Premium
Seasonal variations in N 2 O emissions from central California
Author(s) -
Jeong Seongeun,
Zhao Chuanfeng,
Andrews Arlyn E.,
Dlugokencky Edward J.,
Sweeney Colm,
Bianco Laura,
Wilczak James M.,
Fischer Marc L.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2012gl052307
Subject(s) - environmental science , atmospheric sciences , greenhouse gas , emission inventory , weather research and forecasting model , seasonality , spatial distribution , meteorology , climatology , geography , mathematics , air quality index , physics , geology , statistics , oceanography
We estimate nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from Central California for the period of December 2007 through November 2009 by comparing N 2 O mixing ratios measured at a tall tower (Walnut Grove, WGC) with transport model predictions based on two global a priori N 2 O emission models (EDGAR32 and EDGAR42). Atmospheric particle trajectories and surface footprints are computed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Stochastic Time‐Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) models. Regression analyses show that the slopes of predicted on measured N 2 O from both emission models are low, suggesting that actual N 2 O emissions are significantly higher than the EDGAR inventories for all seasons. Bayesian inverse analyses of regional N 2 O emissions show that posterior annual N 2 O emissions are larger than both EDGAR inventories by factors of 2.0 ± 0.4 (EDGAR32) and 2.1 ± 0.4 (EDGAR42) with seasonal variation ranging from 1.6 ± 0.3 to 2.5 ± 0.4 for an influence region of Central California within approximately 150 km of the tower. These results suggest that if the spatial distribution of N 2 O emissions in California follows the EDGAR emission models, then actual emissions are 2.7 ± 0.5 times greater than the current California emission inventory, and total N 2 O emissions account for 8.1 ± 1.4% of total greenhouse gas emissions from California.