München 2019 – scientific programme

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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 4: Trace gases and greenhouse gases

UP 4.6: Talk

Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 12:30–12:45, HS 22

Determination of the Emission Rates of CH4- and CO2-Point Sources with Airborne Lidar — •Sebastian Wolff, Christoph Kiemle, Axel Amediek, Gerhard Ehret, Martin Wirth, and Andreas Fix — Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR e.V.), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

Anthropogenic point sources produce a major share of global carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions. More observations of point sources are required to provide accurate inventories of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations. Active remote sensing measurements by airborne lidar show much promise to this regard and demonstrate potential for future satellite implementations. Installed onboard the German research aircraft HALO the integrated-path differential-absorption (IPDA) lidar CHARM-F measures weighted vertical columns of CH4 and CO2 below the aircraft and along its flight track.

During the CoMet field campaign in spring 2018 such measurements were performed focusing on the major European hot spots of anthropogenic CO2- and CH4-emissions, i.e. large coal-fired power plants and coal mining areas. The measurement flights were designed to capture individual GHG plumes from which point-source emission rates can be derived. The observed plumes have been compared to mesoscale simulations generated with the Weather Research and Forecast Model. Detailed analysis of the observed data, which are in good agreement with reported point-source emissions rates, will be presented.