Measurements of greenhouse gases at Beromünster tall tower station in Switzerland

Abstract

Abstract. In order to constrain the regional flux of greenhouse gases, an automated measurement system was built on an old radio tower at Beromünster, Switzerland. The measurement system has been running since November 2012 as part of the Swiss greenhouse gases monitoring network (CARBOCOUNT-CH), which is composed of four measurement sites across the country. The Beromünster tall tower has five sampling lines with inlets at 12.5, 44.6, 71.5, 131.6 and 212.5 m a.g.l., and it is equipped with a Picarro CRDS analyzer (G-2401), which continuously measures CO, CO2, CH4 and H2O. Sensors for detection of wind speed and direction, air temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity have also been installed at each height level. We have observed a non-negligible temperature effect in the calibration measurements, which was found to be dependent on the type of cylinder (steel or aluminum) as well as trace gas species (strongest for CO). From a target gas of known mixing ratio that has been measured once a day, we have calculated a long-term reproducibility of 2.79, 0.05 and 0.29 ppb for CO, CO2 and CH4, respectively over 19 months of measurements. The values obtained for CO2 and CH4 are compliant with the WMO recommendations, while the value calculated for CO is higher than the recommendation, which is mainly due to the above mentioned temperature effects.