy of concentrations was judged by comparison with active sampling.
Mei Bai, José I. Velazco, Trevor W. Coates, Frances A. Phillips, Thomas K. Flesch, Julian Hill, David G. Mayer, Nigel W. Tomkins, Roger S. Hegarty, and Deli Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3469–3479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3469-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3469-2021, 2021
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The development and validation of management practices to mitigate methane (CH4) emissions from livestock require accurate emission measurements. We compared the inverse dispersion modelling (IDM) and tracer-ratio techniques to measure CH4 emissions from cattle. Both measurements agreed well but were higher than IPCC estimates. We suggest that the IDM approach can provide an accurate method of estimating cattle emissions, and IPCC estimates may have larger uncertainties.
Yuan You, Ralf M. Staebler, Samar G. Moussa, James Beck, and Richard L. Mittermeier
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1879–1892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021, 2021
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Tailings ponds in the Alberta oil sands can be significant sources of methane, an important greenhouse gas. This paper describes a 1-month study conducted in 2017 to measure methane emissions from a pond using a variety of micrometeorological flux methods and demonstrates some advantages of these methods over flux chambers.
Christoph Häni, Marcel Bühler, Albrecht Neftel, Christof Ammann, and Thomas Kupper
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1733–1741, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1733-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1733-2021, 2021
Seth Kutikoff, Xiaomao Lin, Steven R. Evett, Prasanna Gowda, David Brauer, Jerry Moorhead, Gary Marek, Paul Colaizzi, Robert Aiken, Liukang Xu, and Clenton Owensby
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1253–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1253-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1253-2021, 2021
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Fast-response infrared gas sensors have been used over 3 decades for long-term monitoring of water vapor fluxes. As optically improved infrared gas sensors are newly employed, we evaluated the performance of water vapor density and water vapor flux from three generations of infrared gas sensors in Bushland, Texas, USA. From our experiments, fluxes from the old sensors were best representative of evapotranspiration based on a world-class lysimeter reference measurement.
Yuan You, Samar G. Moussa, Lucas Zhang, Long Fu, James Beck, and Ralf M. Staebler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 945–959, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-945-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-945-2021, 2021
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Tailings ponds in the Alberta oil sands represent an insufficiently characterized source of fugitive emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere. In this study, a novel approach of using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer along with measurements of atmospheric turbulence is shown to present a practical, non-intrusive method of quantifying emission rates for ammonia, alkanes, and methane. Results from a 1-month field study are presented and discussed.
Ravi Sahu, Ayush Nagal, Kuldeep Kumar Dixit, Harshavardhan Unnibhavi, Srikanth Mantravadi, Srijith Nair, Yogesh Simmhan, Brijesh Mishra, Rajesh Zele, Ronak Sutaria, Vidyanand Motiram Motghare, Purushottam Kar, and Sachchida Nand Tripathi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 37–52, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-37-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-37-2021, 2021
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A unique feature of our low-cost sensor deployment is a swap-out experiment wherein four of the six sensors were relocated to different sites in the two phases. The swap-out experiment is crucial in investigating the efficacy of calibration models when applied to weather and air quality conditions vastly different from those present during calibration. We developed a novel local calibration algorithm based on metric learning that offers stable and accurate calibration performance.
Michal Vojtisek-Lom, Alessandro A. Zardini, Martin Pechout, Lubos Dittrich, Fausto Forni, François Montigny, Massimo Carriero, Barouch Giechaskiel, and Giorgio Martini
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5827–5843, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5827-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5827-2020, 2020
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The feasibility of monitoring on-road emissions from small motorcycles with two highly compact portable emissions monitoring systems was evaluated on three motorcycles, with positive results. Mass emissions measured on the road were consistent among repeated runs, with differences between laboratory and on-road tests much larger than those between portable and laboratory systems, which were, on the average, within units of percent over standard test cycles.
Cited articles
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Butterbach-Bahl, K., Breuer, L., Gasche, R., Willibald, G., and Papen, H.: Exchange of trace gases between soils and the atmosphere in Scots pine forest ecosystems of the northeastern German lowlands: 1. Fluxes of N2O, NO/NO2 and CH4 at forest sites with different N-deposition, Forest Ecol. Manage., 167, 123–134, 2002.
Chadwick, D. R., Cardenas, L., Misselbrook, T. H., Smith, K. A., Rees, R. M., Watson, C. J., McGeough, K. L., Williams, J. R., Cloy, J. M., Thorman, R. E., and Dhanoa, M. S.: Optimizing chamber methods for measuring nitrous oxide emissions from plot-based agricultural experiments, Eur. J. Soil Sci., 65, 295–307, 2014.
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