Sample records for a1b greenhouse gas

  1. Technology Opportunities to Reduce U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    National Lab Directors, . .

    2001-04-05

    The rise in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial and agricultural activities has aroused international concern about the possible impacts of these emissions on climate. Greenhouse gases--mostly carbon dioxide, some methane, nitrous oxide and other trace gases--are emitted to the atmosphere, enhancing an effect in which heat reflected from the earth's surface is kept from escaping into space, as in a greenhouse. Thus, there is concern that the earth's surface temperature may rise enough to cause global climate change. Approximately 90% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources come from energy production and use, most ofmore » which are a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels. On a per capita basis, the United States is one of the world's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, comprising 4% of the world's population, yet emitting 23% of the world's greenhouse gases. Emissions in the United States are increasing at around 1.2% annually, and the Energy Information Administration forecasts that emissions levels will continue to increase at this rate in the years ahead if we proceed down the business-as-usual path. President Clinton has presented a two-part challenge for the United States: reduce greenhouse gas emissions and grow the economy. Meeting the challenge will mean that in doing tomorrow's work, we must use energy more efficiently and emit less carbon for the energy expended than we do today. To accomplish these goals, President Clinton proposed on June 26, 1997, that the United States ''invest more in the technologies of the future''. In this report to Secretary of Energy Pena, 47 technology pathways are described that have significant potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The present study was completed before the December 1997 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is intended to provide a basis to evaluate technology feasibility and options to reduce greenhouse gas

  2. Improving Empirical Approaches to Estimating Local Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blackhurst, M.; Azevedo, I. L.; Lattanzi, A.

    2016-12-01

    Evidence increasingly indicates our changing climate will have significant global impacts on public health, economies, and ecosystems. As a result, local governments have become increasingly interested in climate change mitigation. In the U.S., cities and counties representing nearly 15% of the domestic population plan to reduce 300 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the next 40 years (or approximately 1 ton per capita). Local governments estimate greenhouse gas emissions to establish greenhouse gas mitigation goals and select supporting mitigation measures. However, current practices produce greenhouse gas estimates - also known as a "greenhouse gas inventory " - of empirical quality often insufficient for robust mitigation decision making. Namely, current mitigation planning uses sporadic, annual, and deterministic estimates disaggregated by broad end use sector, obscuring sources of emissions uncertainty, variability, and exogeneity that influence mitigation opportunities. As part of AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange, Ari Lattanzi of City of Pittsburgh, PA recently partnered with Dr. Inez Lima Azevedo (Carnegie Mellon University) and Dr. Michael Blackhurst (University of Pittsburgh) to improve the empirical approach to characterizing Pittsburgh's greenhouse gas emissions. The project will produce first-order estimates of the underlying sources of uncertainty, variability, and exogeneity influencing Pittsburgh's greenhouse gases and discuss implications of mitigation decision making. The results of the project will enable local governments to collect more robust greenhouse gas inventories to better support their mitigation goals and improve measurement and verification efforts.

  3. The Dairy Greenhouse Gas Emission Model: Reference Manual

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The Dairy Greenhouse Gas Model (DairyGHG) is a software tool for estimating the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint of dairy production systems. A relatively simple process-based model is used to predict the primary greenhouse gas emissions, which include the net emission of carbon dioxide...

  4. A Methane Lidar for Greenhouse Gas Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Riris, Haris; Numata, Kenji; Wu, Stewart; Gonzalez, Brayler; Rodriguez, Michael; Fahey, Molly; Kawa, Stephan R.; Scott, Stan; Yu, Anthony; Stephen, Mark; hide

    2017-01-01

    Atmospheric methane is the second most important greenhouse gas with 25 times the radiativeforcing of carbon dioxide. We will present results from an airborne campaign using a lidar at1.65m using optical parametric generation. OCIS codes: ((280.1910) DIAL, differential absorption lidar; (120.0280) Remote sensing and sensors; (010.1280) Atmospheric composition.

  5. Stakeholder Workshop Presentations: EPA Greenhouse Gas Data on Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the summary and presentations from the November 2015 stakeholder workshop on greenhouse gas data on petroleum and natural gas systems from the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program and U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory of Emissions and Sinks.

  6. Requirements for a Global Greenhouse Gas Information System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duren, R.; Boland, S.; Lempert, R.; Miller, C.

    2008-12-01

    A global greenhouse gas information system will prove a critical component of any successful effort to mitigate climate change which relies on limiting the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. The system will provide the situational awareness necessary to actively reduce emissions, influence land use change, and sequester carbon. The information from such a system will be subject to intense scrutiny. Therefore, an effective system must openly and transparently produce data of unassailable quality. A global greenhouse gas information system will likely require a combination of space-and air-based remote- sensing assets, ground-based measurements, carbon cycle modeling and self-reporting. The specific requirements on such a system will be shaped by the degree of international cooperation it enjoys and the needs of the policy regime it aims to support, which might range from verifying treaty obligations, to certifying the tradable permits and offsets underlying a market in greenhouse gas emission reductions, to providing a comprehensive inventory of high and low emitters that could be used by non-governmental organizations and other international actors. While some technical studies have examined particular system components in single scenarios, there remains a need for a comprehensive survey of the range of potential requirements, options, and strategies for the overall system. We have initiated such a survey and recently hosted a workshop which engaged a diverse community of stakeholders to begin synthesizing requirements for such a system, with an initial focus on carbon dioxide. In this paper we describe our plan for completing the definition of the requirements, options, and strategies for a global greenhouse gas monitoring system. We discuss our overall approach and provide a status on the initial requirements synthesis activity.

  7. Greenhouse Gas Reductions: SF6

    ScienceCinema

    Anderson, Diana

    2018-05-18

    Argonne National Laboratory is leading the way in greenhouse gas reductions, particularly with the recapture and recycling of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). SF6 is a gas used in industry as an anti-arcing agent. It is an extremely potent greenhouse gas — one pound of SF6 is equivalent to 12 tons of carbon dioxide. While the U.S. does not currently regulate SF6 emissions, Argonne is proactively and voluntarily recovering and recycling to reduce SF6 emissions. Argonne saves over 16,000 tons of SF6 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year, and by recycling the gas rather than purchasing it new, we save taxpayers over $208,000 each year.

  8. Second Greenhouse Gas Information System Workshop

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boland, S. W.; Duren, R. M.; Mitchiner, J.; Rotman, D.; Sheffner, E.; Ebinger, M. H.; Miller, C. E.; Butler, J. H.; Dimotakis, P.; Jonietz, K.

    2009-12-01

    The second Greenhouse Gas Information System (GHGIS) workshop was held May 20-22, 2009 at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The workshop brought together 74 representatives from 28 organizations including U.S. government agencies, national laboratories, and members of the academic community to address issues related to the understanding, operational monitoring, and tracking of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon offsets. The workshop was organized by an interagency collaboration between NASA centers, DOE laboratories, and NOAA. It was motivated by the perceived need for an integrated interagency, community-wide initiative to provide information about greenhouse gas sources and sinks at policy-relevant temporal and spatial scales in order to significantly enhance the ability of national and regional governments, industry, and private citizens to implement and evaluate effective climate change mitigation policies. This talk provides an overview of the second Greenhouse Gas Information System workshop, presents its key findings, and discusses current status and next steps in this interagency collaborative effort.

  9. Greenhouse Gas Analysis by GC/MS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bock, E. M.; Easton, Z. M.; Macek, P.

    2015-12-01

    Current methods to analyze greenhouse gases rely on designated complex, multiple-column, multiple-detector gas chromatographs. A novel method was developed in partnership with Shimadzu for simultaneous quantification of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) in environmental gas samples. Gas bulbs were used to make custom standard mixtures by injecting small volumes of pure analyte into the nitrogen-filled bulb. Resulting calibration curves were validated using a certified gas standard. The use of GC/MS systems to perform this analysis has the potential to move the analysis of greenhouse gasses from expensive, custom GC systems to standard single-quadrupole GC/MS systems that are available in most laboratories, which wide variety of applications beyond greenhouse gas analysis. Additionally, use of mass spectrometry can provide confirmation of identity of target analytes, and will assist in the identification of unknown peaks should they be present in the chromatogram.

  10. Greenhouse Gas Reductions: SF6

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, Diana

    2012-04-20

    Argonne National Laboratory is leading the way in greenhouse gas reductions, particularly with the recapture and recycling of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). SF6 is a gas used in industry as an anti-arcing agent. It is an extremely potent greenhouse gas — one pound of SF6 is equivalent to 12 tons of carbon dioxide. While the U.S. does not currently regulate SF6 emissions, Argonne is proactively and voluntarily recovering and recycling to reduce SF6 emissions. Argonne saves over 16,000 tons of SF6 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year, and by recycling the gas rather than purchasing it new, we savemore » taxpayers over $208,000 each year.« less

  11. Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from waste management approaches in the islands.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ying-Chu

    2017-07-01

    Concerns about waste generation and climate change have attracted worldwide attention. Small islands, which account for more than one-sixth of the global land area, are facing problems caused by global climate change. This study evaluated the greenhouse gas emissions from five small islands surrounding Taiwan. These islands - Penghu County, Liuqui Island, Kinmen County, Matsu Island and Green Island - have their own waste management approaches that can serve as a guideline for waste management with greenhouse gas mitigation. The findings indicate that the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of the islands ranged from 292.1 to 29,096.2 [metric] tonne CO 2 -equivalent. The loading waste volumes and shipping distances were positively related to greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. The greenhouse gas emissions from waste-to-energy plants, mainly carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, can be offset by energy recovery (approximately 38.6% of greenhouse gas emissions from incineration). In addition, about 34% and 11% of waste generated on the islands was successfully recycled and composted, respectively. This study provides valuable insights into the applicability of a policy framework for waste management approaches for greenhouse gas mitigation.

  12. Detection of greenhouse-gas-induced climatic change. Progress report, 1 December 1991--30 June 1994

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wigley, T.M.L.; Jones, P.D.

    1994-07-01

    In addition to changes due to variations in greenhouse gas concentrations, the global climate system exhibits a high degree of internally-generated and externally-forced natural variability. To detect the enhanced greenhouse effect, its signal must be isolated from the ``noise`` of this natural climatic variability. A high quality, spatially extensive data base is required to define the noise and its spatial characteristics. To facilitate this, available land and marine data bases will be updated and expanded. The data will be analyzed to determine the potential effects on climate of greenhouse gas concentration changes and other factors. Analyses will be guided bymore » a variety of models, from simple energy balance climate models to ocean General Circulation Models. Appendices A--G contain the following seven papers: (A) Recent global warmth moderated by the effects of the Mount Pinatubo eruption; (B) Recent warming in global temperature series; (C) Correlation methods in fingerprint detection studies; (D) Balancing the carbon budget. Implications for projections of future carbon dioxide concentration changes; (E) A simple model for estimating methane concentration and lifetime variations; (F) Implications for climate and sea level of revised IPCC emissions scenarios; and (G) Sulfate aerosol and climatic change.« less

  13. A "Greenhouse Gas" Experiment for the Undergraduate Laboratory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gomez, Elaine; Paul, Melissa; Como, Charles; Barat, Robert

    2014-01-01

    This experiment and analysis offer an effective experience in greenhouse gas reduction. Ammoniated water is flowed counter-current to a simulated flue gas of air and CO2 in a packed column. The gaseous CO2 concentrations are measured with an on-line, non- dispersive, infrared analyzer. Column operating parameters include total gas flux, dissolved…

  14. Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs

    EPA Science Inventory

    Nearly three decades of research has demonstrated that the impoundment of rivers and the flooding of terrestrial ecosystems behind dams can increase rates of greenhouse gas emission, particularly methane. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories includes ...

  15. Multiagency Initiative to Provide Greenhouse Gas Information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boland, Stacey W.; Duren, Riley M.

    2009-11-01

    Global Greenhouse Gas Information System Workshop; Albuquerque, New Mexico, 20-22 May 2009; The second Greenhouse Gas Information System (GHGIS) workshop brought together 74 representatives from 28 organizations including U.S. government agencies, national laboratories, and members of the academic community to address issues related to the understanding, operational monitoring, and tracking of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon offsets. The workshop was held at Sandia National Laboratories and organized by an interagency collaboration among NASA centers, Department of Energy laboratories, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was motivated by the perceived need for an integrated interagency, community-wide initiative to provide information about greenhouse gas sources and sinks at policy-relevant temporal and spatial scales. Such an initiative could significantly enhance the ability of national and regional governments, industry, and private citizens to implement and evaluate effective climate change mitigation policies.

  16. Are greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping a type of marine pollution?

    PubMed

    Shi, Yubing

    2016-12-15

    Whether greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are a type of marine pollution is a controversial issue and is currently open to debate. This article examines the current treaty definitions of marine pollution, and applies them to greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Based on the legal analysis of treaty definitions and relevant international and national regulation on this issue, this article asserts that greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are a type of 'conditional' marine pollution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Accounting For Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Flooded Lands

    EPA Science Inventory

    Nearly three decades of research has demonstrated that the inundation of rivers and terrestrial ecosystems behind dams can lead to enhanced rates of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories includes a method...

  18. Detection of Greenhouse-Gas-Induced Climatic Change

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, P.D.; Wigley, T.M.L.

    1998-05-26

    The objective of this report is to assemble and analyze instrumental climate data and to develop and apply climate models as a basis for (1) detecting greenhouse-gas-induced climatic change, and (2) validation of General Circulation Models.

  19. Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy manure management: a review of field-based studies.

    PubMed

    Owen, Justine J; Silver, Whendee L

    2015-02-01

    Livestock manure management accounts for almost 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture globally, and contributes an equal proportion to the US methane emission inventory. Current emissions inventories use emissions factors determined from small-scale laboratory experiments that have not been compared to field-scale measurements. We compiled published data on field-scale measurements of greenhouse gas emissions from working and research dairies and compared these to rates predicted by the IPCC Tier 2 modeling approach. Anaerobic lagoons were the largest source of methane (368 ± 193 kg CH4 hd(-1) yr(-1)), more than three times that from enteric fermentation (~120 kg CH4 hd(-1) yr(-1)). Corrals and solid manure piles were large sources of nitrous oxide (1.5 ± 0.8 and 1.1 ± 0.7 kg N2O hd(-1) yr(-1), respectively). Nitrous oxide emissions from anaerobic lagoons (0.9 ± 0.5 kg N2O hd(-1) yr(-1)) and barns (10 ± 6 kg N2O hd(-1) yr(-1)) were unexpectedly large. Modeled methane emissions underestimated field measurement means for most manure management practices. Modeled nitrous oxide emissions underestimated field measurement means for anaerobic lagoons and manure piles, but overestimated emissions from slurry storage. Revised emissions factors nearly doubled slurry CH4 emissions for Europe and increased N2O emissions from solid piles and lagoons in the United States by an order of magnitude. Our results suggest that current greenhouse gas emission factors generally underestimate emissions from dairy manure and highlight liquid manure systems as promising target areas for greenhouse gas mitigation. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Coastal vegetation invasion increases greenhouse gas emission from wetland soils but also increases soil carbon accumulation.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yaping; Chen, Guangcheng; Ye, Yong

    2015-09-01

    Soil properties and soil-atmosphere fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O from four coastal wetlands were studied throughout the year, namely, native Kandelia obovata mangrove forest vs. exotic Sonneratia apetala mangrove forest, and native Cyperus malaccensis salt marsh vs. exotic Spartina alterniflora salt marsh. Soils of the four wetlands were all net sources of greenhouse gases while Sonneratia forest contributed the most with a total soil-atmosphere CO2-equivalent flux of 137.27 mg CO2 m(-2) h(-1), which is 69.23%, 99.75% and 44.56% higher than that of Kandelia, Cyperus and Spartina, respectively. The high underground biomass and distinctive root structure of Sonneratia might be responsible for its high greenhouse gas emission from the soil. Soils in Spartina marsh emitted the second largest amount of total greenhouse gases but it ranked first in emitting trace greenhouse gases. Annual average CH4 and N2O fluxes from Spartina soil were 13.77 and 1.14 μmol m(-2) h(-1), respectively, which are 2.08 and 1.46 times that of Kandelia, 1.03 and 1.15 times of Sonneratia, and 1.74 and 1.02 times of Cyperus, respectively. Spartina has longer growing season and higher productivity than native marshes which might increase greenhouse gas emission in cold seasons. Exotic wetland soils had higher carbon stock as compared to their respective native counterparts but their carbon stocks were offset by a larger proportion because of their higher greenhouse gas emissions. Annual total soil-atmosphere fluxes of greenhouse gases reduced soil carbon burial benefits by 8.1%, 9.5%, 6.4% and 7.2% for Kandelia, Sonneratia, Cyperus and Spartina, respectively, which narrowed down the gaps in net soil carbon stock between native and exotic wetlands. The results indicated that the invasion of exotic wetland plants might convert local coastal soils into a considerable atmospheric source of greenhouse gases although they at the same time increase soil carbon accumulation. Copyright © 2015. Published

  1. A new estimation of global soil greenhouse gas fluxes using a simple data-oriented model.

    PubMed

    Hashimoto, Shoji

    2012-01-01

    Soil greenhouse gas fluxes (particularly CO(2), CH(4), and N(2)O) play important roles in climate change. However, despite the importance of these soil greenhouse gases, the number of reports on global soil greenhouse gas fluxes is limited. Here, new estimates are presented for global soil CO(2) emission (total soil respiration), CH(4) uptake, and N(2)O emission fluxes, using a simple data-oriented model. The estimated global fluxes for CO(2) emission, CH(4) uptake, and N(2)O emission were 78 Pg C yr(-1) (Monte Carlo 95% confidence interval, 64-95 Pg C yr(-1)), 18 Tg C yr(-1) (11-23 Tg C yr(-1)), and 4.4 Tg N yr(-1) (1.4-11.1 Tg N yr(-1)), respectively. Tropical regions were the largest contributor of all of the gases, particularly the CO(2) and N(2)O fluxes. The soil CO(2) and N(2)O fluxes had more pronounced seasonal patterns than the soil CH(4) flux. The collected estimates, including both the previous and the present estimates, demonstrate that the means of the best estimates from each study were 79 Pg C yr(-1) (291 Pg CO(2) yr(-1); coefficient of variation, CV = 13%, N = 6) for CO(2), 21 Tg C yr(-1) (29 Tg CH(4) yr(-1); CV = 24%, N = 24) for CH(4), and 7.8 Tg N yr(-1) (12.2 Tg N(2)O yr(-1); CV = 38%, N = 11) for N(2)O. For N(2)O, the mean of the estimates that was calculated by excluding the earliest two estimates was 6.6 Tg N yr(-1) (10.4 Tg N(2)O yr(-1); CV = 22%, N = 9). The reported estimates vary and have large degrees of uncertainty but their overall magnitudes are in general agreement. To further minimize the uncertainty of soil greenhouse gas flux estimates, it is necessary to build global databases and identify key processes in describing global soil greenhouse gas fluxes.

  2. Greenhouse gas contribution of municipal solid waste collection: A case study in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.

    PubMed

    Korkut, Nafiz E; Yaman, Cevat; Küçükağa, Yusuf; Jaunich, Megan K; Demir, İbrahim

    2018-02-01

    This article estimates greenhouse gas emissions and global warming factors resulting from collection of municipal solid waste to the transfer stations or landfills in Istanbul for the year of 2015. The aim of this study is to quantify and compare diesel fuel consumption and estimate the greenhouse gas emissions and global warming factors associated with municipal solid waste collection of the 39 districts of Istanbul. Each district's greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the provision and combustion of diesel fuel was estimated by considering the number of collection trips and distances to municipal solid waste facilities. The estimated greenhouse gases and global warming factors for the districts varied from 61.2 to 2759.1 t CO 2 -eq and from 4.60 to 15.20 kg CO 2 -eq t -1 , respectively. The total greenhouse gas emission was estimated as 46.4E3 t CO 2 -eq. Lastly, the collection data from the districts was used to parameterise a collection model that can be used to estimate fuel consumption associated with municipal solid waste collection. This mechanistic model can then be used to predict future fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with municipal solid waste collection based on projected population, waste generation, and distance to transfer stations and landfills. The greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by decreasing the trip numbers and trip distances, building more transfer stations around the city, and making sure that the collection trucks are full in each trip.

  3. Forest and grassland cover types reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils.

    PubMed

    Baah-Acheamfour, Mark; Carlyle, Cameron N; Lim, Sang-Sun; Bork, Edward W; Chang, Scott X

    2016-11-15

    Western Canada's prairie region is extensively cultivated for agricultural production, which is a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. Agroforestry systems are common land uses across Canada, which integrate trees into the agricultural landscape and could play a substantial role in sequestering carbon and mitigating increases in atmospheric GHG concentrations. We measured soil CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes and the global warming potential of microbe-mediated net greenhouse gas emissions (GWPm) in forest and herbland (areas without trees) soils of three agroforestry systems (hedgerow, shelterbelt and silvopasture) over two growing seasons (May through September in 2013 and 2014). We measured greenhouse gas fluxes and environmental conditions at 36 agroforestry sites (12 sites for each system) located along a south-north oriented soil/climate gradient of increasing moisture availability in central Alberta, Canada. The temperature sensitivity of soil CO2 emissions was greater in herbland (4.4) than in forest (3.1), but was not different among agroforestry systems. Over the two seasons, forest soils had 3.4% greater CO2 emission, 36% higher CH4 uptake, and 66% lower N2O emission than adjacent herbland soils. Combining the CO2 equivalents of soil CH4 and N2O fluxes with the CO2 emitted via heterotrophic (microbial) respiration, forest soils had a smaller GWPm than herbland soils (68 and 89kgCO2ha(-1), respectively). While emissions of total CO2 were silvopasture>hedgerow>shelterbelt, soils under silvopasture had 5% lower heterotrophic respiration, 15% greater CH4 uptake, and 44% lower N2O emission as compared with the other two agroforestry systems. Overall, the GWPm of greenhouse gas emissions was greater in hedgerow (88) and shelterbelt (85) than in the silvopasture system (76kgCO2ha(-1)). High GWPm in the hedgerow and shelterbelt systems reflects the greater contribution from the monoculture annual crops within these systems. Opportunities exist for reducing soil

  4. Towards a Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (GHGIS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duren, Riley; Butler, James; Rotman, Doug; Miller, Charles; Decola, Phil; Sheffner, Edwin; Tucker, Compton; Mitchiner, John; Jonietz, Karl; Dimotakis, Paul

    2010-05-01

    Over the next few years, an increasing number of entities ranging from international, national, and regional governments, to businesses and private land-owners, are likely to become more involved in efforts to limit atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. In such a world, geospatially resolved information about the location, amount, and rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be needed, as well as the stocks and flows of all forms of carbon through terrestrial ecosystems and in the oceans. The ability to implement policies that limit GHG concentrations would be enhanced by a global, open, and transparent greenhouse gas information system (GHGIS). An operational and scientifically robust GHGIS would combine ground-based and space-based observations, carbon-cycle modeling, GHG inventories, meta-analysis, and an extensive data integration and distribution system, to provide information about sources, sinks, and fluxes of greenhouse gases at policy-relevant temporal and spatial scales. The GHGIS effort was initiated in 2008 as a grassroots inter-agency collaboration intended to rigorously identify the needs for such a system, assess the capabilities of current assets, and suggest priorities for future research and development. We will present a status of the GHGIS effort including our latest analysis and ideas for potential near-term pilot projects with potential relevance to European initiatives including the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) and the Integrated Carbon Observing System (ICOS).

  5. Pleistocene tropical Pacific temperature sensitivity to radiative greenhouse gas forcing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dyck, K. A.; Ravelo, A. C.

    2011-12-01

    How high will Earth's global average surface temperature ultimately rise as greenhouse gas concentrations increase in the future? One way to tackle this question is to compare contemporaneous temperature and greenhouse gas concentration data from paleoclimate records, while considering that other radiative forcing mechanisms (e.g. changes in the amount and distribution of incoming solar radiation associated with changes in the Earth's orbital configuration) also contribute to surface temperature change. Since the sensitivity of surface temperature varies with location and latitude, here we choose a central location representative of the west Pacific warm pool, far from upwelling regions or surface temperature gradients in order to minimize climate feedbacks associated with high-latitude regions or oceanic dynamics. The 'steady-state' or long-term temperature change associated with greenhouse gas radiative forcing is often labeled as equilibrium (or 'Earth system') climate sensitivity to the doubling of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration. Climate models suggest that Earth system sensitivity does not change dramatically over times when CO2 was lower or higher than the modern atmospheric value. Thus, in our investigation of the changes in tropical SST, from the glacial to interglacial states when greenhouse gas forcing nearly doubled, we use Late Pleistocene paleoclimate records to constrain earth system sensitivity for the tropics. Here we use Mg/Ca-paleothermometry using the foraminifera G. ruber from ODP Site 871 from the past 500 kyr in the western Pacific warm pool to estimate tropical Pacific equilibrium climate sensitivity to a doubling of greenhouse gas concentrations to be ~4°C. This tropical SST sensitivity to greenhouse gas forcing is ~1-2°C higher than that predicted by climate models of past glacial periods or future warming for the tropical Pacific. Equatorial Pacific SST sensitivity may be higher than predicted by models for a number of reasons

  6. Accouting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beaulieu, J. J.; Deemer, B. R.; Harrison, J. A.; Nietch, C. T.; Waldo, S.

