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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #281266

Title: Accuracy of inverse dispersion method with open-path remote sensing instrument for measuring gas emission from waste lagoons

Author
item Ro, Kyoung

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/7/2011
Publication Date: 3/25/2012
Citation: Ro, K.S. 2012. Accuracy of inverse dispersion method with open-path remote sensing instrument for measuring gas emission from waste lagoons [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Chemical Society National Meeting, March 25-29, 2012, San Diego, California.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Trace gas emission from treatment lagoons and storage ponds pose challenging conditions for existing micrometeorological techniques due to surface inhomogeneity and short fetch to establish equilibrated microclimate conditions within the water boundary. This study evaluated the accuracy of an emerging inverse-dispersion technique to measure gas emission from lagoons by using a synthetic floating emission source from an irrigation pond resembling typical treatment lagoon environments. Methane was used as a model gas and its true emission rate was measured by weighing the methane gas cylinder over time. Open-path tunable diode absorption spectrometers were used to measure line-averaged methane concentration. The accuracy of the inverse-dispersion technique (estimated/true) decreased from 0.93 ± 0.19 in spring/fall to 0.81 ± 0.18 in summer. Effects of anemometer location along with a new planning parameter for choosing field dates with optimal atmospheric stability condition from forecast will be presented at the meeting.