Methane emission from wetland rice fields

Methane (CH 4 ) is an important greenhouse gas and plays a key role in tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. Wetland rice fields are an important source of methane, accounting for approximately 20% of the global anthropogenic methane emission. Methane fluxes from wetland rice fields in the Philippines were monitored with a closed chamber technique in close cooperation with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The field studies were complemented by laboratory and greenhouse experiments. Up to 90 % of the methane emitted from a rice field may be transported from soil to atmosphere through the rice plant. It was shown that this plant-mediated transport is diffusion controlled. Methane emitted from a rice field is the net effect of methane production and methane oxidation. Methane oxidation in the rice rhizosphere depended on the growth stage of the rice plant and becomes of much less importance when the rice plant reaches the ripening stage. Maximum rhizospheric methane oxidation efficiency observed was about 30%, which is much lower than the 70-90% estimated from indirect measurements in previous studies. A higher percentage of oxygen in the air resulted in lower methane emission indicating that breeding rice cultivars that transport more oxygen to their rhizosphere may be a promising mitigation option. Field studies with several soil related factors that influence methane emission were conducted; salinity, sulfate availability, organic amendments and soil types. Organic amendments strongly stimulated methane emission. The impact of organic amendments on methane emission can be described by a dose-response curve. This approach proofed successful for data from various locations of the world. Salinity partly inhibited methane production but methane oxidation in the salt-amended plot was even more inhibited, indicating that a reduction in CH 4 production does not necessarily cause a proportional reduction in CH 4 emission. This illustrates the importance of both production and oxidation of methane when designing mitigation strategies to reduce methane emission. Different soil types had different methane emission levels. Wetland rice fields on saline, low-sulfate soils emit less methane than comparable non-saline rice fields. On soils high in sulfate or amended with large amounts of sulfate containing substances, methane emissions are reduced even more. Continuous monitoring of methane fluxes showed that upon soil drying considerable amounts of soil-entrapped methane may be released. In previous monitoring studies these periods were not included, which may cause an underestimation of, total seasonal emission by 10-15%

A refinement of the emission data for Kola Peninsula based on inverse dispersion modelling

Peer reviewe

Release of entrapped methane from wetland rice fields upon soil drying.

Methane emissions from Philippine rice paddies, fertilized with either urea or green manure, were monitored for several weeks after harvesting the dry and the wet season crops of 1992. The fields were still flooded during harvest but irrigation was stopped after harvest and the fields were allowed to evaporatively dry while CH4 emissions were monitored with a closed chamber technique. In all plots we observed a sudden, strong increase of CH4 emissions to the atmosphere for 2 to 4 days just after the soil fell dry. As soil drying continued, the soils began to crack and CH4 emissions decreased to nil. The release of CH4 during soil drying was observed for fields on three different soil types and both for urea or organically manured rice fields in both seasons. The absolute amounts of CH4 emitted during soil drying differed greatly depending on fertilizer treatment. However, the ratio between the amount of CH4 released upon soil drying and CH4 emitted during die growing season was quite c onstant (0.10 ¤ 0.04). This suggests that about 10 per cent of the CH4 emitted during a full rice crop cycle is released during drying of the fields and thus needs to be included in estimates of the total CH4 emission from rice agriculture

Impact of forest fires, biogenic emissions and high temperatures on the elevated Eastern Mediterranean ozone levels during the hot summer of 2007

International audienceThe hot summer of 2007 in southeast Europe has been studied using two regional atmospheric chemistry models; WRF-Chem and EMEP MSC-W. The region was struck by three heat waves and a number of forest fire episodes, greatly affecting air pollution levels. We have focused on ozone and its precursors using state-of-the-art inventories for anthropogenic, biogenic and forest fire emissions. The models have been evaluated against measurement data, and processes leading to ozone formation have been quantified. Heat wave episodes are projected to occur more frequently in a future climate, and therefore this study also makes a contribution to climate change impact research. The plume from the Greek forest fires in August 2007 is clearly seen in satellite observations of CO and NO2 columns, showing extreme levels of CO in and downwindof the fires. Model simulations reflect the location and influence of the fires relatively well, but the modelled magnitude of CO in the plume core is too low. Most likely, this is caused by underestimation of CO in the emission inventories, suggesting that the CO/NOx ratios of fire emissions should be re-assessed. Moreover, higher maximum values are seen in WRF-Chem than in EMEP MSC-W, presumably due to differences in plume rise altitudes as the first model emits a larger fraction of the fire emissions in the lowermost model layer. The model results are also in fairly good agreement with surface ozone measurements. Biogenic VOC emissions reacting with anthropogenic NOx emissions are calculated to contribute significantly to the levels of ozone in the region, but the magnitude and geographical distribution depend strongly on the model and biogenic emission module used. During the July and August heat waves, ozone levels increased substantially due to a combination of forest fire emissions and the effect of high temperatures. We found that the largest temperature impact on ozone was through the temperature dependence of the biogenic emissions, closely followed by the effect of reduced dry deposiion caused by closing of the plants' stomata at very high temperatures. The impact of high temperatures on the ozone chemistry was much lower. The results suggest that forest fire emissions, and the temperature effect on biogenic emissions and dry deposition, will potentially lead to substantial ozone increases in a warmer climate

