Regional non-CO<sub>2</sub>greenhouse gas fluxes inferred from atmospheric measurements in Ontario, Canada

Vogel, Felix; Ishizawa, Misa; Chan, Elton; Chan, Douglas; Hammer, Samuel; Levin, Ingeborg; Worthy, Doug

doi:10.1080/1943815x.2012.691884

Cited by 31 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These deviations appear to reflect the spatial patterns in source activity that are well represented in ACES, particularly line source emissions from major roads, but that are not captured by the population-and nightlightsbased downscaling in ODIAC. While ODIAC and the other global inventories were not designed to be used for this type of urban analysis, they have been applied to a wide range of urban-and regional-scale modeling and policy analyses (e.g., Brioude et al, 2013;Hakkarainen et al, 2016;Marcotullio et al, 2012;Sarzynski, 2012;Schneising et al, 2013;Shiga et al, 2014;Tohjima et al, 2014;Turnbull et al, 2011;Vogel et al, 2012;Wunch et al, 2009;Yadav et al, 2016). Indeed, the high-resolution grids of these inventories (1-10 km) appear to Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2017JD027359 imply a fidelity at these local scales that is not necessarily evident.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large Uncertainties in Urban‐Scale Carbon Emissions

2017

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Accurate estimates of fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO2) emissions are a critical component of local, regional, and global climate agreements. Current global inventories of FFCO2 emissions do not directly quantify emissions at local scales; instead, spatial proxies like population density, nighttime lights, and power plant databases are used to downscale emissions from national totals. We have developed a high‐resolution (hourly, 1 km2) bottom‐up Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions System (ACES) for FFCO2, based on local activity data for the year 2011 across the northeastern U.S. We compare ACES with three widely used global inventories, finding significant differences at regional (20%) and city scales (50–250%). At a spatial resolution of 0.1°, inventories differ by over 100% for half of the grid cells in the domain, with the largest differences in urban areas and oil and gas production regions. Given recent U.S. federal policy pull backs regarding greenhouse gas emissions reductions, inventories like ACES are crucial for U.S. actions, as the impetus for climate leadership has shifted to city and state governments. The development of a robust carbon monitoring system to track carbon fluxes is critical for emissions benchmarking and verification. We show that existing downscaled inventories are not suitable for urban emissions monitoring, as they do not consider important local activity patterns. The ACES methodology is designed for easy updating, making it suitable for emissions monitoring under most city, regional, and state greenhouse gas mitigation initiatives, in particular, for the small‐ and medium‐sized cities that lack the resources to regularly perform their own bottom‐up emissions inventories.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large Uncertainties in Urban‐Scale Carbon Emissions

2017

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“…Our finding that a simple per capita distribution of residential emissions is non-sufficient is applicable to any site in proximity to major urban centres. Other studies found similar results when investigating urban CH 4 emissions (Vogel et al, 2012). The possible influence of the simplified linking of emissions and transport should caution anyone working with observational datasets that are close to large facilities that emit from stacks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…3), and found a 75% increase of the night-time FFCO 2 fluxes during winter, using the radon-tracer method (e.g. Levin et al, 1999;Hammer and Levin, 2009;Vogel et al, 2012) in our domain. A similar seasonal variation of the FFCO 2 fluxes was also found by Levin et al (2003).…”

Section: Continuous Proxy-based Ffcomentioning

confidence: 55%

Can we evaluate a fine-grained emission model using high-resolution atmospheric transport modelling and regional fossil fuel CO<sub>2</sub> observations?

Vogel¹,

Tiruchittampalam²,

Theloke³

et al. 2013

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

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A B S T R A C T Quantifying carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning (FFCO 2 ) is a crucial task to assess continental carbon fluxes and to track anthropogenic emissions changes in the future. In the present study, we investigate potentials and challenges when combining observational data with simulations using high-resolution atmospheric transport and emission modelling. These challenges concern, for example, erroneous vertical mixing or uncertainties in the disaggregation of national total emissions to higher spatial and temporal resolution. In our study, the hourly regional fossil fuel CO 2 offset (DFFCO 2 ) is simulated by transporting emissions from a 5 min)5 min emission model (IER2005) that provides FFCO 2 emissions from different emission categories. Our Lagrangian particle dispersion model (STILT) is driven by 25 km)25 km meteorological data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). We evaluate this modelling framework (STILT/ECMWF ' IER2005) for the year 2005 using hourly DFFCO 2 estimates derived from 14 C, CO and 222 Radon ( 222 Rn) observations at an urban site in south-western Germany (Heidelberg). Analysing the mean diurnal cycles of DFFCO 2 for different seasons, we find that the large seasonal and diurnal variation of emission factors used in the bottom-up emission model (spanning one order of magnitude) are adequate. Furthermore, we show that the use of 222 Rn as an independent tracer helps to overcome problems in timing as well as strength of the vertical mixing in the transport model. By applying this variability correction, the model-observation agreement is significantly improved for simulated DFFCO 2 . We found a significant overestimation of DFFCO 2 concentrations during situations where the air masses predominantly originate from densely populated areas. This is most likely caused by the spatial disaggregation methodology for the residential emissions, which to some extent relies on a constant per capita-based distribution. In the case of domestic heating emissions, this does not appear to be sufficient.

