Mobile Measurements of Atmospheric Methane at Eight Large Landfills: An Assessment of Temporal and Spatial Variability
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Published:2023-05-23
Issue:6
Volume:14
Page:906
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ISSN:2073-4433
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Container-title:Atmosphere
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Atmosphere
Author:
Xia Tian1ORCID, Borjigin Sachraa G.1ORCID, Raneses Julia1, Stroud Craig A.2, Batterman Stuart A.1ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, M6075 SPH II, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA 2. Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON M3H 5T4, Canada
Abstract
Municipal solid waste landfills are major contributors to anthropogenic emissions of methane (CH4), which is the major component of natural gas, a potent greenhouse gas, and a precursor for the formation of tropospheric ozone. The development of sensitive, selective, and fast-response instrumentation allows the deployment of mobile measurement platforms for CH4 measurements at landfills. The objectives of this study are to use mobile monitoring to measure ambient levels of CH4 at eight large operating landfills in southeast Michigan, USA; to characterize diurnal, daily and spatial variation in CH4 levels; and to demonstrate the influence of meteorological factors. Elevated CH4 levels were typically found along the downwind side or corner of the landfill. Levels peaked in the morning, reaching 38 ppm, and dropped to near-baseline levels during midday. Repeat visits showed that concentrations were highly variable. Some variation was attributable to the landfill size, but both mechanistically-based dilution-type models and multivariate models identified that wind speed, boundary layer height, barometric pressure changes, and landfill temperature were key determinants of CH4 levels. Collectively, these four factors explained most (r2 = 0.89) of the variation in the maximum CH4 levels at the landfill visited most frequently. The study demonstrates the ability to assess spatial and temporal variation in CH4 levels at landfills using mobile monitoring along perimeter roads. Such monitoring can identify the location of leaks and the best locations for long-term emission monitoring using fixed site monitors.
Funder
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Subject
Atmospheric Science,Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
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