Light-absorbing carbon in Europe – Measurement and modelling, with a focus on residential wood combustion emissions

The atmospheric concentration of elemental carbon (EC) in Europe during the six-year period 2005–2010 has been simulated with the EMEP MSC-W model. The model bias compared to EC measurements was less than 20% for most of the examined sites. The model results suggest that fossil fuel combustion is the dominant source of EC in most of Europe but that there are important contributions also from residential wood burning during the cold seasons and, during certain episodes, also from open biomass burning (wildfires and agricultural fires). The modelled contributions from open biomass fires to ground level concentrations of EC were small at the sites included in the present study, <3% of the long-term average of EC in PM10. The modelling of this EC source is subject to many uncertainties, and it was likely underestimated for some episodes. EC measurements and modelled EC were also compared to optical measurements of black carbon (BC). The relationships between EC and BC (as given by mass absorption cross section, MAC, values) differed widely between the sites, and the correlation between observed EC and BC is sometimes poor, making it difficult to compare results using the two techniques and limiting the comparability of BC measurements to model EC results. A new bottom-up emission inventory for carbonaceous aerosol from residential wood combustion has been applied. For some countries the new inventory has substantially different EC emissions compared to earlier estimates. For northern Europe the most significant changes are much lower emissions in Norway and higher emissions in neighbouring Sweden and Finland. For Norway and Sweden, comparisons to source-apportionment data from winter campaigns indicate that the new inventory may improve model-calculated EC from wood burning. Finally, three different model setups were tested with variable atmospheric lifetimes of EC in order to evaluate the model sensitivity to the assumptions regarding hygroscopicity and atmospheric ageing of EC. The standard ageing scheme leads to a rapid transformation of the emitted hydrophobic EC to hygroscopic particles, and generates similar results when assuming that all EC is aged at the point of emission. Assuming hydrophobic emissions and no ageing leads to higher EC concentrations. For the more remote sites, the observed EC concentration was in between the modelled EC using standard ageing and the scenario treating EC as hydrophobic. This could indicate too-rapid EC ageing in the model in relatively clean parts of the atmosphere

Organic aerosol concentration and composition over Europe: insights from comparison of regional model predictions with aerosol mass spectrometer factor analysis

A detailed three-dimensional regional chemical transport model (Particulate Matter Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions, PMCAMx) was applied over Europe, focusing on the formation and chemical transformation of organic matter. Three periods representative of different seasons were simulated, corresponding to intensive field campaigns. An extensive set of AMS measurements was used to evaluate the model and, using factor-analysis results, gain more insight into the sources and transformations of organic aerosol (OA). Overall, the agreement between predictions and measurements for OA concentration is encouraging, with the model reproducing two-thirds of the data (daily average mass concentrations) within a factor of 2. Oxygenated OA (OOA) is predicted to contribute 93% to total OA during May, 87% during winter and 96% during autumn, with the rest consisting of fresh primary OA (POA). Predicted OOA concentrations compare well with the observed OOA values for all periods, with an average fractional error of 0.53 and a bias equal to −0.07 (mean error = 0.9 μg m−3, mean bias = −0.2 μg m−3). The model systematically underpredicts fresh POA at most sites during late spring and autumn (mean bias up to −0.8 μg m−3). Based on results from a source apportionment algorithm running in parallel with PMCAMx, most of the POA originates from biomass burning (fires and residential wood combustion), and therefore biomass burning OA is most likely underestimated in the emission inventory. The sensitivity of POA predictions to the corresponding emissions' volatility distribution is discussed. The model performs well at all sites when the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF)-estimated low-volatility OOA is compared against the OA with saturation concentrations of the OA surrogate species C* ≤ 0.1 μg m−3 and semivolatile OOA against the OA with C* > 0.1 μg m−3

