EGU2020-20377
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20377
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Monitoring ffCO2 emission hotspots using atmospheric 14CO2 measurements

Samuel Hammer1,2, Christoph Rieß1, Fabian Maier1, Tobias Kneuer1, Julian Della Coletta1,2, Susanne Preunkert3, Ute Karstens4, and Ingeborg Levin1
Samuel Hammer et al.
  • 1Institut für Umweltphysik, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
  • 2ICOS Central Radiocarbon Laboratory, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
  • 3CNRS, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement (IGE), Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
  • 4ICOS Carbon Portal, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Reliable estimates of fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions from high-emission regions or urban areas are currently in demand from a wide range of players. On the one hand, cities and municipalities themselves are interested in an independent validation of their ffCO2 emissions. On the other hand, there is an increased interest in atmospheric science to merge independent emission estimate methods over different scales [Pinty et al. 2019]. 14CO2 has become the gold standard when it comes to the experimental splitting of atmospheric CO2 concentration into its biogenic and fossil components [e.g. Levin et al. 2003; 2011 or Turnbull et al. 2009].

Here we report on the identification of ffCO2 emitted from the Mannheim/Ludwigshafen metropolitan region in the upper Rhine valley, Germany. Quantification of the regional ffCO2 component requires knowledge of the composition of the background air. Thus, the emission area has been sampled by an upwind and a downwind station. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using local background measurements conducted at a dedicated upwind station of the emission area and compare this realisation of background estimate to regional background estimates derived from measurements at classical remote background sites. All CO2 and 14CO2 observations have been performed as part of the European RINGO project. Furthermore, we investigate the suitability of using the total-CO2 difference between the two stations as a proxy for fossil fuel CO2 and the seasonal applicability of such a surrogate tracer. Finally, the observations of the total-CO2 surrogate tracer will be compared with the predictions from STILT forward model runs.

 

Ref.:

Levin, I., B. Kromer, M. Schmidt and H. Sartorius, 2003. A novel approach for independent budgeting of fossil fuels CO2 over Europe by 14CO2 observations. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30(23), 2194, doi. 10.1029/2003GL018477.

Levin, I., S. Hammer, E. Eichelmann, F. Vogel, 2011. Verification of greenhouse gas emission reductions: The prospect of atmospheric monitoring in polluted areas. Philosophical Transactions A 369, 1906-1924, doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0249.

Pinty B., P. Ciais, D. Dee, H. Dolman, M. Dowell, R. Engelen, K. Holmlund, G. Janssens-Maenhout, Y. Meijer, P. Palmer, M. Scholze, H. Denier van der Gon, M. Heimann, O. Juvyns, A. Kentarchos and H. Zunker (2019) An Operational Anthropogenic CO₂ Emissions Monitoring & Verification Support Capacity – Needs and high level requirements for in situ measurements, doi: 10.2760/182790, European Commission Joint Research Centre, EUR 29817 EN

Turnbull, J., Rayner, P., Miller, J., Naegler, T., Ciais, P., & Cozic, A. (2009). On the use of 14CO2 as a tracer for fossil fuel CO2: Quantifying uncertainties using an atmospheric transport model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 114(D22).

How to cite: Hammer, S., Rieß, C., Maier, F., Kneuer, T., Della Coletta, J., Preunkert, S., Karstens, U., and Levin, I.: Monitoring ffCO2 emission hotspots using atmospheric 14CO2 measurements, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20377, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20377, 2020

How to cite: Hammer, S., Rieß, C., Maier, F., Kneuer, T., Della Coletta, J., Preunkert, S., Karstens, U., and Levin, I.: Monitoring ffCO2 emission hotspots using atmospheric 14CO2 measurements, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20377, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20377, 2020

How to cite: Hammer, S., Rieß, C., Maier, F., Kneuer, T., Della Coletta, J., Preunkert, S., Karstens, U., and Levin, I.: Monitoring ffCO2 emission hotspots using atmospheric 14CO2 measurements, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20377, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20377, 2020

This abstract will not be presented.