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“…Due to its physical characteristics, presented in classical literature such as Fleischer et al . [], Tanner [], Nazaroff and Nero [], Nazaroff [], and Porstendorfer [], the radioactive noble gas 222 Rn is widely used by the scientific community to study a number of different research topics, such as (i) to improve inverse transport models, which are used to calculate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) [ Biraud et al ., ; Hirao et al ., ; Locatelli et al ., ]; (ii) to study atmospheric transport and mixing processes within the planetary boundary layer [ Zahorowski et al ., ; Galmarini , ; Vinuesa et al ., ; Baskaran , ; Chambers et al ., , ; Williams et al ., , ; Grossi et al ., ; Vogel et al ., ; Hernández‐Ceballos et al ., ; Vargas et al ., ]; (iii) to improve radon flux inventories [ Szegvary et al ., ; Griffiths et al ., ; López‐Coto et al ., ; Karstens et al ., ]; (iv) to experimentally estimate GHGs fluxes by using the Radon Tracer Method [ Levin et al ., ; Vogel et al ., ; Wada et al ., ; Grossi et al ., ]; (v) to understand the influence of climate change on the atmospheric radon increase and its associated health risks [ Nazaroff , ; Bochicchio et al ., ; Bossew et al ., ]; and (vi) to refine baseline selection and characterization techniques and analyze air mass history and fetch at remote sites [ Zahorowski et al ., ; Chambers et al ., , , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Analysis of ground‐based ²²²Rn measurements over Spain: Filling the gap in southwestern Europe

et al. 2016

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Harmonized atmospheric 222Rn observations are required by the scientific community: these data have been lacking in southern Europe. We report on three recently established ground‐based atmospheric 222Rn monitoring stations in Spain. We characterize the variability of atmospheric 222Rn concentrations at each of these stations in relation to source strengths, local, and regional atmospheric processes. For the study, measured atmospheric 222Rn concentrations, estimated 222Rn fluxes, and regional footprint analysis have been used. In addition, the atmospheric radon monitor operating at each station has been compared to a 222Rn progeny monitor. Annual means of 222Rn concentrations at Gredos (GIC3), Delta de l'Ebre (DEC3), and Huelva (UHU) stations were 17.3 ± 2.0 Bq m−3, 5.8 ± 0.8 Bq m−3, and 5.1 ± 0.7 Bq m−3, respectively. The GIC3 station showed high 222Rn concentration differences during the day and by seasons. The coastal station DEC3 presented background concentrations typical of the region, except when inland 222Rn‐rich air masses are transported into the deltaic area. The highest 222Rn concentrations at UHU station were observed when local recirculation facilitates accumulation of 222Rn from nearby source represented by phosphogypsum piles. Results of the comparison performed between monitors revealed that the performance of the direct radon monitor is not affected by meteorological conditions, whereas the 222Rn progeny monitor seems to underestimate 222Rn concentrations under saturated atmospheric conditions. Initial findings indicate that the monitor responses seem to be in agreement for unsaturated atmospheric conditions but a further long‐term comparison study will be needed to confirm this result.

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Regional non-CO₂greenhouse gas fluxes inferred from atmospheric measurements in Ontario, Canada

Cited by 31 publications

References 37 publications

Large Uncertainties in Urban‐Scale Carbon Emissions

Large Uncertainties in Urban‐Scale Carbon Emissions

Can we evaluate a fine-grained emission model using high-resolution atmospheric transport modelling and regional fossil fuel CO<sub>2</sub> observations?

Analysis of ground‐based ²²²Rn measurements over Spain: Filling the gap in southwestern Europe

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Regional non-CO2greenhouse gas fluxes inferred from atmospheric measurements in Ontario, Canada

Cited by 31 publications

References 37 publications

Large Uncertainties in Urban‐Scale Carbon Emissions

Large Uncertainties in Urban‐Scale Carbon Emissions

Can we evaluate a fine-grained emission model using high-resolution atmospheric transport modelling and regional fossil fuel CO<sub>2</sub> observations?

Analysis of ground‐based 222Rn measurements over Spain: Filling the gap in southwestern Europe

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Regional non-CO₂greenhouse gas fluxes inferred from atmospheric measurements in Ontario, Canada

Analysis of ground‐based ²²²Rn measurements over Spain: Filling the gap in southwestern Europe