In situ, satellite measurement and model evidence on the dominant regional contribution to fine particulate matter levels in the Paris megacity

International audiencePublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 9578 M. Beekmann et al.: Evidence for a dominant regional contribution to fine particulate matter levels Abstract. A detailed characterization of air quality in the megacity of Paris (France) during two 1-month intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations revealed that about 70 % of the urban background fine particulate matter (PM) is transported on average into the megacity from upwind regions. This dominant influence of regional sources was confirmed by in situ measurements during short intensive and longer-term campaigns, aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from ENVISAT, and modeling results from PMCAMx and CHIMERE chemistry transport models. While advection of sulfate is well documented for other megacities, there was surprisingly high contribution from long-range transport for both nitrate and organic aerosol. The origin of organic PM was investigated by comprehensive analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), radio-carbon and tracer measurements during two intensive campaigns. Primary fossil fuel combustion emissions constituted less than 20 % in winter and 40 % in summer of carbonaceous fine PM, unexpectedly small for a megacity. Cooking activities and, during winter, residential wood burning are the major primary organic PM sources. This analysis suggests that the major part of secondary organic aerosol is of modern origin , i.e., from biogenic precursors and from wood burning. Black carbon concentrations are on the lower end of values encountered in megacities worldwide, but still represent an issue for air quality. These comparatively low air pollution levels are due to a combination of low emissions per inhabitant , flat terrain, and a meteorology that is in general not conducive to local pollution build-up. This revised picture of a megacity only being partially responsible for its own average and peak PM levels has important implications for air pollution regulation policies

In situ, satellite measurement and model evidence on the dominant regional contribution to fine particulate matter levels in the Paris megacity

A detailed characterization of air quality in the megacity of Paris (France) during two 1-month intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations revealed that about 70 % of the urban background fine particulate matter (PM) is transported on average into the megacity from upwind regions. This dominant influence of regional sources was confirmed by in situ measurements during short intensive and longer-term campaigns, aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from ENVISAT, and modeling results from PMCAMx and CHIMERE chemistry transport models. While advection of sulfate is well documented for other megacities, there was surprisingly high contribution from long-range transport for both nitrate and organic aerosol. The origin of organic PM was investigated by comprehensive analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), radiocarbon and tracer measurements during two intensive campaigns. Primary fossil fuel combustion emissions constituted less than 20 % in winter and 40 % in summer of carbonaceous fine PM, unexpectedly small for a megacity. Cooking activities and, during winter, residential wood burning are the major primary organic PM sources. This analysis suggests that the major part of secondary organic aerosol is of modern origin, i.e., from biogenic precursors and from wood burning. Black carbon concentrations are on the lower end of values encountered in megacities worldwide, but still represent an issue for air quality. These comparatively low air pollution levels are due to a combination of low emissions per inhabitant, flat terrain, and a meteorology that is in general not conducive to local pollution build-up. This revised picture of a megacity only being partially responsible for its own average and peak PM levels has important implications for air pollution regulation policies

Lead emissions from road transport in Europe. A revision of current estimates using various estimation methodologies

Large-scale use of leaded gasoline was an important source of the neurotoxin lead in the European environment. After a sequence of regulations on the allowed gasoline lead content and, eventually, a ban on the use of lead additives in gasoline, road transport was no longer considered a source of atmospheric lead. Currently a discrepancy exists between measured atmospheric lead concentrations and model-predicted concentrations, suggesting that lead emissions to the atmosphere may be underestimated. Recently it was suggested that lead emission from unleaded gasoline combustion is still an important source and may (partly) fill the gap between modelled and observed atmospheric lead concentrations. In this paper we assess the plausibility of the latter suggestion by following various emission estimation methodologies. The uncertainty of lead emissions from road transport is further reduced by chemical analysis of fuel samples. The result of our assessment is that lead from road transport fuel combustion is not the missing lead source needed to fill the gap between modelled and observed lead concentrations. Road transport is still a source of lead through brake wear and a small contribution from exhaust emissions but this contributes no more than 5-8% of the EU25 total emission. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved