Identification of Potential Methane Source Regions in Europe Using δ¹³C_CH4 Measurements and Trajectory Modeling

Abstract

The methane emissions from the Hungarian Pannonian Basin are not well qualified, due to a lack of measurements of CH4 mole fraction and δ13CCH4 in the air. This study reports methane measurements in air samples from Hungary, placing them in the context of regional and global background data, to investigate the inputs to the methane burden in Central Europe. CH4 mole fraction and δ13CCH4 from the Hungarian tall tower station, Hegyhátsál, and additional data from Mace Head (Ireland) and Zeppelin (Svalbard) are used with back trajectory modeling to identify central European source areas and their seasonal variation between the summer vegetation and winter heating periods. Methane measurements in air masses sampled in the European interior, have significantly higher maxima and seasonal amplitudes than at the Mace Head and Zeppelin European background sites. The mean CH4 mole fraction value is about 80 ppb higher than the comparable marine background, and values above 2,000 ppb were frequently observed between February 2013 and December 2015. The mean δ13CCH4 value −47.5 ± 0.3‰ (2σ) was comparable to values at all three monitoring sites, but specific pollution events were detected at Hegyhátsál. Concentration weighted trajectory modeling, meteorological parameters, stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13CCH4), and Miller‐Tans analysis show that the main factors influencing CH4 at the Hegyhátsál, apart from diurnal and seasonal changes in the planetary boundary layer, are emissions from residential heating and industrial CH4 emissions during the winter.

δ 13 C methane source signatures from tropical wetland and rice field emissions

“…This lack of regular measurements of δ 13 C CH 4 makes long-term and seasonal assessment of regional source input difficult to elucidate from the δ 13 C CH 4 record. Shorter term time-series records have been demonstrated to be useful in determining regional CH 4 source input, such as natural gas leaks in central London [ 17 ] or the importance of industrial and fossil CH 4 in Hungary [ 18 ].…”

Metán a légkörben: kockázatok és lehetőségek

“…Sajnos, éppen a kritikus trópusi területek lefedetlenek, ezért ott az eseti expedíciós mérések mellett (Gondwe et al, 2021;Stell et al, 2021;Gauci et al, 2022;Nisbet et al, 2022a) mindenképpen folyamatos megfigyelésekre is szükség lenne. A kulcsfontosságú stabilizotóp-összetétel mérések ( 12 CH 4 , 13 CH 4 ) még meglehetősen ritkák a világban, de Magyarországon már folytak ilyen mérések (Varga et al, 2021). A legkritikusabb kérdés, hogy ténylegesen mekkora a fosszilis és a biológiai források hozzájárulásának az aránya a jelenlegi koncentráció-növekedésben?…”

Atmospheric CH4 and Its Isotopic Composition (δ13C) in Urban Environment in the Example of Moscow, Russia

“…According to 13 C measurements in the plums of the main CH 4 sources in urban areas (Table 1), biogenic and microbial methane (wetlands, landfills, aeration station, water ponds, etc.) as well as methane emitted from oil storages are 13 C-depleted (δ 13 CH 4 : −70 to −50 permils (‰)), while methane from natural gas usage (storage and leaks) and pyrogenic CH 4 (from incomplete combustion of nonfossil organic matter and fossil fuel) are less 13 C-depleted (δ 13 CH 4 : −50 to −30‰ and −30 to −15‰, respectively) [4,10,11,[15][16][17][18]. Biomass burning −24-−32 [16] USA (Florida) −26.2 ± 4.8 [17] Hungary (Budapest)…”

“…Coal mines −51.2 ± 0.3-−30.9 ± 1.4 [4] Great Britain (London) Subarctic wetlands −68.5 ± 0.7 [10] Finland (Lompolojänkkä) Modern microbial sources −61.7 ± 6.2 [17] Hungary (Budapest) Biogenic emissions −55-−70 [17] Hungary (Budapest) Landfills −55.3 ± 0.2 [15] Canada (winter) −63.7 ± 0.3-−58.2 ± 0.3 [18] France (Paris) −58 ± 3 [4] Great Britain (London)…”