    2016-12-01

    Nearly three decades of research has demonstrated that the impoundment of rivers and the flooding of terrestrial ecosystems behind dams can increase rates of greenhouse gas emission, particularly methane. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories includes a methodology for estimating methane emissions from flooded lands, but the methodology was published as an appendix to be used as a `basis for future methodological development' due to a lack of data. Since the 2006 Guidelines were published there has been a 6-fold increase in the number of peer reviewed papers published on the topic including reports from reservoirs in India, China, Africa, and Russia. Furthermore, several countries, including Iceland, Switzerland, and Finland, have developed country specific methodologies for including flooded lands methane emissions in their National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. This presentation will include a review of the literature on flooded land methane emissions and approaches that have been used to upscale emissions for national inventories. We will also present ongoing research in the United States to develop a country specific methodology. In the U.S., research approaches include: 1) an effort to develop predictive relationships between methane emissions and reservoir characteristics that are available in national databases, such as reservoir size and drainage area, and 2) a national-scale probabilistic survey of reservoir methane emissions linked to the National Lakes Assessment.

  7. Accounting For Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Flooded ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Nearly three decades of research has demonstrated that the inundation of rivers and terrestrial ecosystems behind dams can lead to enhanced rates of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories includes a methodology for estimating methane emissions from flooded lands, but the methodology was published as an appendix to be used a ‘basis for future methodological development’ due to a lack of data. Since the 2006 Guidelines were published there has been a 6-fold increase in the number of peer reviewed papers published on the topic including reports from reservoirs in India, China, Africa, and Russia. Furthermore, several countries, including Iceland, Switzerland, and Finland, have developed country specific methodologies for including flooded lands methane emissions in their National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. This presentation will include a review of the literature on flooded land methane emissions and approaches that have been used to upscale emissions for national inventories. We will also present ongoing research in the United States to develop a country specific methodology. The research approaches include 1) an effort to develop predictive relationships between methane emissions and reservoir characteristics that are available in national databases, such as reservoir size and drainage area, and 2) a national-scale probabilistic survey of reservoir methane emissions. To inform th

  8. Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Nearly three decades of research has demonstrated that the impoundment of rivers and the flooding of terrestrial ecosystems behind dams can increase rates of greenhouse gas emission, particularly methane. The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories includes a methodology for estimating methane emissions from flooded lands, but the methodology was published as an appendix to be used as a ‘basis for future methodological development’ due to a lack of data. Since the 2006 Guidelines were published there has been a 6-fold increase in the number of peer reviewed papers published on the topic including reports from reservoirs in India, China, Africa, and Russia. Furthermore, several countries, including Iceland, Switzerland, and Finland, have developed country specific methodologies for including flooded lands methane emissions in their National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. This presentation will include a review of the literature on flooded land methane emissions and approaches that have been used to upscale emissions for national inventories. We will also present ongoing research in the United States to develop a country specific methodology. In the U.S., research approaches include: 1) an effort to develop predictive relationships between methane emissions and reservoir characteristics that are available in national databases, such as reservoir size and drainage area, and 2) a national-scale probabilistic survey of reservoir methane em

  9. Net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Various methods exist to calculate global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHG) as measures of net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agroecosystems. Little is, however, known about net GWP and GHGI that account for all sources and sinks of GHG emissions. Sources of GHG include...

  10. Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Subtropical Mangrove in Hong Kong

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lai, D. Y. F.; Xu, J.

    2014-12-01

    The concept of "blue carbon" has received increasing attention recently, which points to the potential role of vegetated coastal wetlands in carbon sequestration. Yet, the magnitude and controls of greenhouse gas emissions from coastal wetland ecosystems, especially mangroves in the subtropical regions, are still largely unknown. In this study, we conducted chamber measurements in the Mai Po Marshes Nature Reserve of Hong Kong at monthly intervals to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of the emission of greenhouse gases, including CO2, CH4 and N2O from mangrove soils, and examine the influence of environmental and biotic variables on greenhouse gas fluxes. We found the highest mean CH4 and N2O emissions in autumn and the highest CO2 flux in summer. Along the tidal gradient, we observed significantly higher CH4 and N2O emissions from the middle zones and landward zones, respectively, while no clear spatial variation of CO2 emissions was observed. There were significantly higher soil greenhouse gas emissions from sites dominated by Avicennia marina than those dominated by Kandelia obovata, which might be due to the presence of pneumatophores which facilitated gas transport. We found a significant, negative correlation between CH4 flux and soil NO3-N concentration, while CO2 flux was positively correlation with total Kjeldahl nitrogen content. Soil temperature was positively correlated with the emissions of all three greenhouse gases, while water table depth was positively and negatively correlated with CH4 and N2O emissions, respectively. Our findings demonstrate the high spatial and temporal variability of greenhouse gas emissions from mangrove soils which could be attributed in part to the differences in environmental conditions and dominant plant species.

  11. Climate change science : high quality greenhouse gas emissions data are a cornerstone of programs to address climate change

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-02-24

    This testimony focuses on (1) the importance of quality data on emissions in the context of a program intended to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and (2) key considerations in developing reliable data on greenhouse gas emissions. This testimony is ba...

  12. Greenhouse gas emissions from traditional and biofuels cropping systems

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cropping systems can have a tremendous effect on the greenhouse gas emissions from soils. The objectives of this study were to compare greenhouse gas emissions from traditional (continuous corn or corn/soybean rotation) and biomass (miscanthus, sorghum, switchgrass) cropping systems. Biomass croppin...

  13. 75 FR 57275 - Information Collection; Supplier Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Pilot

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-20

    ...] Information Collection; Supplier Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Pilot AGENCY: Federal Acquisition Service... Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory pilot. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this... 3090- 00XX; Supplier Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Pilot, by any of the following methods...

  14. 76 FR 22825 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-25

    ... Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... Subpart W: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. As part of the... greenhouse gas emissions for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the greenhouse gas...

  15. A New Estimation of Global Soil Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Using a Simple Data-Oriented Model

    PubMed Central

    Hashimoto, Shoji

    2012-01-01

    Soil greenhouse gas fluxes (particularly CO2, CH4, and N2O) play important roles in climate change. However, despite the importance of these soil greenhouse gases, the number of reports on global soil greenhouse gas fluxes is limited. Here, new estimates are presented for global soil CO2 emission (total soil respiration), CH4 uptake, and N2O emission fluxes, using a simple data-oriented model. The estimated global fluxes for CO2 emission, CH4 uptake, and N2O emission were 78 Pg C yr−1 (Monte Carlo 95% confidence interval, 64–95 Pg C yr−1), 18 Tg C yr−1 (11–23 Tg C yr−1), and 4.4 Tg N yr−1 (1.4–11.1 Tg N yr−1), respectively. Tropical regions were the largest contributor of all of the gases, particularly the CO2 and N2O fluxes. The soil CO2 and N2O fluxes had more pronounced seasonal patterns than the soil CH4 flux. The collected estimates, including both the previous and the present estimates, demonstrate that the means of the best estimates from each study were 79 Pg C yr−1 (291 Pg CO2 yr−1; coefficient of variation, CV = 13%, N = 6) for CO2, 21 Tg C yr−1 (29 Tg CH4 yr−1; CV = 24%, N = 24) for CH4, and 7.8 Tg N yr−1 (12.2 Tg N2O yr−1; CV = 38%, N = 11) for N2O. For N2O, the mean of the estimates that was calculated by excluding the earliest two estimates was 6.6 Tg N yr−1 (10.4 Tg N2O yr−1; CV = 22%, N = 9). The reported estimates vary and have large degrees of uncertainty but their overall magnitudes are in general agreement. To further minimize the uncertainty of soil greenhouse gas flux estimates, it is necessary to build global databases and identify key processes in describing global soil greenhouse gas fluxes. PMID:22876295

  16. Transit Greenhouse Gas Management Compendium

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-01-12

    This Compendium provides a framework for identifying greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction opportunities while highlighting specific examples of effective GHG reduction practices. The GHG savings benefits of public transit are first described. GHG saving op...

  17. [Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon leakage and net carbon sequestration from afforestation and forest management: A review.

    PubMed

    Liu, Bo Jie; Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiao Ke; Liu, Wei Wei

    2017-02-01

    Forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and concentration of CO 2 reduction in the atmosphere. Forest management, especially afforestation and forest protection, could increase carbon stock of forests significantly. Carbon sequestration rate of afforestation ranges from 0.04 to 7.52 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 , while that of forest protection is 0.33-5.20 t C·hm -2 ·a -1 . At the same time, greenhouse gas (GHG) is generated within management boundary due to the production and transportation of the materials consumed in relevant activities of afforestation and forest management. In addition, carbon leakage is also generated outside boundary from activity shifting, market effects and change of environments induced by forest management. In this review, we summarized the definition of emission sources of GHG, monitoring methods, quantity and rate of greenhouse gas emissions within boundary of afforestation and forest management. In addition, types, monitoring methods and quantity of carbon leakage outside boundary of forest management were also analyzed. Based on the reviewed results of carbon sequestration, we introduced greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and carbon leakage, net carbon sequestration as well as the countervailing effects of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon leakage to carbon sequestration. Greenhouse gas emissions within management boundary counteract 0.01%-19.3% of carbon sequestration, and such counteraction could increase to as high as 95% considering carbon leakage. Afforestation and forest management have substantial net carbon sequestration benefits, when only taking direct greenhouse gas emissions within boundary and measurable carbon leakage from activity shifting into consideration. Compared with soil carbon sequestration measures in croplands, afforestation and forest management is more advantageous in net carbon sequestration and has better prospects for application in terms of net mitigation potential. Along with the

  18. Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of shale gas, natural gas, coal, and petroleum.

    PubMed

    Burnham, Andrew; Han, Jeongwoo; Clark, Corrie E; Wang, Michael; Dunn, Jennifer B; Palou-Rivera, Ignasi

    2012-01-17

    The technologies and practices that have enabled the recent boom in shale gas production have also brought attention to the environmental impacts of its use. It has been debated whether the fugitive methane emissions during natural gas production and transmission outweigh the lower carbon dioxide emissions during combustion when compared to coal and petroleum. Using the current state of knowledge of methane emissions from shale gas, conventional natural gas, coal, and petroleum, we estimated up-to-date life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we developed distribution functions for key parameters in each pathway to examine uncertainty and identify data gaps such as methane emissions from shale gas well completions and conventional natural gas liquid unloadings that need to be further addressed. Our base case results show that shale gas life-cycle emissions are 6% lower than conventional natural gas, 23% lower than gasoline, and 33% lower than coal. However, the range in values for shale and conventional gas overlap, so there is a statistical uncertainty whether shale gas emissions are indeed lower than conventional gas. Moreover, this life-cycle analysis, among other work in this area, provides insight on critical stages that the natural gas industry and government agencies can work together on to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas.

  19. Estimating greenhouse gas emissions of European cities--modeling emissions with only one spatial and one socioeconomic variable.

    PubMed

    Baur, Albert H; Lauf, Steffen; Förster, Michael; Kleinschmit, Birgit

    2015-07-01

    Substantive and concerted action is needed to mitigate climate change. However, international negotiations struggle to adopt ambitious legislation and to anticipate more climate-friendly developments. Thus, stronger actions are needed from other players. Cities, being greenhouse gas emission centers, play a key role in promoting the climate change mitigation movement by becoming hubs for smart and low-carbon lifestyles. In this context, a stronger linkage between greenhouse gas emissions and urban development and policy-making seems promising. Therefore, simple approaches are needed to objectively identify crucial emission drivers for deriving appropriate emission reduction strategies. In analyzing 44 European cities, the authors investigate possible socioeconomic and spatial determinants of urban greenhouse gas emissions. Multiple statistical analyses reveal that the average household size and the edge density of discontinuous dense urban fabric explain up to 86% of the total variance of greenhouse gas emissions of EU cities (when controlled for varying electricity carbon intensities). Finally, based on these findings, a multiple regression model is presented to determine greenhouse gas emissions. It is independently evaluated with ten further EU cities. The reliance on only two indicators shows that the model can be easily applied in addressing important greenhouse gas emission sources of European urbanites, when varying power generations are considered. This knowledge can help cities develop adequate climate change mitigation strategies and promote respective policies on the EU or the regional level. The results can further be used to derive first estimates of urban greenhouse gas emissions, if no other analyses are available. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Developing Water Resource Security in a Greenhouse Gas Constrained Context - A Case Study in California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tarroja, B.; Aghakouchak, A.; Samuelsen, S.

    2015-12-01

    The onset of drought conditions in regions such as California due to shortfalls in precipitation has brought refreshed attention to the vulnerability of our water supply paradigm to changes in climate patterns. In the face of a changing climate which can exacerbate drought conditions in already dry areas, building resiliency into our water supply infrastructure requires some decoupling of water supply availability from climate behavior through conservation, efficiency, and alternative water supply measures such as desalination and water reuse. The installation of these measures requires varying degrees of direct energy inputs and/or impacts the energy usage of the water supply infrastructure (conveyance, treatment, distribution, wastewater treatment). These impacts have implications for greenhouse gas emissions from direct fuel usage or impacts on the emissions from the electric grid. At the scale that these measures may need to be deployed to secure water supply availability, especially under climate change impacted hydrology, they can potentially pose obstacles for meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction and renewable utilization goals. Therefore, the portfolio of these measures must be such that detrimental impacts on greenhouse gas emissions are minimized. This study combines climate data with a water reservoir network model and an electric grid dispatch model for the water-energy system of California to evaluate 1) the different pathways and scale of alternative water resource measures needed to secure water supply availability and 2) the impacts of following these pathways on the ability to meet greenhouse gas and renewable utilization goals. It was discovered that depending on the water supply measure portfolio implemented, impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and renewable utilization can either be beneficial or detrimental, and optimizing the portfolio is more important under climate change conditions due to the scale of measures required.

  1. Teleconsultations reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Tiago Cravo; Barlow, James; Gonçalves, Luís; Bayer, Steffen

    2013-10-01

    Health services contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. New models of delivering care closer to patients have the potential to reduce travelling and associated emissions. We aimed to compare the emissions of patients attending a teleconsultation - an outpatient appointment using video-conferencing equipment - with those of patients attending a face-to-face appointment. We estimated the total distances travelled and the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions for 20,824 teleconsultations performed between 2004 and 2011 in Alentejo, a Portuguese region. These were compared to the distances and emissions that would have resulted if teleconsultations were not available and patients had to attend face-to-face outpatient appointments. Estimates were calculated using survey data on mode of transport, and national aggregate data for car engine size and fuel. A sensitivity analysis using the lower and upper quartiles for survey distances was performed. Teleconsultations led to reductions in distances and emissions of 95%. 2,313,819 km of travelling and 455 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions were avoided (22 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per patient). The incorporation of modes of transport and car engine size and fuel in the analysis led to emission estimates which were 12% smaller than those assuming all patients used an average car. The availability of remote care services can significantly reduce road travel and associated emissions. At a time when many countries are committed to reducing their carbon footprint, it is desirable to explore how these reductions could be incorporated into technology assessments and economic evaluations.

  2. Country-Level Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Liquefied Natural Gas Trade for Electricity Generation.

    PubMed

    Kasumu, Adebola S; Li, Vivian; Coleman, James W; Liendo, Jeanne; Jordaan, Sarah M

    2018-02-20

    In the determination of the net impact of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle assessments (LCA) of electricity generation have yet to combine the effects of transport distances between exporting and importing countries, country-level infrastructure in importing countries, and the fuel sources displaced in importing countries. To address this, we conduct a LCA of electricity generated from LNG export from British Columbia, Canada with a three-step approach: (1) a review of viable electricity generation markets for LNG, (2) the development of results for greenhouse gas emissions that account for transport to importing nations as well as the infrastructure required for power generation and delivery, and (3) emissions displacement scenarios to test assumptions about what electricity is being displaced in the importing nation. Results show that while the ultimate magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with natural gas production systems is still unknown, life cycle greenhouse gas emissions depend on country-level infrastructure (specifically, the efficiency of the generation fleet, transmission and distribution losses and LNG ocean transport distances) as well as the assumptions on what is displaced in the domestic electricity generation mix. Exogenous events such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster have unanticipated effects on the emissions displacement results. We highlight national regulations, environmental policies, and multilateral agreements that could play a role in mitigating emissions.

  3. 76 FR 37300 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Revisions to Best...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-27

    ... natural gas. 211112 Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. Table 1 of this preamble is not intended to... Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Revisions to Best Available... regulations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. Specifically, EPA is...

  4. Effects of nitrogen fertilizer application on greenhouse gas emissions and economics of corn production.

    PubMed

    Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E

    2008-08-15

    Nitrogen fertilizer plays an important role in corn cultivation in terms of both economic and environmental aspects. Nitrogen fertilizer positively affects corn yield and the soil organic carbon level, but it also has negative environmental effects through nitrogen-related emissions from soil (e.g., N20, NOx, NO3(-) leaching, etc.). Effects of nitrogen fertilizer on greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain are investigated via life cycle assessment. Ecoefficiency analysis is also used to determine an economically and environmentally optimal nitrogen application rate (NAR). The ecoefficiency index in this study is defined as the ratio of economic return due to nitrogen fertilizer to the greenhouse gas emissions of corn cultivation. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain decrease as NAR increases at a lower NAR until a minimum greenhouse gas emission level is reached because corn yield and soil organic carbon level increase with NAR. Further increasing NAR after a minimum greenhouse gas emission level raises greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain. Increased greenhouse gas emissions of corn grain due to nitrous oxide emissions from soil are much higher than reductions of greenhouse gas emissions of corn grain due to corn yield and changes in soil organic carbon levels at a higher NAR. Thus, there exists an environmentally optimal NAR in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The trends of the ecoefficiency index are similar to those of economic return to nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain. Therefore, an appropriate NAR could enhance profitability as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain.

  5. Construction and testing of a simple and economical soil greenhouse gas automatic sampler

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ginting, D.; Arnold, S.L.; Arnold, N.S.; Tubbs, R.S.

    2007-01-01

    Quantification of soil greenhouse gas emissions requires considerable sampling to account for spatial and/or temporal variation. With manual sampling, additional personnel are often not available to sample multiple sites within a narrow time interval. The objectives were to construct an automatic gas sampler and to compare the accuracy and precision of automatic versus manual sampling. The automatic sampler was tested with carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes that mimicked the range of CO2 fluxes during a typical corn-growing season in eastern Nebraska. Gas samples were drawn from the chamber at 0, 5, and 10 min manually and with the automatic sampler. The three samples drawn with the automatic sampler were transferred to pre-vacuumed vials after 1 h; thus the samples in syringe barrels stayed connected with the increasing CO2 concentration in the chamber. The automatic sampler sustains accuracy and precision in greenhouse gas sampling while improving time efficiency and reducing labor stress. Copyright ?? Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

  6. Greenhouse gas emissions of waste management processes and options: A case study.

    PubMed

    de la Barrera, Belen; Hooda, Peter S

    2016-07-01

    Increasing concern about climate change is prompting organisations to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions. Waste management activities also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. In the waste management sector, there has been an increasing diversion of waste sent to landfill, with much emphasis on recycling and reuse to prevent emissions. This study evaluates the carbon footprint of the different processes involved in waste management systems, considering the entire waste management stream. Waste management data from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London (UK), was used to estimate the carbon footprint for its (Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames) current source segregation system. Second, modelled full and partial co-mingling scenarios were used to estimate carbon emissions from these proposed waste management approaches. The greenhouse gas emissions from the entire waste management system at Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames were 12,347 t CO2e for the source-segregated scenario, and 11,907 t CO2e for the partial co-mingled model. These emissions amount to 203.26 kg CO2e t(-1) and 196.02 kg CO2e t(-1) municipal solid waste for source-segregated and partial co-mingled, respectively. The change from a source segregation fleet to a partial co-mingling fleet reduced the emissions, at least partly owing to a change in the number and type of vehicles. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. 78 FR 23149 - Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-18

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 98 Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting CFR Correction In Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 96 to 99, revised as of July 1, 2012, on page 768, in Sec. 98.226, in paragraph (n) introductory text, the last sentence is removed. [FR Doc. 2013...

  8. Greenhouse gas fluxes in southeastern U.S. coastal plain wetlands under contrasting land uses.

    PubMed

    Morse, Jennifer L; Ardón, Marcelo; Bernhardt, Emily S

    2012-01-01

    Whether through sea level rise or wetland restoration, agricultural soils in coastal areas will be inundated at increasing rates, renewing connections to sensitive surface waters and raising critical questions about environmental trade-offs. Wetland restoration is often implemented in agricultural catchments to improve water quality through nutrient removal. Yet flooding of soils can also increase production of the greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane, representing a potential environmental trade-off. Our study aimed to quantify and compare greenhouse gas emissions from unmanaged and restored forested wetlands, as well as actively managed agricultural fields within the North Carolina coastal plain, USA. In sampling conducted once every two months over a two-year comparative study, we found that soil carbon dioxide flux (range: 8000-64 800 kg CO2 x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) comprised 66-100% of total greenhouse gas emissions from all sites and that methane emissions (range: -6.87 to 197 kg CH4 x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) were highest from permanently inundated sites, while nitrous oxide fluxes (range: -1.07 to 139 kg N2O x ha(-1) x yr(-1)) were highest in sites with lower water tables. Contrary to predictions, greenhouse gas fluxes (as CO2 equivalents) from the restored wetland were lower than from either agricultural fields or unmanaged forested wetlands. In these acidic coastal freshwater ecosystems, the conversion of agricultural fields to flooded young forested wetlands did not result in increases in greenhouse gas emissions.

  9. Nutrient removal and greenhouse gas emissions in duckweed treatment ponds.

    PubMed

    Sims, Atreyee; Gajaraj, Shashikanth; Hu, Zhiqiang

    2013-03-01

    Stormwater treatment ponds provide a variety of functions including sediment retention, organic and nutrient removal, and habitat restoration. The treatment ponds are, however, also a source of greenhouse gases. The objectives of this study were to assess greenhouse gas (CH(4), CO(2) and N(2)O) emissions in duckweed treatment ponds (DWPs) treating simulated stormwater and to determine the role of ammonia-oxidizing organisms in nutrient removal and methanogens in greenhouse gas emissions. Two replicated DWPs operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 days were able to remove 84% (± 4% [standard deviation]) chemical oxygen demand (COD), 79% (± 3%) NH(4)(+)-N, 86% (± 2%) NO(3)(-)-N and 56% (± 7%) orthophosphate. CH(4) emission rates in the DWPs ranged from 502 to 1900 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1) while those of nitrous oxide (N(2)O) ranged from 0.63 to 4 mg N(2)O m(-2) d(-1). The CO(2) emission rates ranged from 1700 to 3300 mg CO(2) m(-2) day(-1). Duckweed coverage on water surface along with the continued deposit of duckweed debris in the DWPs and low-nutrient influent water created a low dissolved oxygen environment for the growth of unique ammonia-oxidizing organisms and methanogens. Archaeal and bacterial amoA abundance in the DWPs ranged from (1.5 ± 0.2) × 10(7) to (1.7 ± 0.2) × 10(8) copies/g dry soil and from (1.0 ± 0.3) × 10(3) to (1.5 ± 0.4) × 10(6) copies/g dry soil, respectively. The 16S rRNA acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens ranged from (5.2 ± 0.2) × 10(5) to (9.0 ± 0.3) × 10(6) copies/g dry soil and from (1.0 ± 0.1) × 10(2) to (5.5 ± 0.4) × 10(3) copies/g dry soil, respectively. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) appeared to be the dominant nitrifiers and acetoclastic Methanosaeta was the major methanogenic genus. The results suggest that methane is the predominant (>90%) greenhouse gas in the DWPs, where the relatively low stormwater nutrient inputs facilitate the growth of K-strategists such as AOA and Methanosaeta that may

  10. Measuring and managing reservoir greenhouse gas emissions

    EPA Science Inventory

    Methane (CH4) is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas with a heat trapping capacity 34 times greater than that of carbon dioxide on a 100 year time scale. Known anthropogenic CH4 sources include livestock production, rice agriculture, landfills, and natural gas...

  11. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator for Grain and Biofuel Farming Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McSwiney, Claire P.; Bohm, Sven; Grace, Peter R.; Robertson, G. Philip

    2010-01-01

    Opportunities for farmers to participate in greenhouse gas (GHG) credit markets require that growers, students, extension educators, offset aggregators, and other stakeholders understand the impact of agricultural practices on GHG emissions. The Farming Systems Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator, a web-based tool linked to the SOCRATES soil…

  12. A model of greenhouse gas emissions from the management of turf on two golf courses.

    PubMed

    Bartlett, Mark D; James, Iain T

    2011-03-15

    An estimated 32,000 golf courses worldwide (approximately 25,600 km(2)), provide ecosystem goods and services and support an industry contributing over $ 124 billion globally. Golf courses can impact positively on local biodiversity however their role in the global carbon cycle is not clearly understood. To explore this relationship, the balance between plant-soil system sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from turf management on golf courses was modelled. Input data were derived from published studies of emissions from agriculture and turfgrass management. Two UK case studies of golf course type were used, a Links course (coastal, medium intensity management, within coastal dune grasses) and a Parkland course (inland, high intensity management, within woodland). Playing surfaces of both golf courses were marginal net sources of greenhouse gas emissions due to maintenance (Links 0.4 ± 0.1Mg CO(2)e ha(-1)y(-1); Parkland 0.7 ± 0.2Mg CO(2)e ha(-1)y(-1)). A significant proportion of emissions were from the use of nitrogen fertiliser, especially on tees and greens such that 3% of the golf course area contributed 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The area of trees on a golf course was important in determining whole-course emission balance. On the Parkland course, emissions from maintenance were offset by sequestration from trees which comprised 48% of total area, resulting in a net balance of -4.3 ± 0.9 Mg CO(2e) ha(-1)y(-1). On the Links course, the proportion of trees was much lower (2%) and sequestration from links grassland resulted in a net balance of 0.0 ± 0.2Mg CO(2e) ha(-1)y(-1). Recommendations for golf course management and design include the reduction of nitrogen fertiliser, improved operational efficiency when mowing, the inclusion of appropriate tree-planting and the scaling of component areas to maximise golf course sequestration capacity. The findings are transferrable to the management and design of urban parks and gardens, which range

  13. [Evaluation indices of greenhouse gas mitigation technologies in cropland ecosystem].

    PubMed

    Li, Jian-zheng; Wang, Ying-chun; Wang, Li-gang; Li, Hu; Qiu, Jian-jun; Wang, Dao-long

    2015-01-01

    In spite of the increasing studies on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation technologies, there is still a lack of systematic indices for evaluation of their overall impacts in croplands. In this study, we collected all the indices relating to greenhouse gas emissions and analyzed each index following the principles of representativeness, objectivity, completeness, dominance and operability. Finally, we proposed evaluation indices for mitigation technologies based on the current situation of China. Crop yield per unit area was proposed as a constrained index, and greenhouse gas emissions intensity, defined as GHG emissions per unit of produced yield, was proposed as comprehensive index to evaluate the greenhouse effect of various croplands mitigation technologies. Calculation of GHG emissions intensity involved yield, change of soil organic carbon, direct N2O emissions, paddy CH4 emissions and direct and indirect emissions from inputs into croplands. By following these evaluation indices, the greenhouse effect of the technologies could be well evaluated, which could provide scientific basis for their further adoption.

  14. The Impact of a Lower Sea Ice Extent on Arctic Greenhouse Gas Exchange

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parmentier, Frans-Jan W.; Christensen, Torben R.; Lotte Sørensen, Lise; Rysgaard, Søren; McGuire, A. David; Miller, Paul A.; Walker, Donald A.

    2013-04-01

    years has the potential to influence greenhouse gas exchange across terrestrial ecosystems and the Arctic Ocean, but the overall impact remains unclear. In this study, we therefore try to reduce this uncertainty by addressing the influence of the decline in sea ice extent on all affected greenhouse gas fluxes in the high latitudes. Also, we will address the need for more research, on the ocean and on the land, to understand the impact of a lower sea ice extent on Arctic greenhouse gas exchange. References: Bates, N. R., Moran, S. B., Hansell, D. A. and Mathis, J. T.: An increasing CO2 sink in the Arctic Ocean due to sea-ice loss, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L23609, doi:10.1029/2006GL027028, 2006. Cai, W.-J., Chen, L., Chen, B., Gao, Z., Lee, S. H., Chen, J., Pierrot, D., Sullivan, K., Wang, Y., Hu, X., Huang, W.-J., et al.: Decrease in the CO2 Uptake Capacity in an Ice-Free Arctic Ocean Basin, Science, 329(5991), 556-559, doi:10.1126/science.1189338, 2010. Kort, E. A., Wofsy, S. C., Daube, B. C., Diao, M., Elkins, J. W., Gao, R. S., Hintsa, E. J., Hurst, D. F., Jimenez, R., Moore, F. L., Spackman, J. R., et al.: Atmospheric observations of Arctic Ocean methane emissions up to 82 degrees north, Nature Geosci., 5(5), 318-321, doi:10.1038/NGEO1452, 2012. Nomura, D., Yoshikawa-Inoue, H. and Toyota, T.: The effect of sea-ice growth on air-sea CO2 flux in a tank experiment, vol. 58, pp. 418-426. 2006. Post, E., Forchhammer, M. C., Bret-Harte, M. S., Callaghan, T. V., Christensen, T. R., Elberling, B., Fox, A. D., Gilg, O., Hik, D. S., Høye, T. T., Ims, R. A., et al.: Ecological Dynamics Across the Arctic Associated with Recent Climate Change, Science, 325(5946), 1355-1358, doi:10.1126/science.1173113, 2009. Rysgaard, S., Glud, R. N., Sejr, M. K., Bendtsen, J. and Christensen, P. B.: Inorganic carbon transport during sea ice growth and decay: A carbon pump in polar seas, J. Geophys. Res., 112, C03016, doi:10.1029/2006JC003572, 2007. Schuur, E. A. G., Abbott, B. and Network, P. C

  15. The Dairy Greenhouse Gas Model: A Tool for estimating greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint of dairy production systems

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their potential impact on the environment has become an important national and international concern. Animal agriculture is a recognized source of GHG emissions, but good information does not exist on the net emissions from our farms. A software tool called the Dai...

  16. Monitoring soil greenhouse gas emissions from managed grasslands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Díaz-Pinés, Eugenio; Lu, Haiyan; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Kiese, Ralf

    2014-05-01

    Grasslands in Central Europe are of enormous social, ecological and economical importance. They are intensively managed, but the influence of different common practices (i.e. fertilization, harvesting) on the total greenhouse gas budget of grasslands is not fully understood, yet. In addition, it is unknown how these ecosystems will react due to climate change. Increasing temperatures and changing precipitation will likely have an effect on productivity of grasslands and on bio-geo-chemical processes responsible for emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). In the frame of the TERENO Project (www.tereno.net), a long-term observatory has been implemented in the Ammer catchment, southern Germany. Acting as an in situ global change experiment, 36 big lysimeters (1 m2 section, 150 cm height) have been translocated along an altitudinal gradient, including three sites ranging from 600 to 860 meters above sea level. In addition, two treatments have been considered, corresponding to different management intensities. The overall aim of the pre-alpine TERENO observatory is improving our understanding of the consequences of climate change and management on productivity, greenhouse gas balance, soil nutritional status, nutrient leaching and hydrology of grasslands. Two of the sites are equipped with a fully automated measurement system in order to continuously and accurately monitor the soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas exchange. Thus, a stainless steel chamber (1 m2 section, 80 cm height) is controlled by a robotized system. The chamber is hanging on a metal structure which can move both vertically and horizontally, so that the chamber is able to be set onto each of the lysimeters placed on the field. Furthermore, the headspace of the chamber is connected with a gas tube to a Quantum Cascade Laser, which continuously measures CO2, CH4, N2O and H2O mixing ratios. The chamber acts as a static chamber and sets for 15 minutes onto each lysimeter

  17. USDA Northeast climate hub greenhouse gas mitigation workshop technical report

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In April 2015, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced the Greenhouse Gas Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon sequestration, and expand renewable energy production in the agricultural and forestry sectors. This initiati...

  18. A rational procedure for estimation of greenhouse-gas emissions from municipal wastewater treatment plants.

    PubMed

    Monteith, Hugh D; Sahely, Halla R; MacLean, Heather L; Bagley, David M

    2005-01-01

    Municipal wastewater treatment may lead to the emission of greenhouse gases. The current Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change (Geneva, Switzerland) approach attributes only methane emissions to wastewater treatment, but this approach may overestimate greenhouse gas emissions from the highly aerobic processes primarily used in North America. To better estimate greenhouse gas emissions, a procedure is developed that can be used either with plant-specific data or more general regional data. The procedure was evaluated using full-scale data from 16 Canadian wastewater treatment facilities and then applied to all 10 Canadian provinces. The principal greenhouse gas emitted from municipal wastewater treatment plants was estimated to be carbon dioxide (CO2), with very little methane expected. The emission rates ranged from 0.005 kg CO2-equivalent/m3 treated for primary treatment facilities to 0.26 kg CO2-equivalent/m3 for conventional activated sludge, with anaerobic sludge digestion to over 0.8 kg CO2-equivalent/m3 for extended aeration with aerobic digestion. Increasing the effectiveness of biogas generation and use will decrease the greenhouse gas emissions that may be assigned to the wastewater treatment plant.

  19. 2012 Stakeholder Workshop on Natural Gas in the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This page describes EPA's September 2012 stakeholder workshop on key aspects of the estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the natural gas sector in the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.

  20. 77 FR 14507 - Revision to Guidance, “Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting”

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-12

    ... COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Revision to Guidance, ``Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and..., ``Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting''. SUMMARY: On October 5, 2009, President Obama signed... Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting that establishes Government-wide requirements for measuring and...

  1. Greenhouse gas emissions from solid waste in Beijing: The rising trend and the mitigation effects by management improvements.

    PubMed

    Yu, Yongqiang; Zhang, Wen

    2016-04-01

    Disposal of solid waste poses great challenges to city managements. Changes in solid waste composition and disposal methods, along with urbanisation, can certainly affect greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste. In this study, we analysed the changes in the generation, composition and management of municipal solid waste in Beijing. The changes of greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management were thereafter calculated. The impacts of municipal solid waste management improvements on greenhouse gas emissions and the mitigation effects of treatment techniques of greenhouse gas were also analysed. Municipal solid waste generation in Beijing has increased, and food waste has constituted the most substantial component of municipal solid waste over the past decade. Since the first half of 1950s, greenhouse gas emission has increased from 6 CO2-eq Gg y(-1)to approximately 200 CO2-eq Gg y(-1)in the early 1990s and 2145 CO2-eq Gg y(-1)in 2013. Landfill gas flaring, landfill gas utilisation and energy recovery in incineration are three techniques of the after-emission treatments in municipal solid waste management. The scenario analysis showed that three techniques might reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22.7%, 4.5% and 9.8%, respectively. In the future, if waste disposal can achieve a ratio of 4:3:3 by landfill, composting and incineration with the proposed after-emission treatments, as stipulated by the Beijing Municipal Waste Management Act, greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste will decrease by 41%. © The Author(s) 2016.

  2. Small ponds play big role in greenhouse gas emissions from inland waters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holgerson, M.; Raymond, P. A.

    2017-12-01

    Inland waters are an important part of the global carbon cycle, but there is uncertainty in estimating their greenhouse gas emissions. Uncertainty stems from different models and variable estimates of surface water gas concentrations, gas exchange rates, and the global size distribution of water bodies. Emissions from small water bodies are especially difficult to estimate because they are not globally mapped and few studies have assessed their greenhouse gas concentrations and gas exchange rates. To overcome these limitations, we studied greenhouse gases and gas exchange rates in small ponds in temperate forests of the northeastern United States. We then compiled our data with direct measurements of CO2 and CH4 concentrations from 427 ponds and lakes worldwide, and upscaled to estimate greenhouse gas emissions using estimates of gas exchange rates and the size distribution of lakes. We found that small ponds play a disproportionately large role in greenhouse gas emissions. While small ponds only account for about 9% of global lakes and ponds by area, they contribute 15% of CO2 and 41% of diffusive CH4 emissions from inland freshwaters. Secondly, we measured gas exchange velocities (k) in small ponds and compiled direct measurements of k from 67 global water bodies. We found that k is low but highly variable in small ponds, and increases and becomes even more variable with lake size, a finding that is not currently included in global carbon models. In a third study, we found that gas exchange in small ponds is highly sensitive to overnight cooling, which can lead to short bursts of increased k at night, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, these studies show that small ponds are a critical part of the global carbon cycle, and also highlight many knowledge gaps. Therefore, understanding small pond carbon cycling is an important research priority.

  3. Greenhouse gas emissions from naturally ventilated freestall dairy barns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Joo, H. S.; Ndegwa, P. M.; Heber, A. J.; Ni, J.-Q.; Bogan, B. W.; Ramirez-Dorronsoro, J. C.; Cortus, E.

    2015-02-01

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from two naturally-ventilated dairy freestall barns measured for a total of 21 d, one week each in May, July, and September 2009, are presented in this article. The holding capacity of Barn 1 (B1) was 400 Holstein cows, while that for Barn 2 (B2) was 850 cows. Air samples were taken from inlets and outlets of the barns via a custom made multiplexer gas sampling system for measurement of gas concentrations using a photoacoustic infrared multigas analyzer. Barn ventilation rates were based on air velocity measured with arrays of 3-D ultrasonic anemometers at inlets and outlets. Gas concentrations (10 min means) in the barns ranged from: 443-789 ppm for CO2, 0.0-39.4 ppm for CH4, and 0.25-0.39 ppm for N2O; with mean concentrations ranging from 6 to 20%, 0 to 4%, and 26 to 180% above the average background concentrations for CO2, N2O, and CH4, respectively. The correlations between CO2 and CH4 enhanced concentrations were relatively stronger (R of 0.67-0.74) than between CO2 and N2O enhanced concentrations (R of 0.10-0.20). Environmental conditions did not significantly (p = 0.46) impact the enhanced concentrations of N2O in the barns. All three parameters (T, RH, and v) had significant (p < 0.01) influences on CO2 enhanced concentrations; while only T (p < 0.01) and v (p < 0.01) had significant influences on CH4 enhanced concentrations. Enhanced concentrations of CO2 and CH4 correlated negatively with all three parameters. The influence of the temperature-humidity index (THI) on CO2 enhanced concentrations was higher than that of v; while the effect v had on CH4 enhanced concentrations was slightly higher than that of the temperature-humidity index. The average emissions, based on hourly means, ranged from 5.3 to 10.7 kg d-1 AU-1 for CO2; 0.3 to 2.5 g d-1 AU-1 for N2O; and between 67 and 252 g d-1 AU-1 for CH4. Nitrous oxide emissions from the smaller barn, B1 (0.4-2.5 g d-1 AU-1), were significantly higher than from the larger barn, B2

  4. [Effects of superphosphate addition on NH3 and greenhouse gas emissions during vegetable waste composting].

    PubMed

    Yang, Yan; Sun, Qin-ping; Li, Ni; Liu, Chun-sheng; Li, Ji-jin; Liu, Ben-sheng; Zou, Guo-yuan

    2015-01-01

    To study the effects of superphosphate (SP) on the NH, and greenhouse gas emissions, vegetable waste composting was performed for 27 days using 6 different treatments. In addition to the controls, five vegetable waste mixtures (0.77 m3 each) were treated with different amounts of the SP additive, namely, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. The ammonia volatilization loss and greenhouse gas emissions were measured during composting. Results indicated that the SP additive significantly decreased the ammonia volatilization and greenhouse gas emissions during vegetable waste composting. The additive reduced the total NH3 emission by 4.0% to 16.7%. The total greenhouse gas emissions (CO2-eq) of all treatments with SP additives were decreased by 10.2% to 20.8%, as compared with the controls. The NH3 emission during vegetable waste composting had the highest contribution to the greenhouse effect caused by the four different gases. The amount of NH3 (CO2-eq) from each treatment ranged from 59.90 kg . t-1 to 81.58 kg . t-1; NH3(CO2-eq) accounted for 69% to 77% of the total emissions from the four gases. Therefore, SP is a cost-effective phosphorus-based fertilizer that can be used as an additive during vegetable waste composting to reduce the NH3 and greenhouse gas emissions as well as to improve the value of compost as a fertilizer.

  5. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Model (GEM) for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Compliance

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Model (GEM) is a free, desktop computer application that estimates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel efficiency performance of specific aspects of heavy-duty vehicles.

  6. Detection of greenhouse-gas-induced climatic change. Progress report, July 1, 1994--July 31, 1995

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, P.D.; Wigley, T.M.L.

    1995-07-21

    The objective of this research is to assembly and analyze instrumental climate data and to develop and apply climate models as a basis for detecting greenhouse-gas-induced climatic change, and validation of General Circulation Models. In addition to changes due to variations in anthropogenic forcing, including greenhouse gas and aerosol concentration changes, the global climate system exhibits a high degree of internally-generated and externally-forced natural variability. To detect the anthropogenic effect, its signal must be isolated from the ``noise`` of this natural climatic variability. A high quality, spatially extensive data base is required to define the noise and its spatial characteristics.more » To facilitate this, available land and marine data bases will be updated and expanded. The data will be analyzed to determine the potential effects on climate of greenhouse gas and aerosol concentration changes and other factors. Analyses will be guided by a variety of models, from simple energy balance climate models to coupled atmosphere ocean General Circulation Models. These analyses are oriented towards obtaining early evidence of anthropogenic climatic change that would lead either to confirmation, rejection or modification of model projections, and towards the statistical validation of General Circulation Model control runs and perturbation experiments.« less

  7. Greenhouse gas impacts of natural gas: Influence of deployment choice, methane leak rate, and methane GWP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cohan, D. S.

    2015-12-01

    Growing supplies of natural gas have heightened interest in the net impacts of natural gas on climate. Although its production and consumption result in greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas most often substitutes for other fossil fuels whose emission rates may be higher. Because natural gas can be used throughout the sectors of the energy economy, its net impacts on greenhouse gas emissions will depend not only on the leak rates of production and distribution, but also on the use for which natural gas is substituted. Here, we present our estimates of the net greenhouse gas emissions impacts of substituting natural gas for other fossil fuels for five purposes: light-duty vehicles, transit buses, residential heating, electricity generation, and export for electricity generation overseas. Emissions are evaluated on a fuel cycle basis, from production and transport of each fuel through end use combustion, based on recent conditions in the United States. We show that displacement of existing coal-fired electricity and heating oil furnaces yield the largest reductions in emissions. The impact of compressed natural gas replacing petroleum-based vehicles is highly uncertain, with the sign of impact depending on multiple assumptions. Export of liquefied natural gas for electricity yields a moderate amount of emissions reductions. We further show how uncertainties in upstream emission rates for natural gas and in the global warming potential of methane influence the net greenhouse gas impacts. Our presentation will make the case that how natural gas is deployed is crucial to determining how it will impact climate.

  8. Results using flue gas desulfurization gypsum in soilless substrates for greenhouse crops

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Recent availability of Flue Gas Desulfurization gypsum (FGDG) has led to interested in its possible use in horticulture greenhouse production. Three studies were conducted to determine the effects of increasing rates of FGDG on six greenhouse crops. In the first study, substrates (6:1 pine bark:san...

  9. Greenhouse gas emissions from soil under changing environmental conditions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This manuscript is the Guest Editors’ Introduction to a special issue on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The papers were assembled following presentation at EuroSoil 2012. Exchange of greenhouse gases between soils and the atmosphere is a natural consequence of several ecosystem process...

  10. 75 FR 74457 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-30

    ...EPA is promulgating a regulation to require monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum and natural gas systems. This action adds this source category to the list of source categories already required to report greenhouse gas emissions. This action applies to sources with carbon dioxide equivalent emissions above certain threshold levels as described in this regulation. This action does not require control of greenhouse gases.

  11. Greenhouse gases: low methane leakage from gas pipelines.

    PubMed

    Lelieveld, J; Lechtenböhmer, S; Assonov, S S; Brenninkmeijer, C A M; Dienst, C; Fischedick, M; Hanke, T

    2005-04-14

    Using natural gas for fuel releases less carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced than burning oil or coal, but its production and transport are accompanied by emissions of methane, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in the short term. This calls into question whether climate forcing could be reduced by switching from coal and oil to natural gas. We have made measurements in Russia along the world's largest gas-transport system and find that methane leakage is in the region of 1.4%, which is considerably less than expected and comparable to that from systems in the United States. Our calculations indicate that using natural gas in preference to other fossil fuels could be useful in the short term for mitigating climate change.

  12. Greenhouse gas emissions in an agroforestry system in the southeastern USA

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Agroforestry systems may provide diverse ecosystem services and economic benefits that conventional agriculture cannot, e.g. potentially mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by enhancing nutrient cycling, since tree roots can capture nutrients not taken up by crops. However, greenhouse gas emission ...

  13. Comparison of gas-solid chromatography and MM2 force field molecular binding energies for greenhouse gases on a carbonaceous surface.

    PubMed

    Rybolt, Thomas R; Bivona, Kevin T; Thomas, Howard E; O'Dell, Casey M

    2009-10-01

    Gas-solid chromatography was used to determine B(2s) (gas-solid virial coefficient) values for eight molecular adsorbates interacting with a carbon powder (Carbopack B, Supelco). B(2s) values were determined by multiple size variant injections within the temperature range of 313-553 K. The molecular adsorbates included: carbon dioxide (CO(2)); tetrafluoromethane (CF(4)); hexafluoroethane (C(2)F(6)); 1,1-difluoroethane (C(2)H(4)F(2)); 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane (C(2)H(3)ClF(2)); dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl(2)F(2)); trichlorofluoromethane (CCl(3)F); and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (C(2)H(3)Cl(3)). Two of these molecules are of special interest because they are "super greenhouse gases". The global warming potential, GWP, for CF(4) is 6500 and for C(2)F(6) is 9200 relative to the reference value of 1 for CO(2). The GWP index considers both radiative blocking and molecular lifetime. For these and other industrial greenhouse gases, adsorptive trapping on a carbonaceous solid, which depends on molecule-surface binding energy, could avoid atmospheric release. The temperature variations of the gas-solid virial coefficients in conjunction with van't Hoff plots were used to find the experimental adsorption energy or binding energy values (E(*)) for each adsorbate. A molecular mechanics based, rough-surface model was used to calculate the molecule-surface binding energy (Ecal(*)) using augmented MM2 parameters. The surface model consisted of parallel graphene layers with two separated nanostructures each containing 17 benzene rings arranged in linear strips. The separation of the parallel nanostructures had been optimized in a prior study to appropriately represent molecule-surface interactions for Carbopack B. Linear regressions of E(*) versus Ecal(*) for the current data set of eight molecules and the same surface model gave E(*)=0.926 Ecal(*) and r(2)=0.956. A combined set of the current and prior Carbopack B adsorbates studied (linear alkanes, branched alkanes, cyclic alkanes

  14. Annexin A1, Annexin A2, and Dyrk 1B are upregulated during GAS1-induced cell cycle arrest.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Sánchez, Gilberto; Jiménez, Adriana; Quezada-Ramírez, Marco A; Estudillo, Enrique; Ayala-Sarmiento, Alberto E; Mendoza-Hernández, Guillermo; Hernández-Soto, Justino; Hernández-Hernández, Fidel C; Cázares-Raga, Febe E; Segovia, Jose

    2018-05-01

    GAS1 is a pleiotropic protein that has been investigated because of its ability to induce cell proliferation, cell arrest, and apoptosis, depending on the cellular or the physiological context in which it is expressed. At this point, we have information about the molecular mechanisms by which GAS1 induces proliferation and apoptosis; but very few studies have been focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which GAS1 induces cell arrest. With the aim of expanding our knowledge on this subject, we first focused our research on finding proteins that were preferentially expressed in cells arrested by serum deprivation. By using a proteomics approach and mass spectrometry analysis, we identified 17 proteins in the 2-DE protein profile of serum deprived NIH3T3 cells. Among them, Annexin A1 (Anxa1), Annexin A2 (Anxa2), dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1B (Dyrk1B), and Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, F (eIf3f) were upregulated at transcriptional the level in proliferative NIH3T3 cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that Anxa1, Anxa2, and Dyrk1b are upregulated at both the transcriptional and translational levels by the overexpression of GAS1. Thus, our results suggest that the upregulation of Anxa1, Anxa2, and Dyrk1b could be related to the ability of GAS1 to induce cell arrest and maintain cell viability. Finally, we provided further evidence showing that GAS1 through Dyrk 1B leads not only to the arrest of NIH3T3 cells but also maintains cell viability. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: A Panel Cointegration Analysis for 16 Asian Countries.

    PubMed

    Lu, Wen-Cheng

    2017-11-22

    This research investigates the co-movement and causality relationships between greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and economic growth for 16 Asian countries over the period 1990-2012. The empirical findings suggest that in the long run, bidirectional Granger causality between energy consumption, GDP and greenhouse gas emissions and between GDP, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption is established. A non-linear, quadratic relationship is revealed between greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and economic growth, consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve for these 16 Asian countries and a subsample of the Asian new industrial economy. Short-run relationships are regionally specific across the Asian continent. From the viewpoint of energy policy in Asia, various governments support low-carbon or renewable energy use and are reducing fossil fuel combustion to sustain economic growth, but in some countries, evidence suggests that energy conservation might only be marginal.

  16. Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: A Panel Cointegration Analysis for 16 Asian Countries

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    This research investigates the co-movement and causality relationships between greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and economic growth for 16 Asian countries over the period 1990–2012. The empirical findings suggest that in the long run, bidirectional Granger causality between energy consumption, GDP and greenhouse gas emissions and between GDP, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption is established. A non-linear, quadratic relationship is revealed between greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and economic growth, consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve for these 16 Asian countries and a subsample of the Asian new industrial economy. Short-run relationships are regionally specific across the Asian continent. From the viewpoint of energy policy in Asia, various governments support low-carbon or renewable energy use and are reducing fossil fuel combustion to sustain economic growth, but in some countries, evidence suggests that energy conservation might only be marginal. PMID:29165399

  17. INVENTORY OF U.S. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SINKS 1990-2011

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Environmental Protection Agency submits the U.S. greenhouse gas inventory as an annual reporting requirement under UNFCCC, which the United States and other developed countries signed June 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. The EPA has submitted the greenhouse gas inventory to the...

  18. INVENTORY OF U.S. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SINKS 1990-2004

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Environmental Protection Agency submits the U.S. greenhouse gas inventory as an annual reporting requirement under UNFCCC, which the United States and other developed countries signed June 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. The EPA has submitted the greenhouse gas inventory to the...

  19. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoir Water Surfaces: A ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Collectively, reservoirs are an important anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere. Attempts to model reservoir GHG fluxes, however, have been limited by inconsistencies in methodological approaches and data availability. An increase in the number of published reservoir GHG flux estimates during the last 15 years warrants a comprehensive analysis of the magnitude and potential controls on these fluxes. Here we synthesize worldwide reservoir CH4, CO2, and N2O emission data and estimate that GHG emissions from reservoirs account for 80.2 Tmol CO2 equivalents yr-1, thus constituting approximately 5% of anthropogenic radiative forcing. The majority (93%) of these emissions are from CH4, and mainly in the form of bubbles. While age and latitude have historically been linked to reservoir GHG emissions, we found that factors related to reservoir nutrient status and rainfall were better predictors. In particular, nutrient-rich eutrophic reservoirs were found to have an order of magnitude higher per-area CH4 fluxes, on average, than their nutrient-poor oligotrophic counterparts. Therefore, management measures to reduce reservoir eutrophication may result in an important co-benefit, the reduction of GHG emissions to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)

  20. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality: Two global challenges.

    PubMed

    Erickson, Larry E

    2017-07-01

    There are many good reasons to promote sustainable development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other combustion emissions. The air quality in many urban environments is causing many premature deaths because of asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and dementia associated with combustion emissions. The global social cost of air pollution is at least $3 trillion/year; particulates, nitrogen oxides and ozone associated with combustion emissions are very costly pollutants. Better air quality in urban environments is one of the reasons for countries to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. There are many potential benefits associated with limiting climate change. In the recent past, the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been increasing and the number of weather and climate disasters with costs over $1 billion has been increasing. The average global temperature set new record highs in 2014, 2015, and 2016. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to electric vehicles and electricity generation using renewable energy must take place in accord with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This work reviews progress and identifies some of the health benefits associated with reducing combustion emissions. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 982-988, 2017.

  1. Characterization factors for water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions based on freshwater fish species extinction.

    PubMed

    Hanafiah, Marlia M; Xenopoulos, Marguerite A; Pfister, Stephan; Leuven, Rob S E W; Huijbregts, Mark A J

    2011-06-15

    Human-induced changes in water consumption and global warming are likely to reduce the species richness of freshwater ecosystems. So far, these impacts have not been addressed in the context of life cycle assessment (LCA). Here, we derived characterization factors for water consumption and global warming based on freshwater fish species loss. Calculation of characterization factors for potential freshwater fish losses from water consumption were estimated using a generic species-river discharge curve for 214 global river basins. We also derived characterization factors for potential freshwater fish species losses per unit of greenhouse gas emission. Based on five global climate scenarios, characterization factors for 63 greenhouse gas emissions were calculated. Depending on the river considered, characterization factors for water consumption can differ up to 3 orders of magnitude. Characterization factors for greenhouse gas emissions can vary up to 5 orders of magnitude, depending on the atmospheric residence time and radiative forcing efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions. An emission of 1 ton of CO₂ is expected to cause the same impact on potential fish species disappearance as the water consumption of 10-1000 m³, depending on the river basin considered. Our results make it possible to compare the impact of water consumption with greenhouse gas emissions.

  2. Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aircraft

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are taking coordinated steps to enable the production of a new generation of clean vehicles, through reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improved fuel use from onroad vehicles.

  3. Quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed wetland systems

    Treesearch

    Stephen M Ogle; Patrick Hunt; Carl Trettin

    2014-01-01

    This chapter provides methodologies and guidance for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sinks at the entity scale for managed wetland systems. More specifically, it focuses on methods for managed palustrine wetlands.1 Section 4.1 provides an overview of wetland systems and resulting GHG emissions, system boundaries and temporal scale, a summary of the...

  4. The comparison of fossil carbon fraction and greenhouse gas emissions through an analysis of exhaust gases from urban solid waste incineration facilities.

    PubMed

    Kim, Seungjin; Kang, Seongmin; Lee, Jeongwoo; Lee, Seehyung; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Jeon, Eui-Chan

    2016-10-01

    In this study, in order to understand accurate calculation of greenhouse gas emissions of urban solid waste incineration facilities, which are major waste incineration facilities, and problems likely to occur at this time, emissions were calculated by classifying calculation methods into 3 types. For the comparison of calculation methods, the waste characteristics ratio, dry substance content by waste characteristics, carbon content in dry substance, and (12)C content were analyzed; and in particular, CO2 concentration in incineration gases and (12)C content were analyzed together. In this study, 3 types of calculation methods were made through the assay value, and by using each calculation method, emissions of urban solid waste incineration facilities were calculated then compared. As a result of comparison, with Calculation Method A, which used the default value as presented in the IPCC guidelines, greenhouse gas emissions were calculated for the urban solid waste incineration facilities A and B at 244.43 ton CO2/day and 322.09 ton CO2/day, respectively. Hence, it showed a lot of difference from Calculation Methods B and C, which used the assay value of this study. It is determined that this was because the default value as presented in IPCC, as the world average value, could not reflect the characteristics of urban solid waste incineration facilities. Calculation Method B indicated 163.31 ton CO2/day and 230.34 ton CO2/day respectively for the urban solid waste incineration facilities A and B; also, Calculation Method C indicated 151.79 ton CO2/day and 218.99 ton CO2/day, respectively. This study intends to compare greenhouse gas emissions calculated using (12)C content default value provided by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) with greenhouse gas emissions calculated using (12)C content and waste assay value that can reflect the characteristics of the target urban solid waste incineration facilities. Also, the concentration and (12)C content

  5. Greenhouse gas mitigation in a carbon constrained world - the role of CCS in Germany

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schumacher, Katja; Sands, Ronald D.

    2009-01-05

    In a carbon constrained world, at least four classes of greenhouse gas mitigation options are available: energy efficiency, switching to low or carbon-free energy sources, introduction of carbon dioxide capture and storage along with electric generating technologies, and reductions in emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases. The contribution of each option to overall greenhouse gas mitigation varies by cost, scale, and timing. In particular, carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) promises to allow for low-emissions fossil-fuel based power generation. This is particularly relevant for Germany, where electricity generation is largely coal-based and, at the same time, ambitious climate targets are inmore » place. Our objective is to provide a balanced analysis of the various classes of greenhouse gas mitigation options with a particular focus on CCS for Germany. We simulate the potential role of advanced fossil fuel based electricity generating technologies with CCS (IGCC, NGCC) as well the potential for retrofit with CCS for existing and currently built fossil plants from the present through 2050. We employ a computable general equilibrium (CGE) economic model as a core model and integrating tool.« less

  6. Moisture effects on greenhouse gases generation in nitrifying gas-phase compost biofilters.

    PubMed

    Maia, Guilherme D N; Day, George B; Gates, Richard S; Taraba, Joseph L; Coyne, Mark S

    2012-06-01

    Gas-phase compost biofilters are extensively used in concentrated animal feeding operations to remove odors and, in some cases, ammonia from air sources. The expected biochemical pathway for these predominantly aerobic systems is nitrification. However, non-uniform media with low oxygen levels can shift biofilter microbial pathways to denitrification, a source of greenhouse gases. Several factors contribute to the formation of anoxic/anaerobic zones: media aging, media and particle structure, air velocity distribution, compaction, biofilm thickness, and moisture content (MC) distribution. The present work studies the effects of media moisture conditions on ammonia (NH(3)) removal and greenhouse gas generation (nitrous oxide, N(2)O and methane, CH(4)) for gas-phase compost biofilters subject to a 100-day controlled drying process. Continuous recordings were made for the three gases and water vapor (2.21-h sampling cycle, each cycle consisted of three gas species, and water vapor, for a total of 10,050 data points). Media moisture conditions were classified into three corresponding media drying rate (DR) stages: Constant DR (wetter media), falling DR, and stable-dry system. The first-half of the constant DR period (0-750 h; MC=65-52%, w.b.) facilitated high NH(3) removal rates, but higher N(2)O generation and no CH(4) generation. At the drier stages of the constant DR (750-950 h; MC=52-48%, w.b.) NH(3) removal remained high but N(2)O net generation decreased to near zero. In the falling DR stage (1200-1480 h; MC=44-13%) N(2)O generation decreased, CH(4) increased, and NH(3) was no longer removed. No ammonia removal or greenhouse gas generation was observed in the stable-dry system (1500-2500 h; MC=13%). These results indicate that media should remain toward the drier region of the constant DR (in close proximity to the falling DR stage; MC=50%, approx.), to maintain high levels of NH(3) removal, reduced levels of N(2)O generation, and nullify levels of CH(4

  7. Current and Future Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Global Crop Intensification and Expansion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlson, K. M.; Gerber, J. S.; Mueller, N. D.; O'Connell, C.; West, P. C.

    2014-12-01

    Food systems currently contribute up to one-third of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and these emissions are expected to rise as demand for agricultural products increases. Thus, improving the greenhouse gas emissions efficiency of agriculture - the tons or kilocalories of production per ton of CO2 equivalent emissions - will be critical to support a resilient future global system. Here, we model and evaluate global, 2000-era, spatially explicit relationships between a suite of greenhouse gas emissions from various agronomic practices (i.e., fertilizer application, peatland draining, and rice cultivation) and crop yields. Then, we predict potential emissions from future crop production increases achieved through intensification and extensification, including CO2 emissions from croplands replacing non-urban land cover. We find that 2000-era yield-scaled agronomic emissions are highly heterogeneous across crops types, crop management practices, and regions. Rice agriculture produces more total CO2-equivalent emissions than any other crop. Moreover, inundated rice in just a few countries contributes the vast majority of these rice emissions. Crops such as sunflower and cotton have low efficiency on a caloric basis. Our results suggest that intensification tends to be a more efficient pathway to boost greenhouse gas emissions efficiency than expansion. We conclude by discussing potential crop- and region-specific agricultural development pathways that may boost the greenhouse gas emissions efficiency of agriculture.

  8. Nitrous Oxide: A Greenhouse Gas That is Also an Ozone Layer Depleting Gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reed, S.; Uriarte, M.; Wood, T. E.; Cavaleri, M. A.; Lugo, A. E.

    2014-12-01

    Nitrous oxide, N2O, is the major source of nitrogen oxides in the stratosphere, where these oxides playa critical roles in ozone layer depletion by itself and moderating ozone layer depletion by chlorinated chemicals. Thus N2O plays a complex role in the stratosphere. Nitrous oxide is also a greenhouse gas and it contributes to the radiative forcing of climate. Indeed, it is considered the third most important greenhouse gas next to carbon dioxide and methane. This dual role of nitrous oxide makes it an interesting gas for the atmosphere- it bridges the issue of ozone layer depletion and climate change. Nitrous oxide has both natural and anthropogenic sources. Therefore, one needs to consider this important distinction between natural and anthropogenic sources as well as its role in two related but separate environmental issues. Further, the sources of nitrous oxide are varied and diffuse, which makes it difficult to quantify different sources. However, it is clear that a majority of anthropogenic nitrous oxide comes from food production (including agricultural and animal growth practices), an activity that is at the heart of human existence. Thus, limiting N2O emissions is not a simple task! I will briefly summarize our understanding of these roles of nitrous oxide in the earth's atmosphere and touch on the possible ways to limit N2O emissions.

  9. Nitrous Oxide: A Greenhouse Gas That is Also an Ozone Layer Depleting Gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ravishankara, A. R.

    2015-12-01

    Nitrous oxide, N2O, is the major source of nitrogen oxides in the stratosphere, where these oxides playa critical roles in ozone layer depletion by itself and moderating ozone layer depletion by chlorinated chemicals. Thus N2O plays a complex role in the stratosphere. Nitrous oxide is also a greenhouse gas and it contributes to the radiative forcing of climate. Indeed, it is considered the third most important greenhouse gas next to carbon dioxide and methane. This dual role of nitrous oxide makes it an interesting gas for the atmosphere- it bridges the issue of ozone layer depletion and climate change. Nitrous oxide has both natural and anthropogenic sources. Therefore, one needs to consider this important distinction between natural and anthropogenic sources as well as its role in two related but separate environmental issues. Further, the sources of nitrous oxide are varied and diffuse, which makes it difficult to quantify different sources. However, it is clear that a majority of anthropogenic nitrous oxide comes from food production (including agricultural and animal growth practices), an activity that is at the heart of human existence. Thus, limiting N2O emissions is not a simple task! I will briefly summarize our understanding of these roles of nitrous oxide in the earth's atmosphere and touch on the possible ways to limit N2O emissions.

  10. A life cycle greenhouse gas inventory of a tree production system

    Treesearch

    Alissa Kendall; E. Gregory McPherson

    2012-01-01

    PurposeThis study provides a detailed, process-based life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory of an ornamental tree production system for urban forestry. The success of large-scale tree planting initiatives for climate protection depends on projects being net sinks for CO2 over their entire life cycle....

  11. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality: Two global challenges

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    There are many good reasons to promote sustainable development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other combustion emissions. The air quality in many urban environments is causing many premature deaths because of asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and dementia associated with combustion emissions. The global social cost of air pollution is at least $3 trillion/year; particulates, nitrogen oxides and ozone associated with combustion emissions are very costly pollutants. Better air quality in urban environments is one of the reasons for countries to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. There are many potential benefits associated with limiting climate change. In the recent past, the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been increasing and the number of weather and climate disasters with costs over $1 billion has been increasing. The average global temperature set new record highs in 2014, 2015, and 2016. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to electric vehicles and electricity generation using renewable energy must take place in accord with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This work reviews progress and identifies some of the health benefits associated with reducing combustion emissions. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 982–988, 2017 PMID:29238442

  12. 77 FR 26476 - Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-04

    ... Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units AGENCY... Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units.'' The EPA is making... for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, and...

  13. Creating a Methodology for Coordinating High-resolution Air Quality Improvement Map and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Strategies in Pittsburgh City

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, J.; Donahue, N. M.; Klima, K.; Blackhurst, M.

    2016-12-01

    In order to tradeoff global impacts of greenhouse gases with highly local impacts of conventional air pollution, researchers require a method to compare global and regional impacts. Unfortunately, we are not aware of a method that allows these to be compared, "apples-to-apples". In this research we propose a three-step model to compare possible city-wide actions to reduce greenhouse gases and conventional air pollutants. We focus on Pittsburgh, PA, a city with consistently poor air quality that is interested in reducing both greenhouse gases and conventional air pollutants. First, we use the 2013 Pittsburgh Greenhouse Gas Inventory to update the Blackhurst et al. model and conduct a greenhouse gas abatement potentials and implementation costs of proposed greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Second, we use field tests for PM2.5, NOx, SOx, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) data to inform a Land-use Regression Model for local air pollution at a 100m x 100m spatial level, which combined with a social cost of air pollution model (EASIUR) allows us to calculate economic social damages. Third, we combine these two models into a three-dimensional greenhouse gas cost abatement curve to understand the implementation costs and social benefits in terms of air quality improvement and greenhouse gas abatement for each potential intervention. We anticipated such results could provide policy-maker insights in green city development.

  14. Towards European organisation for integrated greenhouse gas observation system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaukolehto, Marjut; Vesala, Timo; Sorvari, Sanna; Juurola, Eija; Paris, Jean-Daniel

    2013-04-01

    Climate change is one the most challenging problems that humanity will have to cope with in the coming decades. The perturbed global biogeochemical cycles of the greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) are a major driving force of current and future climate change. Deeper understanding of the driving forces of climate change requires full quantification of the greenhouse gas emissions and sinks and their evolution. Regional greenhouse gas budgets, tipping-points, vulnerabilities and the controlling mechanisms can be assessed by long term, high precision observations in the atmosphere and at the ocean and land surface. ICOS RI is a distributed infrastructure for on-line, in-situ monitoring of greenhouse gases (GHG) necessary to understand their present-state and future sinks and sources. ICOS RI provides the long-term observations required to understand the present state and predict future behaviour of the global carbon cycle and greenhouse gas emissions. Linking research, education and innovation promotes technological development and demonstrations related to greenhouse gases. The first objective of ICOS RI is to provide effective access to coherent and precise data and to provide assessments of GHG inventories with high temporal and spatial resolution. The second objective is to provide profound information for research and understanding of regional budgets of greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their human and natural drivers, and the controlling mechanisms. ICOS is one of several ESFRI initiatives in the environmental science domain. There is significant potential for structural and synergetic interaction with several other ESFRI initiatives. ICOS RI is relevant for Joint Programming by providing the data access for the researchers and acting as a contact point for developing joint strategic research agendas among European member states. The preparatory phase ends in March 2013 and there will be an interim period before the legal entity will

  15. Modeling greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Evaluation and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms requires a comprehensive approach that integrates the impacts and interactions of all important sources and sinks. This approach requires some form of modeling. Types of models commonly used include empirical emission factors, pr...

  16. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options Database and Tool - Data repository of GHG mitigation technologies.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Industry and electricity production facilities generate over 50 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. There is a growing consensus among scientists that the primary cause of climate change is anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing GHG emi...

  17. Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of coal, conventional and unconventional natural gas for electricity generation

    EPA Science Inventory

    An analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with natural gas use recently published by Howarth et al. (2011) stated that use of natural gas produced from shale formations via hydraulic fracturing would generate greater lifecycle GHG emissions than petro...

  18. 75 FR 43889 - Proposed Confidentiality Determinations for Data Required Under the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-27

    ... Proposed Confidentiality Determinations for Data Required Under the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule... Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule and Proposed Amendment to Special Rules Governing Certain Information Obtained... the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule,'' also signed today. This action addresses only the...

  19. Wellbeing Impacts of City Policies for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    PubMed Central

    Hiscock, Rosemary; Mudu, Pierpaolo; Braubach, Matthias; Martuzzi, Marco; Perez, Laura; Sabel, Clive

    2014-01-01

    To mitigate climate change, city authorities are developing policies in areas such as transportation, housing and energy use, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to their effects on greenhouse gas emissions, these policies are likely to have consequences for the wellbeing of their populations for example through changes in opportunities to take physical exercise. In order to explore the potential consequences for wellbeing, we first explore what ‘wellbeing’ is and how it can be operationalized for urban planners. In this paper, we illustrate how wellbeing can be divided into objective and subjective aspects which can be measured quantitatively; our review of measures informs the development of a theoretical model linking wellbeing to policies which cities use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, we discuss the extent to which the links proposed in the conceptual model are supported by the literature and how cities can assess wellbeing implications of policies. PMID:25464129

  20. Greenhouse gas reduction through state and local transportation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-09-01

    This report will improve understanding of how states and localities might contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions : reduction through transportation planning. Transportation is a major contributor to GHG emissions. State and local transportation...

  1. Energy and greenhouse gas profiles of polyhydroxybutyrates derived from corn grain: a life cycle perspective.

    PubMed

    Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E

    2008-10-15

    Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHB) are well-known biopolymers derived from sugars orvegetable oils. Cradle-to-gate environmental performance of PHB derived from corn grain is evaluated through life cycle assessment (LCA), particularly nonrenewable energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Site-specific process information on the corn wet milling and PHB fermentation and recovery processes was obtained from Telles. Most of energy used in the corn wet milling and PHB fermentation and recovery processes is generated in a cogeneration power plant in which corn stover, assumed to be representative of a variety of biomass sources that could be used, is burned to generate electricity and steam. County level agricultural information is used in estimating the environmental burdens associated with both corn grain and corn stover production. Results show that PHB derived from corn grain offers environmental advantages over petroleum-derived polymers in terms of nonrenewable energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, PHB provides greenhouse gas credits, and thus PHB use reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-derived polymers. Corn cultivation is one of the environmentally sensitive areas in the PHB production system. More sustainable practices in corn cultivation (e.g., using no-tillage and winter cover crops) could reduce the environmental impacts of PHB by up to 72%.

  2. 77 FR 69585 - Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program: Proposed Amendments and Confidentiality Determinations for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-20

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 98 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0028; FRL-9753-2] Greenhouse Gas... announcing an extension of the public comment period for the proposed rule titled ``Greenhouse Gas Reporting... [[Page 69586

  3. Annual Greenhouse Gas (CO2, CH4, and N2O) Fluxes Via Ebullition from a Temperate Emergent Wetland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mcnicol, G.; Sturtevant, C. S.; Knox, S. H.; Baldocchi, D. D.; Silver, W. L.

    2014-12-01

    Quantifying wetland greenhouse gas exchange is necessary to evaluate their potential for mitigating climate change via carbon sequestration. However measuring greenhouse gas fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) in wetlands is difficult due to high spatial and temporal variability, and multiple transport pathways of emission. Transport of biogenic soil gas via highly sporadic ebullition (bubbling) events is often ignored or quantified poorly in wetland greenhouse gas budgets, but can rapidly release large volumes of gas to the atmosphere. To quantify a robust annual ebullition flux we measured rates continuously for a year (2013-2014) using custom-built chambers deployed in a restored emergent wetland located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, CA. We combined ebullition flux rates with observations of gas concentrations to estimate annual ebullition emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O and compare flux rates to whole-ecosystem exchange of CO2 and CH4 measured simultaneously by eddy covariance.Mean ebullition flux rates were 18.3 ± 5.6 L m-2 yr-1. Ebullition CH4 concentrations were very high and ranged from 23-76 % with a mean of 47 ± 2.9 %; CO2 concentrations were lower and ranged from 0.7-6.6 % with a mean of 2.8 ± 0.3 %; N2O concentrations were below atmospheric concentrations and ranged from 130-389 ppb(v) with a mean of 257 ± 13 ppb(v). We calculated well-constrained annual ebullition fluxes of: 6.2 ± 1.9 g CH4 m-2 yr-1, 1.0 ± 0.3 g CO2 m-2 yr-1 and 9.3 ± 2.8 mg N2O m-2 yr-1. Methane emissions via ebullition were very large, representing 15-25 % of total wetland CH4 emissions measured at this site, whereas ebullition released only relatively small quantities of CO2 and N2O. Our results demonstrate that large releases of CH4 via ebullition from open water surfaces can be a significant component of restored wetland greenhouse gas budgets.

  4. Effect of land use on greenhouse gas emission in tropical ecosystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Six, Johan

    2017-04-01

    Tropical ecosystems play an important role for the regional and global climate system through the exchange of greenhouse gases and provide important ecosystems services such as carbon sequestration, produce, and biodiversity. Human activities have, however, resulted in intensive transformation of tropical ecosystems impacting the cycling of nutrients, water and carbon underlying the greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, best-bet agricultural practices can reduce greenhouse gas emission, those directly emitted from the agricultural fields, but also indirectly through less demand on new land and hence forest conservation. Here, I will provide some insights into the main factors affecting the exchange of greenhouse gases from the plot to continental scale through some specific case studies. Experimental data, stable isotopes and modeling results will be presented.

  5. Contribution of cooperative sector recycling to greenhouse gas emissions reduction: a case study of Ribeirão Pires, Brazil.

    PubMed

    King, Megan F; Gutberlet, Jutta

    2013-12-01

    Solid waste, including municipal waste and its management, is a major challenge for most cities and among the key contributors to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through recovery and recycling of resources from the municipal solid waste stream. In São Paulo, Brazil, recycling cooperatives play a crucial role in providing recycling services including collection, separation, cleaning, stocking, and sale of recyclable resources. The present research attempts to measure the greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved by the recycling cooperative Cooperpires, as well as highlight its socioeconomic benefits. Methods include participant observation, structured interviews, questionnaire application, and greenhouse gas accounting of recycling using a Clean Development Mechanism methodology. The results show that recycling cooperatives can achieve important energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and suggest there is an opportunity for Cooperpires and other similar recycling groups to participate in the carbon credit market. Based on these findings, the authors created a simple greenhouse gas accounting calculator for recyclers to estimate their emissions reductions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Joint implementation: Biodiversity and greenhouse gas offsets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cutright, Noel J.

    1996-11-01

    One of the most pressing environmental issues today is the possibility that projected increases in global emissions of greenhouse gases from increased deforestation, development, and fossil-fuel combustion could significantly alter global climate patterns. Under the terms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in Rio de Janeiro during the June 1992 Earth Summit, the United States and other industrialized countries committed to balancing greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels in the year 2000. Included in the treaty is a provision titled “Joint Implementation,” whereby industrialized countries assist developing countries in jointly modifying long-term emission trends, either through emission reductions or by protecting and enhancing greenhouse gas sinks (carbon sequestration). The US Climate Action Plan, signed by President Clinton in 1993, calls for voluntary climate change mitigation measures by various sectors, and the action plan included a new program, the US Initiative on Joint Implementation. Wisconsin Electric decided to invest in a Jl project because its concept encourages creative, cost-effective solutions to environmental problems through partnering, international cooperation, and innovation. The project chosen, a forest preservation and management effort in Belize, will sequester more than five million tons of carbon dioxide over a 40-year period, will become economically selfsustaining after ten years, and will have substantial biodiversity benefits.

  7. Greenhouse gas emissions from alternative water supply processes in southern California, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schneider, A.; Townsend-Small, A.

    2012-12-01

    Burgeoning population centers and declining hydrological resources have encouraged the development of alternative water treatment systems, including desalination and wastewater recycling. These processes currently provide potable water for millions of people and assist in satisfying agricultural and landscaping irrigation demands. There are a variety of alternative water production methods in place, and while they help to reduce the demands placed on aquifers, during their operation they are also significant sources of greenhouse gases. The environmental advantages of these alternative water production methods need to be carefully weighed against their energy footprints and greenhouse gas emissions profiles. This study measured the greenhouse gas emissions of a wastewater treatment and recycling facility in Orange County, California to get a more complete picture of the carbon footprint of the plant. We measured atmospheric emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O throughout the water recycling process and at various times of the day and week. This allowed us to assemble a thorough, cross-sectional profile of greenhouse gas emissions from the facility. We then compared the measured emissions of the treatment plant to the modeled emissions of desalination plants in order to assess the relative carbon footprints of the two water production methods. Other water supply alternatives, including regional water importation, were also included in the comparison in order to provide a more complete understanding of the potential greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, we assessed the significance of wastewater treatment as an urban greenhouse gas source when compared to other known emissions in the region. This research offers a valuable tool for sustainable urban and regional development by providing planners with a quantified comparison of the carbon footprints of several water production options.

  8. Accounting for time-dependent effects in biofuel life cycle greenhouse gas emissions calculations.

    PubMed

    Kendall, Alissa; Chang, Brenda; Sharpe, Benjamin

    2009-09-15

    This paper proposes a time correction factor (TCF) to properly account for the timing of land use change-derived greenhouse gas emissions in the biofuels life cycle. Land use change emissions occur at the outset of biofuel feedstock production, and are typically amortized over an assumed time horizon to assign the burdens of land use change to multiple generations of feedstock crops. Greenhouse gas intensity calculations amortize emissions by dividing them equally over a time horizon, overlooking the fact that the effect of a greenhouse gas increases with the time it remains in the atmosphere. The TCF is calculated based on the relative climate change effect of an emission occurring at the outset of biofuel feedstock cultivation versus one amortized over a time horizon. For time horizons between 10 and 50 years, the TCF varies between 1.7 and 1.8 for carbon dioxide emissions, indicating that the actual climate change effect of an emission is 70-80% higher than the effect of its amortized values. The TCF has broad relevance for correcting the treatment of emissions timing in other life cycle assessment applications, such as emissions from capital investments for production systems or manufacturing emissions for renewable energy technologies.

  9. Multi-objective optimisation of wastewater treatment plant control to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    PubMed

    Sweetapple, Christine; Fu, Guangtao; Butler, David

    2014-05-15

    This study investigates the potential of control strategy optimisation for the reduction of operational greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment in a cost-effective manner, and demonstrates that significant improvements can be realised. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, NSGA-II, is used to derive sets of Pareto optimal operational and control parameter values for an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant, with objectives including minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions, operational costs and effluent pollutant concentrations, subject to legislative compliance. Different problem formulations are explored, to identify the most effective approach to emissions reduction, and the sets of optimal solutions enable identification of trade-offs between conflicting objectives. It is found that multi-objective optimisation can facilitate a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions without the need for plant redesign or modification of the control strategy layout, but there are trade-offs to consider: most importantly, if operational costs are not to be increased, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is likely to incur an increase in effluent ammonia and total nitrogen concentrations. Design of control strategies for a high effluent quality and low costs alone is likely to result in an inadvertent increase in greenhouse gas emissions, so it is of key importance that effects on emissions are considered in control strategy development and optimisation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Greenhouse gas mitigation can reduce sea-ice loss and increase polar bear persistence.

    PubMed

    Amstrup, Steven C; Deweaver, Eric T; Douglas, David C; Marcot, Bruce G; Durner, George M; Bitz, Cecilia M; Bailey, David A

    2010-12-16

    On the basis of projected losses of their essential sea-ice habitats, a United States Geological Survey research team concluded in 2007 that two-thirds of the world's polar bears (Ursus maritimus) could disappear by mid-century if business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue. That projection, however, did not consider the possible benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation. A key question is whether temperature increases lead to proportional losses of sea-ice habitat, or whether sea-ice cover crosses a tipping point and irreversibly collapses when temperature reaches a critical threshold. Such a tipping point would mean future greenhouse gas mitigation would confer no conservation benefits to polar bears. Here we show, using a general circulation model, that substantially more sea-ice habitat would be retained if greenhouse gas rise is mitigated. We also show, with Bayesian network model outcomes, that increased habitat retention under greenhouse gas mitigation means that polar bears could persist throughout the century in greater numbers and more areas than in the business-as-usual case. Our general circulation model outcomes did not reveal thresholds leading to irreversible loss of ice; instead, a linear relationship between global mean surface air temperature and sea-ice habitat substantiated the hypothesis that sea-ice thermodynamics can overcome albedo feedbacks proposed to cause sea-ice tipping points. Our outcomes indicate that rapid summer ice losses in models and observations represent increased volatility of a thinning sea-ice cover, rather than tipping-point behaviour. Mitigation-driven Bayesian network outcomes show that previously predicted declines in polar bear distribution and numbers are not unavoidable. Because polar bears are sentinels of the Arctic marine ecosystem and trends in their sea-ice habitats foreshadow future global changes, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to improve polar bear status would have conservation benefits throughout

  11. Greenhouse gas mitigation can reduce sea-ice loss and increase polar bear persistence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Amstrup, Steven C.; Deweaver, E.T.; Douglas, David C.; Marcot, B.G.; Durner, George M.; Bitz, C.M.; Bailey, D.A.

    2010-01-01

    On the basis of projected losses of their essential sea-ice habitats, a United States Geological Survey research team concluded in 2007 that two-thirds of the worlds polar bears (Ursus maritimus) could disappear by mid-century if business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue. That projection, however, did not consider the possible benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation. A key question is whether temperature increases lead to proportional losses of sea-ice habitat, or whether sea-ice cover crosses a tipping point and irreversibly collapses when temperature reaches a critical threshold. Such a tipping point would mean future greenhouse gas mitigation would confer no conservation benefits to polar bears. Here we show, using a general circulation model, that substantially more sea-ice habitat would be retained if greenhouse gas rise is mitigated. We also show, with Bayesian network model outcomes, that increased habitat retention under greenhouse gas mitigation means that polar bears could persist throughout the century in greater numbers and more areas than in the business-as-usual case. Our general circulation model outcomes did not reveal thresholds leading to irreversible loss of ice; instead, a linear relationship between global mean surface air temperature and sea-ice habitat substantiated the hypothesis that sea-ice thermodynamics can overcome albedo feedbacks proposed to cause sea-ice tipping points. Our outcomes indicate that rapid summer ice losses in models and observations represent increased volatility of a thinning sea-ice cover, rather than tipping-point behaviour. Mitigation-driven Bayesian network outcomes show that previously predicted declines in polar bear distribution and numbers are not unavoidable. Because polar bears are sentinels of the Arctic marine ecosystem and trends in their sea-ice habitats foreshadow future global changes, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to improve polar bear status would have conservation benefits throughout

  12. 78 FR 25392 - Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revision to Best Available Monitoring Method Request Submission...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-01

    .... 211112 Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. Table 1 of this preamble is not intended to be... Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revision to Best Available Monitoring Method Request Submission Deadline for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems Source Category AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION...

  13. Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from University Purchases

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thurston, Matthew; Eckelman, Matthew J.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was conducted for Yale University's procurement of goods and services over a one-year period. The goal of the inventory was to identify the financial expenditures resulting in the greatest "indirect" GHG emissions. This project is part of an ongoing effort to quantify and reduce the university's…

  14. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options Database(GMOD)and Tool

    EPA Science Inventory

    Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options Database (GMOD) is a decision support database and tool that provides cost and performance information for GHG mitigation options for the power, cement, refinery, landfill and pulp and paper sectors. The GMOD includes approximately 450 studies fo...

  15. Assessing the greenhouse impact of natural gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cathles, L. M.

    2012-06-01

    The global warming impact of substituting natural gas for coal and oil is currently in debate. We address this question here by comparing the reduction of greenhouse warming that would result from substituting gas for coal and some oil to the reduction which could be achieved by instead substituting zero carbon energy sources. We show that substitution of natural gas reduces global warming by 40% of that which could be attained by the substitution of zero carbon energy sources. At methane leakage rates that are ˜1% of production, which is similar to today's probable leakage rate of ˜1.5% of production, the 40% benefit is realized as gas substitution occurs. For short transitions the leakage rate must be more than 10 to 15% of production for gas substitution not to reduce warming, and for longer transitions the leakage must be much greater. But even if the leakage was so high that the substitution was not of immediate benefit, the 40%-of-zero-carbon benefit would be realized shortly after methane emissions ceased because methane is removed quickly from the atmosphere whereas CO2 is not. The benefits of substitution are unaffected by heat exchange to the ocean. CO2 emissions are the key to anthropogenic climate change, and substituting gas reduces them by 40% of that possible by conversion to zero carbon energy sources. Gas substitution also reduces the rate at which zero carbon energy sources must eventually be introduced.

  16. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater consumption of Marcellus shale gas.

    PubMed

    Laurenzi, Ian J; Jersey, Gilbert R

    2013-05-07

    We present results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) of Marcellus shale gas used for power generation. The analysis employs the most extensive data set of any LCA of shale gas to date, encompassing data from actual gas production and power generation operations. Results indicate that a typical Marcellus gas life cycle yields 466 kg CO2eq/MWh (80% confidence interval: 450-567 kg CO2eq/MWh) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 224 gal/MWh (80% CI: 185-305 gal/MWh) of freshwater consumption. Operations associated with hydraulic fracturing constitute only 1.2% of the life cycle GHG emissions, and 6.2% of the life cycle freshwater consumption. These results are influenced most strongly by the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) of the well and the power plant efficiency: increase in either quantity will reduce both life cycle freshwater consumption and GHG emissions relative to power generated at the plant. We conclude by comparing the life cycle impacts of Marcellus gas and U.S. coal: The carbon footprint of Marcellus gas is 53% (80% CI: 44-61%) lower than coal, and its freshwater consumption is about 50% of coal. We conclude that substantial GHG reductions and freshwater savings may result from the replacement of coal-fired power generation with gas-fired power generation.

  17. Managed forest carbon estimates for the US greenhouse gas inventory, 1990-2008

    Treesearch

    Linda S. Heath; James E. Smith; Kenneth E. Skog; David J. Nowak; Christopher W. Woodall

    2011-01-01

    Land-use change and forestry is the major category featuring carbon sequestration in the annual US Greenhouse Gas Inventory, required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We describe the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and present the sources of our data and methods and the most recent results. Forests and forest products in the United States...

  18. Benefits of biochar, compost and biochar-compost for soil quality, maize yield and greenhouse gas emissions in a tropical agricultural soil.

    PubMed

    Agegnehu, Getachew; Bass, Adrian M; Nelson, Paul N; Bird, Michael I

    2016-02-01

    Soil quality decline represents a significant constraint on the productivity and sustainability of agriculture in the tropics. In this study, the influence of biochar, compost and mixtures of the two on soil fertility, maize yield and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was investigated in a tropical Ferralsol. The treatments were: 1) control with business as usual fertilizer (F); 2) 10 t ha(-1) biochar (B)+F; 3) 25 t ha(-1) compost (Com)+F; 4) 2.5 t ha(-1) B+25 t ha(-1) Com mixed on site+F; and 5) 25 t ha(-1) co-composted biochar-compost (COMBI)+F. Total aboveground biomass and maize yield were significantly improved relative to the control for all organic amendments, with increases in grain yield between 10 and 29%. Some plant parameters such as leaf chlorophyll were significantly increased by the organic treatments. Significant differences were observed among treatments for the δ(15)N and δ(13)C contents of kernels. Soil physicochemical properties including soil water content (SWC), total soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3(-)N), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4(+)-N), exchangeable cations and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were significantly increased by the organic amendments. Maize grain yield was correlated positively with total biomass, leaf chlorophyll, foliar N and P content, SOC and SWC. Emissions of CO2 and N2O were higher from the organic-amended soils than from the fertilizer-only control. However, N2O emissions generally decreased over time for all treatments and emission from the biochar was lower compared to other treatments. Our study concludes that the biochar and biochar-compost-based soil management approaches can improve SOC, soil nutrient status and SWC, and maize yield and may help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in certain systems. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Request for Correction 12003 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Request for Correction by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for information in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting from the Petroleum Gas Industry that regarding methane emissions, volatile organic compounds, and hazardous air pollutants.

  20. 40 CFR 1037.241 - Demonstrating compliance with exhaust emission standards for greenhouse gas pollutants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Demonstrating compliance with exhaust emission standards for greenhouse gas pollutants. 1037.241 Section 1037.241 Protection of Environment... standards for greenhouse gas pollutants. (a) For purposes of certification, your vehicle family is...

  1. 40 CFR 1037.241 - Demonstrating compliance with exhaust emission standards for greenhouse gas pollutants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Demonstrating compliance with exhaust emission standards for greenhouse gas pollutants. 1037.241 Section 1037.241 Protection of Environment... standards for greenhouse gas pollutants. (a) For purposes of certification, your vehicle family is...

  2. 40 CFR 1037.241 - Demonstrating compliance with exhaust emission standards for greenhouse gas pollutants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Demonstrating compliance with exhaust emission standards for greenhouse gas pollutants. 1037.241 Section 1037.241 Protection of Environment... standards for greenhouse gas pollutants. (a) For purposes of certification, your vehicle family is...

  3. Communicating the uncertainty in estimated greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

    PubMed Central

    Milne, Alice E.; Glendining, Margaret J.; Lark, R. Murray; Perryman, Sarah A.M.; Gordon, Taylor; Whitmore, Andrew P.

    2015-01-01

    In an effort to mitigate anthropogenic effects on the global climate system, industrialised countries are required to quantify and report, for various economic sectors, the annual emissions of greenhouse gases from their several sources and the absorption of the same in different sinks. These estimates are uncertain, and this uncertainty must be communicated effectively, if government bodies, research scientists or members of the public are to draw sound conclusions. Our interest is in communicating the uncertainty in estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture to those who might directly use the results from the inventory. We tested six methods of communication. These were: a verbal scale using the IPCC calibrated phrases such as ‘likely’ and ‘very unlikely’; probabilities that emissions are within a defined range of values; confidence intervals for the expected value; histograms; box plots; and shaded arrays that depict the probability density of the uncertain quantity. In a formal trial we used these methods to communicate uncertainty about four specific inferences about greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. Sixty four individuals who use results from the greenhouse gas inventory professionally participated in the trial, and we tested how effectively the uncertainty about these inferences was communicated by means of a questionnaire. Our results showed differences in the efficacy of the methods of communication, and interactions with the nature of the target audience. We found that, although the verbal scale was thought to be a good method of communication it did not convey enough information and was open to misinterpretation. Shaded arrays were similarly criticised for being open to misinterpretation, but proved to give the best impression of uncertainty when participants were asked to interpret results from the greenhouse gas inventory. Box plots were most favoured by our participants largely because they were particularly favoured by those

  4. From Anti-greenhouse Effect of Solar Absorbers to Cooling Effect of Greenhouse Gases: A 1-D Radiative Convective Model Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shia, R.

    2012-12-01

    The haze layer in Titan's upper atmosphere absorbs 90% of the solar radiation, but is inefficient for trapping infrared radiation generated by the surface. Its existence partially compensates for the greenhouse warming and keeps the surface approximately 9°C cooler than would otherwise be expected from the greenhouse effect alone. This is the so called anti-greenhouse effect (McKay et al., 1991). This effect can be used to alleviate the warming caused by the increasing level of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. A one-dimensional radiative convective model (Kasting et al., 2009 and references listed there) is used to investigate the anti-greenhouse effect in the Earth atmosphere. Increasing of solar absorbers, e.g. aerosols and ozone, in the stratosphere reduces the surface solar flux and cool the surface. However, the absorption of the solar flux also increases the temperature in the upper atmosphere, while reduces the temperature at the surface. Thus, the temperature profile of the atmosphere changes and the regions with positive vertical temperature gradient are expanded. According to Shia (2010) the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases is directly related to the vertical temperature gradient. Under the new temperature profile increases of greenhouse gases should have less warming effect. When the solar absorbers keep increasing, eventually most of the atmosphere has positive temperature gradient and increasing greenhouse gases would cool the surface (Shia, 2011). The doubling CO2 scenario in the Earth atmosphere is simulated for different levels of solar absorbers using the 1-D RC model. The model results show that if the solar absorber increases to a certain level that less than 50% solar flux reaching the surface, doubling CO2 cools the surface by about 2 C. This means if the snowball Earth is generated by solar absorbers in the stratosphere, increasing greenhouse gases would make it freeze even more (Shia, 2011). References: Kasting, J. et al

  5. Greenhouse gas emissions from alternative futures of deforestation and agricultural management in the southern Amazon.

    PubMed

    Galford, Gillian L; Melillo, Jerry M; Kicklighter, David W; Cronin, Timothy W; Cerri, Carlos E P; Mustard, John F; Cerri, Carlos C

    2010-11-16

    The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most rapidly developing agricultural areas in the world and represents a potentially large future source of greenhouse gases from land clearing and subsequent agricultural management. In an integrated approach, we estimate the greenhouse gas dynamics of natural ecosystems and agricultural ecosystems after clearing in the context of a future climate. We examine scenarios of deforestation and postclearing land use to estimate the future (2006-2050) impacts on carbon dioxide (CO(2)), methane (CH(4)), and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions from the agricultural frontier state of Mato Grosso, using a process-based biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystems Model (TEM). We estimate a net emission of greenhouse gases from Mato Grosso, ranging from 2.8 to 15.9 Pg CO(2)-equivalents (CO(2)-e) from 2006 to 2050. Deforestation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions over this period, but land uses following clearing account for a substantial portion (24-49%) of the net greenhouse gas budget. Due to land-cover and land-use change, there is a small foregone carbon sequestration of 0.2-0.4 Pg CO(2)-e by natural forests and cerrado between 2006 and 2050. Both deforestation and future land-use management play important roles in the net greenhouse gas emissions of this frontier, suggesting that both should be considered in emissions policies. We find that avoided deforestation remains the best strategy for minimizing future greenhouse gas emissions from Mato Grosso.

  6. Determining changes in greenhouse gas emissions (1990-2010) due to pavement technology.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-01-01

    This research quantifies the changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy : consumption from WSDOT between 1990 and 2010 associated with (1) using warm mix asphalt : (WMA), reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), fly ash and slag in pavement materi...

  7. 77 FR 29935 - 2012 Technical Corrections, Clarifying and Other Amendments to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-21

    ...The EPA is proposing to amend specific provisions of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule to provide greater clarity and flexibility to facilities subject to reporting emissions from certain source categories. These source categories will report greenhouse gas (GHG) data for the first time in September of 2012. The proposed changes are not expected to significantly change the overall calculation and monitoring requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule or add additional requirements for reporters, but are expected to correct errors and clarify existing requirements in order to facilitate accurate and timely reporting. The EPA is also proposing confidentiality determinations for four new data elements for the fluorinated gas production source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. Lastly, we are proposing an amendment to Table A-7 of the general provisions to add a data element used as an input to an emission equation in the fluorinated gas production source category.

  8. Greenhouse Gas and Noxious Emissions from Dual Fuel Diesel and Natural Gas Heavy Goods Vehicles.

    PubMed

    Stettler, Marc E J; Midgley, William J B; Swanson, Jacob J; Cebon, David; Boies, Adam M

    2016-02-16

    Dual fuel diesel and natural gas heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) operate on a combination of the two fuels simultaneously. By substituting diesel for natural gas, vehicle operators can benefit from reduced fuel costs and as natural gas has a lower CO2 intensity compared to diesel, dual fuel HGVs have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the freight sector. In this study, energy consumption, greenhouse gas and noxious emissions for five after-market dual fuel configurations of two vehicle platforms are compared relative to their diesel-only baseline values over transient and steady state testing. Over a transient cycle, CO2 emissions are reduced by up to 9%; however, methane (CH4) emissions due to incomplete combustion lead to CO2e emissions that are 50-127% higher than the equivalent diesel vehicle. Oxidation catalysts evaluated on the vehicles at steady state reduced CH4 emissions by at most 15% at exhaust gas temperatures representative of transient conditions. This study highlights that control of CH4 emissions and improved control of in-cylinder CH4 combustion are required to reduce total GHG emissions of dual fuel HGVs relative to diesel vehicles.

  9. Subsurface banding poultry litter impacts greenhouse gas emissions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The impact subsurface banding poultry litter (PL) has on greenhouse gas emissions is limited. Thus, a study was conducted in established bermudagrass pastures located in Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions to determine the effects subsurface applying PL has on soil flux using two different band spaci...

  10. Greenhouse gas emissions from alternative futures of deforestation and agricultural management in the southern Amazon

    PubMed Central

    Galford, Gillian L.; Melillo, Jerry M.; Kicklighter, David W.; Cronin, Timothy W.; Cerri, Carlos E. P.; Mustard, John F.; Cerri, Carlos C.

    2010-01-01

    The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most rapidly developing agricultural areas in the world and represents a potentially large future source of greenhouse gases from land clearing and subsequent agricultural management. In an integrated approach, we estimate the greenhouse gas dynamics of natural ecosystems and agricultural ecosystems after clearing in the context of a future climate. We examine scenarios of deforestation and postclearing land use to estimate the future (2006–2050) impacts on carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from the agricultural frontier state of Mato Grosso, using a process-based biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystems Model (TEM). We estimate a net emission of greenhouse gases from Mato Grosso, ranging from 2.8 to 15.9 Pg CO2-equivalents (CO2-e) from 2006 to 2050. Deforestation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions over this period, but land uses following clearing account for a substantial portion (24–49%) of the net greenhouse gas budget. Due to land-cover and land-use change, there is a small foregone carbon sequestration of 0.2–0.4 Pg CO2-e by natural forests and cerrado between 2006 and 2050. Both deforestation and future land-use management play important roles in the net greenhouse gas emissions of this frontier, suggesting that both should be considered in emissions policies. We find that avoided deforestation remains the best strategy for minimizing future greenhouse gas emissions from Mato Grosso. PMID:20651250

  11. Humus and energy balances and greenhouse gas emissions with compost fertilization in organic farming compared with mineral fertilization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erhart, Eva; Schmid, Harald; Hülsbergen, Kurt-Jürgen; Hartl, Wilfried

    2015-04-01

    Humus and energy balances and greenhouse gas emissions with compost fertilization in organic farming compared with mineral fertilization E. Erhart, H. Schmid, K.-J. Hülsbergen, W. Hartl The positive effects of compost fertilization on soil humus with their associated benefits for soil quality are well-established. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of compost fertilization on humus and energy balances and greenhouse gas emissions and to compare the results of the humus balances with the changes in soil organic carbon contents measured in the soil of the experimental field. In order to assess the effects of compost use in organic farming as compared to conventional farming practice using mineral fertilizers, the field experiment with compost fertilization 'STIKO' was set up in 1992 near Vienna, Austria, on a Molli-gleyic Fluvisol. It included three treatments with compost fertilization (C1, C2 and C3 with 8, 14 and 20 t ha-1 y-1 f. m. on average of 14 years), three treatments with mineral nitrogen fertilization (N1, N2 and N3 with 29, 46 and 63 kg N ha-1 y 1 on average) and an unfertilized control (0) in six replications in a latin rectangle design. In the field trial, biowaste compost from the composting plant of the City of Vienna was used. Data from the field experiment (from 14 experimental years) were fed into the model software REPRO to calculate humus and energy balances and greenhouse gas emissions. The model software REPRO (REPROduction of soil fertility) couples the balancing of C, N and energy fluxes. For the determination of the net greenhouse effect, REPRO performs calculations of C sequestration in the soil, CO2 emissions from the use of fossil energy and N2O emissions from the soil. Humus balances showed that compost fertilization at a rate of 8 t ha-1 y-1 (C1) resulted in a positive humus balance of +115 kg C ha-1 y-1. With 14 and 20 t ha-1 y-1 compost (C2 and C3), respectively, humus accumulated at rates of 558 and 1021 kg C ha-1

  12. A review of land-based greenhouse gas flux estimates in Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Austin, Kemen G.; Harris, Nancy L.; Wijaya, Arief; Murdiyarso, Daniel; Harvey, Tom; Stolle, Fred; Kasibhatla, Prasad S.

    2018-05-01

    This study examines underlying reasons for differences among land-based greenhouse gas flux estimates in Indonesia, where six national inventories reported average emissions of between 0.4 and 1.1 Gt CO2e yr‑1 over the 2000–2012 period. The large range among estimates is only somewhat smaller than Indonesia’s GHG mitigation commitment. To determine the reasons for these differences, we compared input data and estimation methods, including the definitions and assumptions used for setting accounting boundaries, including emitting activities, incorporating fluxes from various carbon pools, and handling legacy fluxes. We also tested the sensitivity of methodological differences by generating our own reference emissions estimate and iteratively modifying individual components of the inventory. We found that the largest changes stem from the inclusion of legacy GHG emissions due to peat drainage (which increased emissions by at least +94% compared to the reference), methane emissions due to peat fires (+35%), and GHG emissions from belowground biomass and necromass carbon pools (+61%), modifications to assumptions of the mass of fuel burnt in peat fire events (+88%), and accounting for regrowth following a deforestation event (‑31%). These differences cumulatively explain more than half of the observed difference among inventory estimates. Understanding the various approaches to emissions estimation, and how these influence the magnitude of component GHG fluxes, is an important first step towards reconciling GHG inventories. The Indonesian government’s success in achieving its mitigation goal will depend on its ability to measure progress and evaluate the effectiveness of abatement actions, for which reliable harmonized greenhouse gas inventories are an essential foundation.

  13. Modeling greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Dairy farms have been identified as an important source of greenhouse gas emissions. Within the farm, important emissions include enteric methane (CH4) from the animals, CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O) from manure in housing facilities, during long-term storage and during field application, and N2O from...

  14. Greenhouse gas emission impacts of carsharing in North America

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-06-01

    This report presents the results of a study evaluating the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission changes that result from individuals participating in a carsharing organization. In this study, the authors conducted a survey of carsharing members across the c...

  15. 77 FR 10373 - Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program: Electronics Manufacturing: Revisions to Heat Transfer Fluid...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-22

    ... Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program: Electronics Manufacturing: Revisions to Heat Transfer Fluid Provisions... technical revisions to the electronics manufacturing source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule... related to the electronics manufacturing source category. DATES: This rule will be effective on March 23...

  16. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from u.s. transportation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-01-01

    This report examines the prospects for substantially reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the U.S. transportation sector, which accounts for 27 percent of the GHG emissions of the entire U.S. economy and 30 percent of the world's transpor...

  17. Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Commercial Trucks & Buses

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are taking coordinated steps to enable the production of a new generation of clean vehicles, through reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improved fuel use from onroad vehicles.

  18. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Educational Facilities and the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Actions You Need to Take Now

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wurmbrand, Mitchell M.; Klotz, Thomas C.

    2010-01-01

    On September 22, 2009, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reporting. The informational literature that EPA has published to support the rule clearly states that EPA believes the vast majority of smaller GHG-emitting facilities, such as educational facilities, will not be…

  19. Greenhouse gas emissions in salt marshes and their response to nitrogen loading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, J.; Moseman-Valtierra, S.; Kroeger, K. D.; Morkeski, K.; Carey, J.

    2015-12-01

    Salt marshes play an important role in global and regional carbon and nitrogen cycling. Anthropogenic nitrogen loading may alter greenhouse gas (GHG, including CO2, CH4, and N2O) emissions and carbon sequestration in salt marshes. We measured GHG emissions biweekly for two growing seasons across a nitrogen-loading gradient of four Spartina salt marshes in Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts. In addition, we conducted nitrogen addition experiments in a pristine marsh by adding low and high nitrate bi-weekly during the summer. The GHG flux measurements were made in situ with a state-of-the-art mobile gas measurement system using the cavity ring down technology that consists of a CO2/CH4 analyzer (Picarro) and an N2O/CO analyzer (Los Gatos). We observed strong seasonal variations in greenhouse gas emissions. The differences in gas emissions across the nitrogen gradient (between 1 and 10 gN m-2y-1) were not significant, but strong pulse emissions of N2O were observed after nitrogen was artificially added to the marsh. We found that the studied salt marsh was a significant carbon sink (NEP ~ 380 gC m-2y-1). CH4 fluxes are 3 orders of magnitude less than CO2 fluxes in the salt marsh. Carbon fluxes are driven by light, salinity, tide, and temperature. We conclude that restoration or conservation of this carbon sink has a significant social benefit for carbon credit.

  20. Communicating the uncertainty in estimated greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

    PubMed

    Milne, Alice E; Glendining, Margaret J; Lark, R Murray; Perryman, Sarah A M; Gordon, Taylor; Whitmore, Andrew P

    2015-09-01

    In an effort to mitigate anthropogenic effects on the global climate system, industrialised countries are required to quantify and report, for various economic sectors, the annual emissions of greenhouse gases from their several sources and the absorption of the same in different sinks. These estimates are uncertain, and this uncertainty must be communicated effectively, if government bodies, research scientists or members of the public are to draw sound conclusions. Our interest is in communicating the uncertainty in estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture to those who might directly use the results from the inventory. We tested six methods of communication. These were: a verbal scale using the IPCC calibrated phrases such as 'likely' and 'very unlikely'; probabilities that emissions are within a defined range of values; confidence intervals for the expected value; histograms; box plots; and shaded arrays that depict the probability density of the uncertain quantity. In a formal trial we used these methods to communicate uncertainty about four specific inferences about greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. Sixty four individuals who use results from the greenhouse gas inventory professionally participated in the trial, and we tested how effectively the uncertainty about these inferences was communicated by means of a questionnaire. Our results showed differences in the efficacy of the methods of communication, and interactions with the nature of the target audience. We found that, although the verbal scale was thought to be a good method of communication it did not convey enough information and was open to misinterpretation. Shaded arrays were similarly criticised for being open to misinterpretation, but proved to give the best impression of uncertainty when participants were asked to interpret results from the greenhouse gas inventory. Box plots were most favoured by our participants largely because they were particularly favoured by those who worked

  1. Electric vehicle greenhouse gas emission assessment for Hawaii.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-07-01

    This study estimates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of electric vehicles (EVs) compared to that of other popular and similar cars in Hawaii, by county over an assumption of 150,000 miles driven. The GHG benefits of EVs depend critically on the electr...

  2. Greenhouse gas emissions during co-composting of calf mortalities with manure.

    PubMed

    Xu, Shanwei; Hao, Xiying; Stanford, Kim; McAllister, Tim A; Larney, Francis J; Wang, Jingguo

    2007-01-01

    Composting may be a viable on-farm option for disposal of cattle carcasses. This study investigated greenhouse gas emissions during co-composting of calf mortalities with manure. Windrows were constructed that contained manure + straw (control compost [CK]) or manure + straw + calf mortalities (CM) using two technologies: a tractor-mounted front-end loader or a shredder bucket. Composting lasted 289 d. The windrows were turned twice (on Days 72 and 190), using the same technology used in their creation. Turning technology had no effect on greenhouse gas emissions or the properties of the final compost. The CO2 (75.2 g d(-1) m(-2)), CH4 (2.503 g d(-1) m(-2)), and N2O (0.370 g d(-1) m(-2)) emissions were higher (p < 0.05) in CM than in CK (25.7, 0.094, and 0.076 g d(-1) m(-2) for CO2, CH4, and N2O, respectively), which reflected differences in materials used to construct the compost windrows and therefore their total C and total N contents. The final CM compost had higher (p < 0.05) total N, total C, and mineral N content (NO3*+ NO2* + NH4+) than did CK compost and therefore has greater agronomic value as a fertilizer.

  3. A model of greenhouse gas emissions from the management of turf on two golf courses.

    PubMed

    Bartlett, Mark D; James, Iain T

    2011-11-01

    An estimated 32,000 golf courses worldwide (approximately 25,600 km2), provide ecosystem goods and services and support an industry contributing over $124 billion globally. Golf courses can impact positively on local biodiversity however their role in the global carbon cycle is not clearly understood. To explore this relationship, the balance between plant–soil system sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from turf management on golf courses was modelled. Input data were derived from published studies of emissions from agriculture and turfgrass management. Two UK case studies of golf course type were used, a Links course (coastal, medium intensity management, within coastal dune grasses) and a Parkland course (inland, high intensity management, within woodland).Playing surfaces of both golf courses were marginal net sources of greenhouse gas emissions due to maintenance (Links −2.2 ± 0.4 Mg CO2e ha(−1) y(−1); Parkland − 2.0 ± 0.4 Mg CO2e ha(−1) y(−1)). A significant proportion of emissions were from the use of nitrogen fertiliser, especially on tees and greens such that 3% of the golf course area contributed 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The area of trees on a golf course was important in determining whole-course emission balance. On the Parkland course, emissions from maintenance were offset by sequestration from turfgrass, and trees which comprised 48% of total area, resulting in a net balance of −5.4 ± 0.9 Mg CO2e ha(−1) y(−1). On the Links course, the proportion of trees was much lower (2%) and sequestration from links grassland resulted in a net balance of −1.6 ± 0.3 Mg CO2e ha(−1) y(−1). Recommendations for golf course management and design include the reduction of nitrogen fertiliser, improved operational efficiency when mowing, the inclusion of appropriate tree-planting and the scaling of component areas to maximise golf course sequestration capacity. The findings are transferrable to the management and design of

  4. Assessment of alternative disposal methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste in India.

    PubMed

    Yedla, Sudhakar; Sindhu, N T

    2016-06-01

    Open dumping, the most commonly practiced method of solid waste disposal in Indian cities, creates serious environment and economic challenges, and also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The present article attempts to analyse and identify economically effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste. The article looks at the selection of appropriate methods for the control of methane emissions. Multivariate functional models are presented, based on theoretical considerations as well as the field measurements to forecast the greenhouse gas mitigation potential for all the methodologies under consideration. Economic feasibility is tested by calculating the unit cost of waste disposal for the respective disposal process. The purpose-built landfill system proposed by Yedla and Parikh has shown promise in controlling greenhouse gas and saving land. However, these studies show that aerobic composting offers the optimal method, both in terms of controlling greenhouse gas emissions and reducing costs, mainly by requiring less land than other methods. © The Author(s) 2016.

  5. Communicating the Uncertainty in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Milne, Alice; Glendining, Margaret; Perryman, Sarah; Whitmore, Andy

    2014-05-01

    Effective communication of the uncertainty in estimates of greenhouse gas emissions is important. It allows an individual, whether they are a scientist, policy maker or member of the public, to draw proper conclusions and so make sound decisions. Communicating uncertainty is challenging, however. There is no single best method for communicating uncertainty and the success of a particular method will depend on the subject matter and the target audience. Our interest is in communicating the uncertainty in estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture to those who might directly use the results from a national inventory. We tested six methods of communication. These were: calibrated phrases such as 'very uncertain' and 'likely'; probabilities, whereby the probability of being within a defined range of values is given; confidence intervals for the expected value; histograms; box plots and shaded arrays. We asked 64 individuals who use results from the greenhouse gas inventory for their opinions on how successfully these methods communicated uncertainty. We analysed the results to see which methods were preferred and to see whether this preference was affected either by the professional group to which individuals belonged or the level of mathematics to which they were educated. The professional groups represented in our study were categorised as (i) those who influence policy (ii) research scientists (iii) those representing the environment and (iv) those representing the agricultural industry. The responses to our questionnaire were varied but some clear messages came through. Our analysis showed that although calibrated phrases were thought to be a good method of communication they did not convey enough information and were open to misinterpretation. Shaded arrays were similarly criticized for being open to misinterpretation, but proved to give the best indication of uncertainty when individuals were asked to interpret results from the greenhouse gas

  6. Strengthening Borehole Configuration from the Retaining Roadway for Greenhouse Gas Reduction: A Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Xue, Fei; Zhang, Nong; Feng, Xiaowei; Zheng, Xigui; Kan, Jiaguang

    2015-01-01

    A monitoring trial was carried out to investigate the effect of boreholes configuration on the stability and gas production rate. These boreholes were drilled from the retaining roadway at longwall mining panel 1111(1) of the Zhuji Coalmine, in China. A borehole camera exploration device and multiple gas parameter measuring device were adopted to monitor the stability and gas production rate. Research results show that boreholes 1~8 with low intensity and thin casing thickness were broken at the depth of 5~10 m along the casing and with a distance of 2~14 m behind the coal face, while boreholes 9~11 with a special thick-walled high-strength oil casing did not fracture during the whole extraction period. The gas extraction volume is closely related to the boreholes stability. After the stability of boreholes 9~11 being improved, the average gas flow rate increased dramatically 16-fold from 0.13 to 2.21 m3/min, and the maximum gas flow rate reached 4.9 m3/min. Strengthening boreholes configuration is demonstrated to be a good option to improve gas extraction effect. These findings can make a significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the coal mining industry. PMID:25633368

  7. Assessment and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from feedlots

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This was an invited 45 minute oral presentation concerning assessment and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from feedlots. The audience at the summit (about 60 people) included university professors, environmental regulators, and producers. The presentation included a brief review of environm...

  8. Impact of cutting meat intake on hidden greenhouse gas emissions in an import-reliant city

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yau, Y. Y.; Thibodeau, B.; Not, C.

    2018-06-01

    Greenhouse gas emissions embodied in trade is a growing concern for the international community. Multiple studies have highlighted drawbacks in the territorial and production-based accounting of greenhouse gas emissions because it neglects emissions from the consumption of goods in trade. This creates weak carbon leakage and complicates international agreements on emissions regulations. Therefore, we estimated consumption-based emissions using input-output analysis and life cycle assessment to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions hidden in meat and dairy products in Hong Kong, a city predominately reliant on imports. We found that emissions solely from meat and dairy consumption were higher than the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions using conventional production-based calculation. This implies that government reports underestimate more than half of the emissions, as 62% of emissions are embodied in international trade. The discrepancy emphasizes the need of transitioning climate targets and policy to consumption-based accounting. Furthermore, we have shown that dietary change from a meat-heavy diet to a diet in accordance with governmental nutrition guidelines could achieve a 67% reduction in livestock-related emissions, allowing Hong Kong to achieve the Paris Agreement targets for 2030. Consequently, we concluded that consumption-based accounting for greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to target the areas where emissions reduction is realistically achievable, especially for import-reliant cities like Hong Kong.

  9. Contribution of cooperative sector recycling to greenhouse gas emissions reduction: A case study of Ribeirão Pires, Brazil

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    King, Megan F., E-mail: mfking@uvic.ca; Gutberlet, Jutta, E-mail: gutber@uvic.ca

    Highlights: • Cooperative recycling achieves environmental, economic and social objectives. • We calculate GHG emissions reduction for a recycling cooperative in São Paulo, Brazil. • The cooperative merits consideration as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. • A CDM project would enhance the achievements of the recycling cooperative. • National and local waste management policies support the recycling cooperative. - Abstract: Solid waste, including municipal waste and its management, is a major challenge for most cities and among the key contributors to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through recovery and recycling of resources from the municipal solidmore » waste stream. In São Paulo, Brazil, recycling cooperatives play a crucial role in providing recycling services including collection, separation, cleaning, stocking, and sale of recyclable resources. The present research attempts to measure the greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved by the recycling cooperative Cooperpires, as well as highlight its socioeconomic benefits. Methods include participant observation, structured interviews, questionnaire application, and greenhouse gas accounting of recycling using a Clean Development Mechanism methodology. The results show that recycling cooperatives can achieve important energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and suggest there is an opportunity for Cooperpires and other similar recycling groups to participate in the carbon credit market. Based on these findings, the authors created a simple greenhouse gas accounting calculator for recyclers to estimate their emissions reductions.« less

  10. Overview of Production Sector in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory- September 2012 Workshop

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View a presentation on the production sector in the GHG inventory, presented at the Stakeholder Workshop on Natural Gas in the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Sinks on Thursday, September 13, 2012.

  11. Vision for an Open, Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (GHGIS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duren, R. M.; Butler, J. H.; Rotman, D.; Ciais, P.; Greenhouse Gas Information System Team

    2010-12-01

    Over the next few years, an increasing number of entities ranging from international, national, and regional governments, to businesses and private land-owners, are likely to become more involved in efforts to limit atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. In such a world, geospatially resolved information about the location, amount, and rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be needed, as well as the stocks and flows of all forms of carbon through the earth system. The ability to implement policies that limit GHG concentrations would be enhanced by a global, open, and transparent greenhouse gas information system (GHGIS). An operational and scientifically robust GHGIS would combine ground-based and space-based observations, carbon-cycle modeling, GHG inventories, synthesis analysis, and an extensive data integration and distribution system, to provide information about anthropogenic and natural sources, sinks, and fluxes of greenhouse gases at temporal and spatial scales relevant to decision making. The GHGIS effort was initiated in 2008 as a grassroots inter-agency collaboration intended to identify the needs for such a system, assess the capabilities of current assets, and suggest priorities for future research and development. We will present a vision for an open, global GHGIS including latest analysis of system requirements, critical gaps, and relationship to related efforts at various agencies, the Group on Earth Observations, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

  12. Spatially-Explicit Estimates of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fire and Land-Use Change in the Brazilian Cerrado

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galford, G. L.; Spera, S. A.; Coe, M. T.; Costa, C., Jr.

    2014-12-01

    Understanding the multiple types of land-use changes that can occur within an ecosystem provides a comprehensive picture of the human's impact on natural systems. We use the Cerrado (savanna) of Brazil to examine the primary and secondary impacts of land-use change on greenhouse gas emissions. The primary land-use changes include fires for land-clearing, conversions to pasture and row-crop agriculture, and shifting management practices of agricultural lands. Secondary land-use changes include savanna degradation due to fires that escape from intended burn areas. These escape fires typically have a lower combustion completion coefficient than clearing fires, so it is important to distinguish them to correctly estimate the regional greenhouse gas budget. We have created a first-order spatio-temporal model of greenhouse gas emissions that can be easily modified for other savanna regions using globally available data products as inputs. Our data inputs are derived from publically available remote sensing imagery. Initial biomass is estimated by Baccini et al. 2012, which is derived from LiDAR and MODIS imagery. All other input data sets give annual estimates. Clearing of the savanna is documented by LAPIG of Universidade Federal de Goias using MODIS (MOD13Q1), LANDSAT and CBERS images. MODIS burned area products delineate annual fires; in combination with the savanna clearing database we determine primary and escape fires. Pastures and row-crop agriculture are documented by LAPIG and Spera et al. 2014, respectively. The row-crop agriculture dataset enables us to estimate greenhouse gas emissions associated with specific crops (e.g., soy or maize) and management (e.g., fertilizer use). Recent contributions to the literature have provided many in situ measurements from the land-use changes of interest needed to estimate a regional greenhouse gas budget, including combustion coefficients of savanna sub-types, carbon emission soil stocks, nitrogen emissions from fertilizer

  13. Long-term manure application increased greenhouse gas emissions but had no effect on ammonia volatilization in a Northern China upland field.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Tao; Liu, Hongbin; Luo, Jiafa; Wang, Hongyuan; Zhai, Limei; Geng, Yucong; Zhang, Yitao; Li, Jungai; Lei, Qiuliang; Bashir, Muhammad Amjad; Wu, Shuxia; Lindsey, Stuart

    2018-08-15

    The impacts of manure application on soil ammonia (NH 3 ) volatilization and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are of interest for both agronomic and environmental reasons. However, how the swine manure addition affects greenhouse gas and N emissions in North China Plain wheat fields is still unknown. A long-term fertilization experiment was carried out on a maize-wheat rotation system in Northern China (Zea mays L-Triticum aestivum L.) from 1990 to 2017. The experiment included four treatments: (1) No fertilizer (CK), (2) single application of chemical fertilizers (NPK), (3) NPK plus 22.5t/ha swine manure (NPKM), (4) NPK plus 33.7t/ha swine manure (NPKM+). A short-term fertilization experiment was conducted from 2016 to 2017 using the same treatments in a field that had been abandoned for decades. The emissions of NH 3 and GHGs were measured during the wheat season from 2016 to 2017. Results showed that after long-term fertilization the wheat yields for NPKM treatment were 7105kg/ha, which were higher than NPK (3880kg/ha) and NPKM+ treatments (5518kg/ha). The wheat yields were similar after short-term fertilization (6098-6887kg/ha). The NH 3 -N emission factors (EF amm ) for NPKM and NPKM+ treatments (1.1 and 1.1-1.4%, respectively) were lower than NPK treatment (2.2%) in both the long and short-term fertilization treatments. In the long- and short-term experiments the nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission factors (EF nit ) for NPKM+ treatment were 4.2% and 3.7%, respectively, which were higher than for the NPK treatment (3.5% and 2.5%, respectively) and the NPKM treatment (3.6% and 2.2%, respectively). In addition, under long and short-term fertilization, the greenhouse gas intensities for the NPKM+ treatment were 33.7 and 27.0kg CO 2 -eq/kg yield, respectively, which were higher than for the NPKM treatment (22.8 and 21.1kg CO 2 -eq/kg yield, respectively). These results imply that excessive swine manure application does not increase yield but increases GHG emissions

  14. Curbing Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Boilers in China

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shen, Bo; Price, Lynn K; Lu, Hongyou

    China’s industrial boiler systems consume 700 million tons of coal annually, accounting for 18% of the nation’s total coal consumption. Together these boiler systems are one of the major sources of China’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, producing approximately 1.3 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO 2) annually. These boiler systems are also responsible for 33% and 27% of total soot and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in China, respectively, making a substantial contribution to China’s local environmental degradation. The Chinese government - at both the national and local level - is taking actions to mitigate the significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionsmore » and air pollution related to the country’s extensive use of coal-fired industrial boilers. The United States and China are pursuing a collaborative effort under the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group to conduct a comprehensive assessment of China’s coal-fired industrial boilers and to develop an implementation roadmap that will improve industrial boiler efficiency and maximize fuel-switching opportunities. Two Chinese cities – Ningbo and Xi’an – have been selected for the assessment. These cities represent coastal areas with access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and inland regions with access to interprovincial natural gas pipelines, respectively.« less

  15. How will greenhouse gas observations meet changing requirements, laws, and demands?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, J. H.; Tans, P. P.; Sweeney, C.; Andrews, A. E.; Miller, J. B.; Montzka, S. A.

    2010-12-01

    Recent efforts to develop a global greenhouse gas information system (GHGIS) have been driven by an anticipated need to support future national emission reduction policies or international treaties with observations. Such an effort would be similar to that done in support of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone, but more complex. However, greenhouse gas emissions are much more difficult to manage and may not be controlled by international agreement. The Kyoto Protocol has been fraught with political and practical difficulties, not the least of which is the absence of an independent observation and analysis requirement. Nevertheless, no unifying agreement was reached at the much heralded 2009 Conference of Parties (COP-15) in Copenhagen. Thus, it is quite possible (likely?) that greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced owing to other, uncoordinated policies that have their own merits, e.g., energy efficiency, alternative energy development, air quality improvement, forest development, agricultural practices, etc. If this is the future, then what observations and observation system design are needed and to what end? This presentation will discuss those needs in light of critical observations, analytical approaches, and evolving, disparate policies.

  16. Ecosystem recovery: a neglected factor in greenhouse gas emission from permafrost degradation.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Huissteden, J.; Mi, Y.; Gallagher, A.; Budishchev, A.

    2012-04-01

    It is estimated that northern soils hold nearly twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. Permafrost degradation caused by a warming climate will destabilize this carbon store. Part of this carbon will enter the atmosphere as CO2 or CH4, contributing to a positive feedback on climate warming. However, a neglected factor is the recovery of ecosystems after permafrost thaw. Modeling of thaw lake expansion and drainage has shown that thaw lake expansion by climatic warming is strongly limited by lake drainage. Thaw lakes are drained or filled in with sediment, followed by recolonization by generally productive wetland ecosystems. Decomposition of soil carbon also releases nutrients, enhancing vegetation recolonization in types of permafrost degradation features. Examples from the Kytalyk/Chokurdagh research site in the Indigirka lowlands of northeastern Siberia illustrate that ecosystem recovery after localized permafrost degradation may effectively counteract carbon loss. The research site is located in a drained Early Holocene thaw lake basin, and is presently a greenhouse gas sink during the growing season. Formation of thaw ponds has increased strongly recently. Although fresh ponds may be emitting CO2 and CH4, they are rapidly invaded by vegetation which decreases net greenhouse gas emission, although the ponds continue to be a source of CH4. Areas of intense mass wasting by permafrost slides are colonized by a productive pioneer vegetation, contributing to stabilization of the soil and enhancing CO2 uptake. It is therefore essential that not only the greenhouse gas emission related to permafrost degradation is quantified, but also the carbon sinks and recovery rates. Paleo-environmental and geomorphological studies may help to quantify recovery processes, in particular those processes that leave their trace in the sedimentary record. For instance Pleistocene and younger thaw lake deposits in Europe and Siberia may provide information on carbon loss and carbon

  17. Greenhouse gas measurements from aircraft during CARVE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, R. Y.; Miller, C. E.; Dinardo, S. J.; Karion, A.; Sweeney, C.; Daube, B.; Pittman, J. V.; Miller, J. B.; Budney, J. W.; Gottlieb, E. W.; Santoni, G. W.; Kort, E. A.; Wofsy, S. C.

    2012-12-01

    Permafrost in the Arctic contain large carbon pools that are currently non-labile. As the polar regions warm, these carbon reserves can be released into the atmosphere and impact the greenhouse gas budget. In order to predict future climate scenarios, we need to understand the emissions of these greenhouse gases under varying environmental conditions. This study presents aircraft measurements made as a part of the Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) which flew over Alaska from May to September 2012 and captured seasonal and spatial variations. Results from in situ cavity ring down spectroscopy measurements of CO2, CH4 and CO will be discussed and compared with aircraft measurements made during the summer of 1988 as a part of the Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition as well as relevant measurements from the HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations experiments (2009-2011).

  18. Estimating the greenhouse gas benefits of forestry projects: A Costa Rican Case Study

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Busch, Christopher; Sathaye, Jayant; Sanchez Azofeifa, G. Arturo

    If the Clean Development Mechanism proposed under the Kyoto Protocol is to serve as an effective means for combating global climate change, it will depend upon reliable estimates of greenhouse gas benefits. This paper sketches the theoretical basis for estimating the greenhouse gas benefits of forestry projects and suggests lessons learned based on a case study of Costa Rica's Protected Areas Project, which is a 500,000 hectare effort to reduce deforestation and enhance reforestation. The Protected Areas Project in many senses advances the state of the art for Clean Development Mechanism-type forestry projects, as does the third-party verification work ofmore » SGS International Certification Services on the project. Nonetheless, sensitivity analysis shows that carbon benefit estimates for the project vary widely based on the imputed deforestation rate in the baseline scenario, e.g. the deforestation rate expected if the project were not implemented. This, along with a newly available national dataset that confirms other research showing a slower rate of deforestation in Costa Rica, suggests that the use of the 1979--1992 forest cover data originally as the basis for estimating carbon savings should be reconsidered. When the newly available data is substituted, carbon savings amount to 8.9 Mt (million tones) of carbon, down from the original estimate of 15.7 Mt. The primary general conclusion is that project developers should give more attention to the forecasting land use and land cover change scenarios underlying estimates of greenhouse gas benefits.« less

  19. Inside Story of Gas Processes within Stormwater Biofilters: Does Greenhouse Gas Production Tarnish the Benefits of Nitrogen Removal?

    PubMed

    Payne, Emily G I; Pham, Tracey; Cook, Perran L M; Deletic, Ana; Hatt, Belinda E; Fletcher, Tim D

    2017-04-04

    Stormwater biofilters are dynamic environments, supporting diverse processes that act to capture and transform incoming pollutants. However, beneficial water treatment processes can be accompanied by undesirable greenhouse gas production. This study investigated the potential for nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) generation in dissolved form at the base of laboratory-scale stormwater biofilter columns. The influence of plant presence, species, inflow frequency, and inclusion of a saturated zone and carbon source were studied. Free-draining biofilters remained aerobic with negligible greenhouse gas production during storm events. Designs with a saturated zone were oxygenated at their base by incoming stormwater before anaerobic conditions rapidly re-established, although extended dry periods allowed the reintroduction of oxygen by evapotranspiration. Production of CH 4 and N 2 O in the saturated zone varied significantly in response to plant presence, species, and wetting and drying. Concentrations of N 2 O typically peaked rapidly following stormwater inundation, associated with limited plant root systems and poorer nitrogen removal from biofilter effluent. Production of CH 4 also commenced quickly but continued throughout the anaerobic interevent period and lacked clear relationships with plant characteristics or nitrogen removal performance. Dissolved greenhouse gas concentrations were highly variable, but peak concentrations of N 2 O accounted for <1.5% of the incoming total nitrogen load. While further work is required to measure surface emissions, the potential for substantial release of N 2 O or CH 4 in biofilter effluent appears relatively low.

  20. The comparison of greenhouse gas emissions in sewage treatment plants with different treatment processes.

    PubMed

    Masuda, Shuhei; Sano, Itsumi; Hojo, Toshimasa; Li, Yu-You; Nishimura, Osamu

    2018-02-01

    Greenhouse gas emissions from different sewage treatment plants: oxidation ditch process, double-circulated anoxic-oxic process and anoxic-oxic process were evaluated based on the survey. The methane and nitrous oxide characteristics were discussed based on the gaseous and dissolved gas profiles. As a result, it was found that methane was produced in the sewer pipes and the primary sedimentation tank. Additionally, a ventilation system would promote the gasification of dissolved methane in the first treatment units. Nitrous oxide was produced and emitted in oxic tanks with nitrite accumulation inside the sewage treatment plant. A certain amount of nitrous oxide was also discharged as dissolved gas through the effluent water. If the amount of dissolved nitrous oxide discharge is not included, 7-14% of total nitrous oxide emission would be overlooked. Based on the greenhouse gas calculation, electrical consumption and the N 2 O emission from incineration process were major sources in all the plants. For greenhouse gas reduction, oxidation ditch process has an advantage over the other advanced systems due to lower energy consumption, sludge production, and nitrogen removal without gas stripping. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. The effect of floating vegetation on denitrification and greenhouse gas production in wetland mesocosms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobs, A. E.; Harrison, J. A.

    2012-12-01

    Anthropogenic intensification of nitrogen (N) loading to aquatic ecosystems is widespread and can lead to the degradation of these systems. Wetlands are important sites for N removal via denitrification, the microbially mediated reduction of reactive nitrate to inert N2 gas, but they can also produce high levels of greenhouse gases. Floating plants play an important role in encouraging denitrification, since they create low oxygen conditions that may favor denitrification. We investigated whether wetland sediments with floating plant cover had higher denitrification and greenhouse gas production rates than wetland sediments without floating plants. Replicate flow-through mesocosms with wetland sediment and water were constructed in a growth chamber to mimic the wetland where the sediment and water were collected. Mesocosm treatments were covered with floating vegetation (duckweed), an opaque tarp, or no cover to determine how cover type affects denitrification and greenhouse gas production and whether biotic or abiotic factors are likely responsible for observed differences. Denitrification and greenhouse gas production rates were calculated by measuring excess N2 gas, methane, and nitrous oxide concentrations in the water column and measuring the gas exchange rates between the water column and the atmosphere. Gas exchange rates were measured using an inert volatile tracer added to the water column and accumulation of gas in the mesocosm headspace. Additional mesocosm experiments were performed to determine how duckweed-dominated wetland systems respond to nitrogen loading and which mechanism for lowering dissolved oxygen concentrations is important in affecting denitrification under floating vegetation. Mesocosms with floating vegetation had lower dissolved oxygen than no cover or tarp-covered mesocosms, which is consistent with field and literature observations. Water flowing out of the mesocosms had statistically lower total nitrogen and nitrate concentrations

  2. Warming effects on greenhouse gas fluxes in peatlands are modulated by vegetation composition.

    PubMed

    Ward, Susan E; Ostle, Nicholas J; Oakley, Simon; Quirk, Helen; Henrys, Peter A; Bardgett, Richard D

    2013-10-01

    Understanding the effects of warming on greenhouse gas feedbacks to climate change represents a major global challenge. Most research has focused on direct effects of warming, without considering how concurrent changes in plant communities may alter such effects. Here, we combined vegetation manipulations with warming to investigate their interactive effects on greenhouse gas emissions from peatland. We found that although warming consistently increased respiration, the effect on net ecosystem CO2 exchange depended on vegetation composition. The greatest increase in CO2 sink strength after warming was when shrubs were present, and the greatest decrease when graminoids were present. CH4 was more strongly controlled by vegetation composition than by warming, with largest emissions from graminoid communities. Our results show that plant community composition is a significant modulator of greenhouse gas emissions and their response to warming, and suggest that vegetation change could alter peatland carbon sink strength under future climate change. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  3. Interpretation of Series National Standards of China on “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting and Reporting for Enterprises”

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Liang; Zong, Jianfang; Guo, Huiting; Sun, Liang; Liu, Mei

    2018-05-01

    Standardization is playing an increasingly important role in reducing greenhouse gas emission and in climatic change adaptation, especially in the “three” greenhouse gas emission aspects (measurement, report, verification). Standardization has become one of the most important ways in mitigating the global climate change. Standardization Administration of China (SAC) has taken many productive measures in actively promoting standardization work to cope with climate change. In April 2014, SAC officially approved the establishment of “National Carbon Emission Management Standardization Technical Committee” In November 2015, SAC officially issued the first 11 national standards on carbon management including <Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting and Reporting for Industrial Enterprises>> and the requirements of the greenhouse gas emissions accounting and reporting in 10 sectors including power generation, power grid, iron and steel, chemical engineering, electrolytic aluminum, magnesium smelting, plate glass, cement, ceramics and civil aviation, which proposes unified requirements of “what to calculate and how to calculate” the greenhouse gas emission for enterprises. This paper focuses on the detailed interpretation of the main contents of the first 11 national standards, so as to provide technical supports for users of the standards and to comprehensively promote the emission reduction of greenhouse gas at the enterprise level.

  4. Integrated Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options and Related Impacts

    EPA Science Inventory

    Increased concerns over air pollution (combined with detrimental health effects) and climate change have called for more stringent emission reduction strategies for criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. However, stringent regulatory policies can possibly have a...

  5. Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Passenger Cars and Trucks

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are taking coordinated steps to enable the production of a new generation of clean vehicles, through reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improved fuel use from onroad vehicles.

  6. Determination of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from land application of swine slurry: a comparison of three application methods.

    PubMed

    Lovanh, Nanh; Warren, Jason; Sistani, Karamat

    2010-03-01

    In this study, the comparison and monitoring of the initial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using a flux chamber and gas analyzer from three different liquid manure application methods at a swine farm in Kentucky were carried out. Swine slurry was applied to farmland by row injection, surface spray, and Aerway injection. Ammonia and GHG concentrations were monitored immediately after application, 72 and 216h after application. The results showed that the initial ammonia flux ranged from 5.80 mg m(-2)h(-1) for the surface spray method to 1.80 mg m(-2)h(-1) for the row injection method. The initial fluxes of methane ranged from 8.75 mg m(-2)h(-1) for surface spray to 2.27 mg m(-2)h(-1) for Aerway injection, carbon dioxide ranged from 4357 mg m(-2)h(-1) for surface spray to 60 mg m(-2)h(-1) for row injection, and nitrous oxide ranged from 0.89 mg m(-2)h(-1) for surface spray to 0.22 mg m(-2)h(-1) for row injection. However, the Aerway injection method seemed to create the highest gas (GHG) concentrations inside the monitoring chambers at the initial application and produced the highest gas fluxes at subsequent sampling time (e.g., 72h after application). Nevertheless, the surface spray method appeared to produce the highest gas fluxes, and the row injection method appeared to emit the least amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Gas fluxes decreased over time and did not depend on the initial headspace concentration in the monitoring flux chambers. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Greenhouse gas emissions from septic systems in New York State

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Truhlar, A. M.; Rahm, B. G.; Brooks, R. A.; Nadeau, S. A.; Walter, M. T.

    2015-12-01

    Onsite septic systems are a practical way to treat wastewater in rural or less-densely populated areas. Septic systems utilize microbial processes to eliminate organic wastes and nutrients such as nitrogen; these processes can contribute to air pollution through the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). At each of nine septic systems, we measured fluxes of CH4, CO2, and N2O from the soil over the leach field and sand filter, and from the roof outlet vent. These are the most likely locations for gas emissions during normal operation of the septic system. The majority of all septic system gas emissions were released from the roof vent. However, our comparisons of the gas fluxes from these locations suggest that biological processes in the soil, especially the soil over the leach field, can influence the type and quantity of gas that is released from the system. The total vent, sand filter, and leach field GHG emissions were 0.12, 0.045, and 0.046 tonne CO2e capita-1 year-1, respectively. In total, this represents about 1.5% of the annual carbon footprint of an individual living in the US.

  8. Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Engle, M.A.; Radke, L.F.; Heffern, E.L.; O'Keefe, J.M.K.; Smeltzer, C.D.; Hower, J.C.; Hower, J.M.; Prakash, A.; Kolker, A.; Eatwell, R.J.; ter, Schure A.; Queen, G.; Aggen, K.L.; Stracher, G.B.; Henke, K.R.; Olea, R.A.; Roman-Colon, Y.

    2011-01-01

    Coal fires occur in all coal-bearing regions of the world and number, conservatively, in the thousands. These fires emit a variety of compounds including greenhouse gases. However, the magnitude of the contribution of combustion gases from coal fires to the environment is highly uncertain, because adequate data and methods for assessing emissions are lacking. This study demonstrates the ability to estimate CO2 and CH4 emissions for the Welch Ranch coal fire, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, using two independent methods: (a) heat flux calculated from aerial thermal infrared imaging (3.7-4.4td-1 of CO2 equivalent emissions) and (b) direct, ground-based measurements (7.3-9.5td-1 of CO2 equivalent emissions). Both approaches offer the potential for conducting inventories of coal fires to assess their gas emissions and to evaluate and prioritize fires for mitigation. ?? 2011.

  9. Bacterial gene abundances as indicators of greenhouse gas emission in soils.

    PubMed

    Morales, Sergio E; Cosart, Theodore; Holben, William E

    2010-06-01

    Nitrogen fixing and denitrifying bacteria, respectively, control bulk inputs and outputs of nitrogen in soils, thereby mediating nitrogen-based greenhouse gas emissions in an ecosystem. Molecular techniques were used to evaluate the relative abundances of nitrogen fixing, denitrifying and two numerically dominant ribotypes (based on the > or =97% sequence similarity at the 16S rRNA gene) of bacteria in plots representing 10 agricultural and other land-use practices at the Kellogg biological station long-term ecological research site. Quantification of nitrogen-related functional genes (nitrite reductase, nirS; nitrous oxide reductase, nosZ; and nitrogenase, nifH) as well as two dominant 16S ribotypes (belonging to the phyla Acidobacteria, Thermomicrobia) allowed us to evaluate the hypothesis that microbial community differences are linked to greenhouse gas emissions under different land management practices. Our results suggest that the successional stages of the ecosystem are strongly linked to bacterial functional group abundance, and that the legacy of agricultural practices can be sustained over decades. We also link greenhouse gas emissions with specific compositional responses in the soil bacterial community and assess the use of denitrifying gene abundances as proxies for determining nitrous oxide emissions from soils.

  10. The greenhouse gas emissions performance of cellulosic ethanol supply chains in Europe

    PubMed Central

    Slade, Raphael; Bauen, Ausilio; Shah, Nilay

    2009-01-01

    Background Calculating the greenhouse gas savings that may be attributed to biofuels is problematic because production systems are inherently complex and methods used to quantify savings are subjective. Differing approaches and interpretations have fuelled a debate about the environmental merit of biofuels, and consequently about the level of policy support that can be justified. This paper estimates and compares emissions from plausible supply chains for lignocellulosic ethanol production, exemplified using data specific to the UK and Sweden. The common elements that give rise to the greatest greenhouse gas emissions are identified and the sensitivity of total emissions to variations in these elements is estimated. The implications of including consequential impacts including indirect land-use change, and the effects of selecting alternative allocation methods on the interpretation of results are discussed. Results We find that the most important factors affecting supply chain emissions are the emissions embodied in biomass production, the use of electricity in the conversion process and potentially consequential impacts: indirect land-use change and fertiliser replacement. The large quantity of electricity consumed during enzyme manufacture suggests that enzymatic conversion processes may give rise to greater greenhouse gas emissions than the dilute acid conversion process, even though the dilute acid process has a somewhat lower ethanol yield. Conclusion The lignocellulosic ethanol supply chains considered here all lead to greenhouse gas savings relative to gasoline An important caveat to this is that if lignocellulosic ethanol production uses feedstocks that lead to indirect land-use change, or other significant consequential impacts, the benefit may be greatly reduced. Co-locating ethanol, electricity generation and enzyme production in a single facility may improve performance, particularly if this allows the number of energy intensive steps in enzyme

  11. Patterns of Carbon Storage and Greenhouse Gas Losses in Urban Residential Lawns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Contosta, A.; Varner, R.; Xiao, J.

    2017-12-01

    Population density and housing age are two factors believed to impact carbon (C) storage and greenhouse gas emissions in one of the most extensively managed landscapes in the U.S.: the urban lawn. Previous research focusing on either above- or below-ground C dynamics has also not explicitly considered how they interact to affect the net carbon balance in urban residential areas. We addressed this knowledge gap by quantifying both soil and vegetative C stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes across an urban gradient in Manchester, NH, USA that included 34 lawns comprising three population density categories, five housing age classes, and the interaction between them. Using a combination of both weekly, manual measurements and continuous, automated estimates, we also sampled emissions of CH4, CO2, and N2O within a subset of these lawns that represented a range of citywide population density and housing age characteristics and management practices. We found that neither above- nor below-ground C storage varied with population density, but both differed among housing age classes. Soil C storage increased with housing age and was highest in the oldest lawns sampled. By contrast, C stocks in aboveground, woody biomass was highest at intermediate ages and lowest in older and new parcels. Unlike C stocks, soil greenhouse gas emissions did not change among population density categories, housing age classes, or with irrigation and fertilization management, but instead followed temporal trends in soil moisture and temperature. Overall, our results suggest that drivers of C storage and greenhouse gas losses in urban residential areas may not be uniform and their accurate representation in Earth system models may require a variety of approaches.

  12. Towards a novel continuous sublimation extraction/laser spectroscopy method for greenhouse gas measurements in the oldest ice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bereiter, Bernhard; Maechler, Lars; Schmitt, Jochen; Walther, Remo; Tuzson, Béla; Scheidegger, Philipp; Emmenegger, Lukas; Fischer, Hubertus

    2017-04-01

    Ice cores are unique archives of ancient air providing the only direct record of past greenhouse gases - key in reconstructing the roles of greenhouse gases in past climate changes. The European Partnership in Ice Core Sciences (EuroPICS) plans to drill an ice core extending over 1.5 Ma, nearly doubling the time span of the existing greenhouse record and covering the time period of the Mid Pleistocene Transition. The ice covering the time interval from 1-1.5 Ma is expected to be close to the bedrock and, due to glacial flow, extremely thinned. A 10,000 yr glacial/interglacial transition can be compressed in 1 m of ice. The targeted 100 yr resolution therefore constrains the sample size to 15-30 g containing only 1-2ml STP air. Within the deepSlice project we aim to unlock such atmospheric archives in extremely thinned ice by developing a novel coupled semi-continuous sublimation extraction/laser spectroscopy system. Vacuum sublimation, with an infrared source, has been chosen as extraction method as it allows 100% gas extraction of all gas species from ice without changing the isotopic composition of CO2. In order to reduce ice waste and accelerate sample throughput, we are building a sublimation extraction system that is able to continuously sublimate an ice-core section and subsequently collect discrete full air samples. For the gas analytics, we develop a custom-made mid-infrared laser spectrometer allowing simultaneous measurement of the CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations as well as the isotopic composition of CO2 on air samples of only 1-2 ml STP. The two systems will be coupled via cryo-trapping of the sample air in dip tubes, followed by expansion of the sample air into the laser spectrometer. Due to the nondestructive laser technique, the air sample can be recollected and reused for further analytics.

  13. PROCEEDINGS: THE 1992 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND MITIGATION RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The report documents the 1992 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation Research Symposium held in Washington, DC, August 18-20, 1992. The symposium provided a forum for exchange of technical information on global change emissions and potential mitigation technologies. The primary ...

  14. Multi-sectorial convergence in greenhouse gas emissions.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Guilherme de; Bourscheidt, Deise Maria

    2017-07-01

    This paper uses the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) to test the hypothesis of per capita convergence in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a multi-sectorial panel of countries. The empirical strategy applies conventional estimators of random and fixed effects and Arellano and Bond's (1991) GMM to the main pollutants related to the greenhouse effect. For reasonable empirical specifications, the model revealed robust evidence of per capita convergence in CH 4 emissions in the agriculture, food, and services sectors. The evidence of convergence in CO 2 emissions was moderate in the following sectors: agriculture, food, non-durable goods manufacturing, and services. In all cases, the time for convergence was less than 15 years. Regarding emissions by energy use, the largest source of global warming, there was only moderate evidence in the extractive industry sector-all other pollutants presented little or no evidence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. US major crops’ uncertain climate change risks and greenhouse gas mitigation benefits

    DOE PAGES

    Wing, Ian Sue; Monier, Erwan; Stern, Ari; ...

    2015-10-28

    In this study, we estimate the costs of climate change to US agriculture, and associated potential benefits of abating greenhouse gas emissions. Five major crops' yield responses to climatic variation are modeled empirically, and the results combined with climate projections for a no-policy, high-warming future, as well as moderate and stringent mitigation scenarios. Unabated warming reduces yields of wheat and soybeans by 2050, and cotton by 2100, but moderate warming increases yields of all crops except wheat. Yield changes are monetized using the results of economic simulations within an integrated climate-economy modeling framework. Uncontrolled warming's economic effects on major cropsmore » are slightly positive—annual benefits <$4 B. These are amplified by emission reductions, but subject to diminishing returns—by 2100 reaching $17 B under moderate mitigation, but only $7 B with stringent mitigation. Costs and benefits are sensitive to irreducible uncertainty about the fertilization effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, without which unabated warming incurs net costs of up to $18 B, generating benefits to moderate (stringent) mitigation as large as $26 B ($20 B).« less

  16. US major crops’ uncertain climate change risks and greenhouse gas mitigation benefits

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wing, Ian Sue; Monier, Erwan; Stern, Ari

    In this study, we estimate the costs of climate change to US agriculture, and associated potential benefits of abating greenhouse gas emissions. Five major crops' yield responses to climatic variation are modeled empirically, and the results combined with climate projections for a no-policy, high-warming future, as well as moderate and stringent mitigation scenarios. Unabated warming reduces yields of wheat and soybeans by 2050, and cotton by 2100, but moderate warming increases yields of all crops except wheat. Yield changes are monetized using the results of economic simulations within an integrated climate-economy modeling framework. Uncontrolled warming's economic effects on major cropsmore » are slightly positive—annual benefits <$4 B. These are amplified by emission reductions, but subject to diminishing returns—by 2100 reaching $17 B under moderate mitigation, but only $7 B with stringent mitigation. Costs and benefits are sensitive to irreducible uncertainty about the fertilization effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, without which unabated warming incurs net costs of up to $18 B, generating benefits to moderate (stringent) mitigation as large as $26 B ($20 B).« less

  17. Designing advanced biochar products for maximizing greenhouse gas mitigation potential

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural operations continue to increase. Carbon enriched char materials like biochar have been described as a mitigation strategy. Utilization of biochar material as a soil amendment has been demonstrated to provide potentially further soil GHG suppression du...

  18. Assessing energy efficiencies and greenhouse gas emissions under bioethanol-oriented paddy rice production in northern Japan.

    PubMed

    Koga, Nobuhisa; Tajima, Ryosuke

    2011-03-01

    To establish energetically and environmentally viable paddy rice-based bioethanol production systems in northern Japan, it is important to implement appropriately selected agronomic practice options during the rice cultivation step. In this context, effects of rice variety (conventional vs. high-yielding) and rice straw management (return to vs. removal from the paddy field) on energy inputs from fuels and consumption of materials, greenhouse gas emissions (fuel and material consumption-derived CO(2) emissions as well as paddy soil CH(4) and N(2)O emissions) and ethanol yields were assessed. The estimated ethanol yield from the high-yielding rice variety, "Kita-aoba" was 2.94 kL ha(-1), a 32% increase from the conventional rice variety, "Kirara 397". Under conventional rice production in northern Japan (conventional rice variety and straw returned to the paddy), raising seedlings, mechanical field operations, transportation of harvested unhulled brown rice and consumption of materials (seeds, fertilizers, biocides and agricultural machinery) amounted to 28.5 GJ ha(-1) in energy inputs. The total energy input was increased by 14% by using the high-yielding variety and straw removal, owing to increased requirements for fuels in harvesting and transporting harvested rice as well as in collecting, loading and transporting rice straw. In terms of energy efficiency, the variation among rice variety and straw management scenarios regarding rice varieties and rice straw management was small (28.5-32.6 GJ ha(-1) or 10.1-14.0 MJ L(-1)). Meanwhile, CO(2)-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions varied considerably from scenario to scenario, as straw management had significant impacts on CH(4) emissions from paddy soils. When rice straw was incorporated into the soil, total CO(2)-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions for "Kirara 397" and "Kita-aoba" were 25.5 and 28.2 Mg CO(2) ha(-1), respectively; however, these emissions were reduced notably for the two varieties when rice straw

  19. Bringing a needle to a laser fight: comparing greenhouse gas sampling methods with gas chromatography and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    As scientists, producers, policymakers, and the general public become more concerned about impacts of climate change, there is an increasing need to understand and quantify greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices, which often feed into global, multi-institution databases. Current best p...

  20. The Greenhouse Gas Emission from Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Construction in China.

    PubMed

    Ma, Feng; Sha, Aimin; Yang, Panpan; Huang, Yue

    2016-06-24

    This study proposes an inventory analysis method to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Portland cement concrete pavement construction, based on a case project in the west of China. The concrete pavement construction process was divided into three phases, namely raw material production, concrete manufacture and pavement onsite construction. The GHG emissions of the three phases are analyzed by a life cycle inventory method. The CO₂e is used to indicate the GHG emissions. The results show that for 1 km Portland cement concrete pavement construction, the total CO₂e is 8215.31 tons. Based on the evaluation results, the CO₂e of the raw material production phase is 7617.27 tons, accounting for 92.7% of the total GHG emissions; the CO₂e of the concrete manufacture phase is 598,033.10 kg, accounting for 7.2% of the total GHG emissions. Lastly, the CO₂e of the pavement onsite construction phase is 8396.59 kg, accounting for only 0.1% of the total GHG emissions. The main greenhouse gas is CO₂ in each phase, which accounts for more than 98% of total emissions. N₂O and CH₄ emissions are relatively insignificant.

  1. Review of Mitigation Costs for Stabilizing Greenhouse Gas Concentrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Ruijven, B. J.; O'Neill, B. C.

    2014-12-01

    Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions to avoid future climate change comes at a cost, because low-emission technologies are more expensive than GHG-emitting technology options. The increase in mitigation cost is not linearly related to the stabilization level, though: the first emission reductions are relatively cheap, but deeper emission reductions become more expensive. Therefore, emission reduction to medium levels of GHG concentrations , such as 4.5 or 6 W/m2, is considerably cheaper than emission reduction to low levels of GHG concentrations, such as 2.6 or 3.7 W/m2. Moreover, mitigation costs are influenced by many other aspects than the targeted mitigation level alone, such as whether or not certain technologies are available or societally acceptable (Kriegler et al., 2014); the rate of technological progress and cost reduction of low-emission technologies; the level of final energy demand (Riahi et al., 2011), and the level of global cooperation and trade in emission allowances (den Elzen and Höhne, 2010). This paper reviews the existing literature on greenhouse gas mitigation costs. We analyze the available data on mitigation costs and draw conclusions on how these change for different stabilization levels of GHG concentrations. We will take into account the aspects of technology, energy demand, and cooperation in distinguishing differences between scenarios and stabilization levels. References: den Elzen, M., Höhne, N., 2010. Sharing the reduction effort to limit global warming to 2C. Climate Policy 10, 247-260. Kriegler, E., Weyant, J., Blanford, G., Krey, V., Clarke, L., Edmonds, J., Fawcett, A., Luderer, G., Riahi, K., Richels, R., Rose, S., Tavoni, M., Vuuren, D., 2014. The role of technology for achieving climate policy objectives: overview of the EMF 27 study on global technology and climate policy strategies. Climatic Change, 1-15. Riahi, K., Dentener, F., Gielen, D., Grubler, A., Jewell, J., Klimont, Z., Krey, V., McCollum, D., Pachauri, S

  2. Chapter 6: quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in managed forest systems

    Treesearch

    Coeli Hoover; Richard Birdsey; Bruce Goines; Peter Lahm; Yongming Fan; David Nowak; Stephen Prisley; Elizabeth Reinhardt; Ken Skog; David Skole; James Smith; Carl Trettin; Christopher Woodall

    2014-01-01

    This chapter provides guidance for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with entity-level fluxes from the forestry sector. In particular, it focuses on methods for estimating carbon stocks and stock change from managed forest systems. Section 6.1 provides an overview of the sector. Section 6.2 describes the methods for forest carbon stock accounting....

  3. Climate Leadership webinar on Greenhouse Gas Management Resources for Small Businesses

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Small businesses can calculate their carbon footprint and construct a greenhouse gas inventory to help track progress towards reaching emissions reduction goals. One strategy for this is EPA's Simplified GHG Emissions Calculator.

  4. Re-assessment of net energy production and greenhouse gas emissions avoidance after 40 years of photovoltaics development.

    PubMed

    Louwen, Atse; van Sark, Wilfried G J H M; Faaij, André P C; Schropp, Ruud E I

    2016-12-06

    Since the 1970s, installed solar photovoltaic capacity has grown tremendously to 230 gigawatt worldwide in 2015, with a growth rate between 1975 and 2015 of 45%. This rapid growth has led to concerns regarding the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of photovoltaics production. We present a review of 40 years of photovoltaics development, analysing the development of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions associated with photovoltaics production. Here we show strong downward trends of environmental impact of photovoltaics production, following the experience curve law. For every doubling of installed photovoltaic capacity, energy use decreases by 13 and 12% and greenhouse gas footprints by 17 and 24%, for poly- and monocrystalline based photovoltaic systems, respectively. As a result, we show a break-even between the cumulative disadvantages and benefits of photovoltaics, for both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, occurs between 1997 and 2018, depending on photovoltaic performance and model uncertainties.

  5. Nitrogen removal and greenhouse gas emissions from constructed wetlands receiving tile drainage water.

    PubMed

    Groh, Tyler A; Gentry, Lowell E; David, Mark B

    2015-05-01

    Loss of nitrate from agricultural lands to surface waters is an important issue, especially in areas that are extensively tile drained. To reduce these losses, a wide range of in-field and edge-of-field practices have been proposed, including constructed wetlands. We re-evaluated constructed wetlands established in 1994 that were previously studied for their effectiveness in removing nitrate from tile drainage water. Along with this re-evaluation, we measured the production and flux of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (CO, NO, and CH). The tile inlets and outlets of two wetlands were monitored for flow and N during the 2012 and 2013 water years. In addition, seepage rates of water and nitrate under the berm and through the riparian buffer strip were measured. Greenhouse gas emissions from the wetlands were measured using floating chambers (inundated fluxes) or static chambers (terrestrial fluxes). During this 2-yr study, the wetlands removed 56% of the total inlet nitrate load, likely through denitrification in the wetland. Some additional removal of nitrate occurred in seepage water by the riparian buffer strip along each berm (6.1% of the total inlet load, for a total nitrate removal of 62%). The dominant GHG emitted from the wetlands was CO, which represented 75 and 96% of the total GHG emissions during the two water years. The flux of NO contributed between 3.7 and 13% of the total cumulative GHG flux. Emissions of NO were 3.2 and 1.3% of the total nitrate removed from wetlands A and B, respectively. These wetlands continue to remove nitrate at rates similar to those measured after construction, with relatively little GHG gas loss. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  6. Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions from Optimizing Urban Transit Networks

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-05-01

    Public transit systems with efficient designs and operating plans can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to low-occupancy transportation modes, but many current transit systems have not been designed to reduce environmental impacts. This ...

  7. High-Impact Actions for Individuals to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nicholas, K. A.; Wynes, S. C.

    2015-12-01

    Climate change is the result of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere, which records the aggregation of billions of individual decisions. While systemic and structural changes receive great attention for addressing climate change, the contribution that individual citizens can make is often overlooked, especially in developed countries where per-capita emissions are highest. Here we consider a broad range of individual lifestyle choices and calculate their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We find that four widely applicable high-impact actions have the potential to reduce personal emissions by more than 1 tonne CO2-equivalent per year: having one fewer child (59.2 tonnes of reductions), living car-free (2.3 tonnes), avoiding airplane travel (1.5 tonnes per flight) and eating a plant-based diet (0.82 tonnes). These actions have much greater potential to reduce emissions than commonly promoted strategies like recycling (4 times less effective than a plant-based diet) or changing lightbulbs (8 times). However, high school textbooks from Canada and government resources from the EU, USA, Canada, and Australia largely fail to mention these actions, instead focusing on incremental changes with much smaller potential impact. We conclude that climate policy should focus not only on national and international targets, but also on encouraging responsible behaviour, especially for adolescents who will grow up in the era of climate change and are poised to establish a lifelong pattern of sustainable lifestyle choices.

  8. Predicting greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle feedyard manure

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Improved predictive models for nitrous oxide and methane are crucial for assessing the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of beef cattle production. Biochemical process based models to predict GHG from manure rely on information derived from studies on soil and only limited study has been conducted on m...

  9. Predicting greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle feedyard manure

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Improved predictive models for nitrous oxide and methane are crucial for assessing the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of beef cattle production. Biochemical process-based models to predict GHG from manure rely on information derived from studies on soil and only limited study has been conducted on m...

  10. Separate effects of flooding and anaerobiosis on soil greenhouse gas emissions and redox sensitive biogeochemistry

    Treesearch

    Gavin McNicol; Whendee L. Silver

    2014-01-01

    Soils are large sources of atmospheric greenhouse gases, and both the magnitude and composition of soil gas emissions are strongly controlled by redox conditions. Though the effect of redox dynamics on greenhouse gas emissions has been well studied in flooded soils, less research has focused on redox dynamics without total soil inundation. For the latter, all that is...

  11. How ground-based observations can support satellite greenhouse gas retrievals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, J. H.; Tans, P. P.; Sweeney, C.; Dlugokencky, E. J.

    2012-04-01

    Global society will eventually accelerate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a variety of ways. These would likely involve international treaties, national policies, and regional strategies that will affect a number of economic, social, and environmental sectors. Some strategies will work better than others and some will not work at all. Because trillions of dollars will be involved in pursuing greenhouse gas emission reductions - through realignment of energy production, improvement of efficiencies, institution of taxes, implementation of carbon trading markets, and use of offsets - it is imperative that society be given all the tools at its disposal to ensure the ultimate success of these efforts. Providing independent, globally coherent information on the success of these efforts will give considerable strength to treaties, policies, and strategies. Doing this will require greenhouse gas observations greatly expanded from what we have today. Satellite measurements may ultimately be indispensable in achieving global coverage, but the requirements for accuracy and continuity of measurements over time are demanding if the data are to be relevant. Issues such as those associated with sensor drift, aging electronics, and retrieval artifacts present challenges that can be addressed in part by close coordination with ground-based and in situ systems. This presentation identifies the information that ground-based systems provide very well, but it also looks at what would be deficient even in a greatly expanded surface system, where satellites can fill these gaps, and how on-going, ground and in situ measurements can aid in addressing issues associated with accuracy, long-term continuity, and retrieval artifacts.

  12. Controlled Landfill Project in Yolo County, California for Environmental Benefits of Waste Stabilization and Minimization of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yazdani, R.; Augenstein, D.; Kieffer, J.; Cohen, K.

    2003-12-01

    The Department of Public Works of Yolo County, California, USA has been testing an advanced approach to landfill bioreactors, controlled (or "enhanced") landfilling, at its Yolo County Central Landfill site near Davis, CA, since 1994. Overall objectives have been the management of waste landfilling for: (1) rapid completion of total gas generation; (2) maximum, high-efficiency gas capture; (3) waste volume reduction; and (4) maximum greenhouse gas and carbon sequestration benefits. Methane generation is controlled and enhanced through carefully managed moisture additions, and by taking advantage of landfill temperature elevation. The generated landfill methane, an important greenhouse gas, is recovered with high efficiency through extraction from a porous recovery layer beneath a surface geomembrane cover. Instrumentation included a total of 56 moisture and 15 temperature sensors in the two cells, gas flow monitoring by positive displacement gas meters, and accurate quantification of liquid inputs and outputs. Gas composition, waste volume reduction, base hydrostatic head, and a range of environmental compliance parameters has been monitored since 1995. Partitioning gas tracer tests using the injection of two gases at dilute concentrations in the landfill have also been initiated to compute the fraction of pore space occupied by water between the points of tracer injection and tracer measurement. There has been rapid waste volume reduction in the enhanced cell that corresponds to the solids' reduction to gas. Monitoring is planned for the next several years, until stabilization parameters are determined complete. Encouraging performance is indicated by: (1) sensor data; (2) gas generation results; (3) data from landfill cores; and (4) decomposition-related indicators including rapid volume reduction. When data are synthesized, project results have attractive implications for new approaches to landfill management. Over seven-years, methane recoveries have averaged

  13. RE: Request for Correction, Technical Support Document, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) joins the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in its request for correction of information developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a background technical support document titled Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry

  14. Drivers of Microbial Metabolic Activity, Biogeochemical Cycling and Associated Greenhouse Gas Production in Streambed Sediments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Comer-Warner, S.; Krause, S.; Gooddy, D.; Blaen, P.; Brekenfeld, N.; Wexler, S.; Kaiser, J.

    2017-12-01

    Hotspots of enhanced biogeochemical reactivity are produced where groundwater and surface water mixes in streambed sediments. This enhanced reactivity is due to elevated residence times and nutrient concentrations found in these areas, leading to increased rates of microbial metabolic activity. Streambed sediments, therefore, may be important in reducing catchment-wide nutrient concentrations through increased cycling. However, they also have the potential to produce high concentrations of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O), as end-products of respiration and intermediate products of denitrification. The hydrological and biogeochemical drivers of streambed C and N cycling, are still insufficiently understood. Here we present results from biogeochemical sampling and tracer experiments in an agricultural sandstone stream in the UK. Nutrient, DOC and greenhouse gas concentrations, as well as d13CCO2, were measured in the streambed sediment in multilevel piezometers, and nutrient concentrations, as well as d15NNO3 and d18ONO3, were measured in Diffusive Equilibrium in Thin-film Gels. Tracer experiments using both conservative (Fluorescein and NaCl) and smart (Resazurin-Resorufin) tracers were performed to determine in-stream metabolism, transient storage and solute transport times in sub-reaches of the stream. Our results show large differences in nutrient and greenhouse gas concentrations between sub-reaches dominated by gravel sediments and those dominated by sandy sediments, as well as seasonally. This suggests temperature, sediment type and residence time are key controls on streambed nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas production. The results of this study have important implications for future greenhouse gas estimates from streams and rivers, particularly as the contribution of sediment greenhouse gas production is recognised as increasingly significant.

  15. Effects of nitrogen loading on greenhouse gas emissions in salt marshes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, J.; Moseman-Valtierra, S.; Kroeger, K. D.; Morkeski, K.; Mora, J.; Chen, X.; Carey, J.

    2014-12-01

    Salt marshes play an important role in global and regional carbon and nitrogen cycling. We tested the hypothesis that anthropogenic nitrogen loading alters greenhouse gas (GHG, including CO2, CH4, and N2O) emissions and carbon sequestration in salt marshes. We measured GHG emissions biweekly for two growing seasons across a nitrogen-loading gradient of four Spartina salt marshes in Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts. In addition, we conducted nitrogen addition experiments in a pristine marsh by adding low and high nitrate to triplicate plots bi-weekly during the summer. The GHG flux measurements were made in situ with a state-of-the-art mobile gas measurement system using the cavity ring down technology that consists of a CO2/CH4 analyzer (Picarro) and an N2O/CO analyzer (Los Gatos). We observed strong seasonal variations in greenhouse gas emissions. The differences in gas emissions across the nitrogen gradient were not significant, but strong pulse emissions of N2O were observed after nitrogen was artificially added to the marsh. Our results will facilitate model development to simulate GHG emissions in coastal wetlands and support methodology development to assess carbon credits in preserving and restoring coastal wetlands.

  16. Rich soil carbon and nitrogen but low atmospheric greenhouse gas fluxes from North Sulawesi mangrove swamps in Indonesia.

    PubMed

    Chen, Guang C; Ulumuddin, Yaya I; Pramudji, Sastro; Chen, Shun Y; Chen, Bin; Ye, Yong; Ou, Dan Y; Ma, Zhi Y; Huang, Hao; Wang, Jing K

    2014-07-15

    The soil to atmosphere fluxes of greenhouse gases N2O, CH4 and CO2 and their relationships with soil characteristics were investigated in three tropical oceanic mangrove swamps (Teremaal, Likupang and Kema) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Mangrove soils in North Sulawesi were rich in organic carbon and nitrogen, but the greenhouse gas fluxes were low in these mangroves. The fluxes ranged -6.05-13.14 μmol m(-2)h(-1), -0.35-0.61 μmol m(-2)h(-1) and -1.34-3.88 mmol m(-2)h(-1) for N2O, CH4 and CO2, respectively. The differences in both N2O and CH4 fluxes among different mangrove swamps and among tidal positions in each mangrove swamp were insignificant. CO2 flux was influenced only by mangrove swamps and the value was higher in Kema mangrove. None of the measured soil parameters could explain the variation of CH4 fluxes among the sampling plots. N2O flux was negatively related to porewater salinity, while CO2 flux was negatively correlated with water content and organic carbon. This study suggested that the low gas emissions due to slow metabolisms would lead to the accumulations of organic matters in North Sulawesi mangrove swamps. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Engle, Mark A.; Radke, Lawrence F.; Heffern, Edward L.; O'Keefe, Jennifer M.K.; Smeltzer, Charles; Hower, James C.; Hower, Judith M.; Prakash, Anupma; Kolker, Allan; Eatwell, Robert J.; ter Schure, Arnout; Queen, Gerald; Aggen, Kerry L.; Stracher, Glenn B.; Henke, Kevin R.; Olea, Ricardo A.; Román-Colón, Yomayara

    2011-01-01

    Coal fires occur in all coal-bearing regions of the world and number, conservatively, in the thousands. These fires emit a variety of compounds including greenhouse gases. However, the magnitude of the contribution of combustion gases from coal fires to the environment is highly uncertain, because adequate data and methods for assessing emissions are lacking. This study demonstrates the ability to estimate CO2 and CH4 emissions for the Welch Ranch coal fire, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, using two independent methods: (a) heat flux calculated from aerial thermal infrared imaging (3.7–4.4 t d−1 of CO2 equivalent emissions) and (b) direct, ground-based measurements (7.3–9.5 t d−1 of CO2 equivalent emissions). Both approaches offer the potential for conducting inventories of coal fires to assess their gas emissions and to evaluate and prioritize fires for mitigation.

  18. What rules GHG-(greenhouse gas)-fluxes in a prealpine bog - management or watertable?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Förster, Christoph; Drösler, Matthias

    2010-05-01

    Being an important sink of carbon, the small stripe of bogs in the foreland of the Alps plays an important role for the carbon balance of Germany. A big part was drained for peat-use and to get agricultural land in the last centuries. Restoration of these degraded bogs can help to rebuild this function, whereas the watertable is an important co-factor for the amount of mitigation of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O). To estimate GHG-balances gas-flux measurements, using the chamber method developed by Drösler (2005) were done in 2007 and 2008 on a degraded bog-meadow, which was partly rewetted in 1993 and which is still managed in large areas. This mosaic of restored, drained and managed areas showed big differences in their carbon-balances from a high source (~ 500 g CO2-C m-2 a-1) to a moderate sink (~ -200 g CO2-C m-2 a-1). Where the management was stopped in 1993, some Sphagnum-communities developed which helped to turn these areas from moderate sources (47 g CO2-C m-2 a-1) or sinks (-58 g CO2-C m-2 a-1) to permanent sinks with uptakes between (-150 and -250 g CO2-C m-2 a-1). Key words: bog, carbon-balance, greenhouse gases, restoration, watertable

  19. Water and greenhouse gas tradeoffs associated with a transition to a low carbon transportation system

    EPA Science Inventory

    Transportation fuels are heavily dominated by the use of petroleum, but concerns over oil depletion, energy security, and greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum combustion are driving the search for alternatives. As we look to shift away from petroleum-based transportation fuels...

  20. The role of hydrodynamic transport in greenhouse gas fluxes at a wetland with emergent vegetation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poindexter, C.; Gilson, E.; Knox, S. H.; Matthes, J. H.; Verfaillie, J. G.; Baldocchi, D. D.; Variano, E. A.

    2013-12-01

    In wetlands with emergent vegetation, the hydrodynamic transport of dissolved gases is often neglected because emergent plants transport gases directly and limit wind-driven air-water gas exchange by sheltering the water surface. Nevertheless, wetland hydrodynamics, and thermally-driven stirring in particular, have the potential to impact gas fluxes in these environments. We are evaluating the importance of hydrodynamic dissolved gas transport at a re-established marsh on Twitchell Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (California, USA). At this marsh, the U.S. Geological Survey has previously observed rapid accumulation of organic material (carbon sequestration) as well as very high methane emissions. To assess the role of hydrodynamics in the marsh's greenhouse gas fluxes, we measured dissolved carbon dioxide and methane in the water column on a bi-weekly basis beginning in July 2012. We employed a model for air-water gas fluxes in wetlands with emergent vegetation that predicts gas transfer velocities from meteorological conditions. Modeled air-water gas fluxes were compared with net gas fluxes measured at the marsh via the eddy covariance technique. This comparison revealed that hydrodynamic transport due to thermal convection was responsible for approximately one third of net carbon dioxide and methane fluxes. The cooling at the water surface driving thermal convection occurred each night and was most pronounced during the warmest months of the year. These finding have implications for the prediction and management of greenhouse gas fluxes at re-established marshes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other similar wetlands.

  1. The true cost of greenhouse gas emissions: analysis of 1,000 global companies.

    PubMed

    Ishinabe, Nagisa; Fujii, Hidemichi; Managi, Shunsuke

    2013-01-01

    This study elucidated the shadow price of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 1,024 international companies worldwide that were surveyed from 15 industries in 37 major countries. Our results indicate that the shadow price of GHG at the firm level is much higher than indicated in previous studies. The higher shadow price was found in this study as a result of the use of Scope 3 GHG emissions data. The results of this research indicate that a firm would carry a high cost of GHG emissions if Scope 3 GHG emissions were the focus of the discussion of corporate social responsibility. In addition, such shadow prices were determined to differ substantially among countries, among sectors, and within sectors. Although a number of studies have calculated the shadow price of GHG emissions, these studies have employed country-level or industry-level data or a small sample of firm-level data in one country. This new data from a worldwide firm analysis of the shadow price of GHG emissions can play an important role in developing climate policy and promoting sustainable development.

  2. The True Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Analysis of 1,000 Global Companies

    PubMed Central

    Ishinabe, Nagisa; Fujii, Hidemichi; Managi, Shunsuke

    2013-01-01

    This study elucidated the shadow price of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 1,024 international companies worldwide that were surveyed from 15 industries in 37 major countries. Our results indicate that the shadow price of GHG at the firm level is much higher than indicated in previous studies. The higher shadow price was found in this study as a result of the use of Scope 3 GHG emissions data. The results of this research indicate that a firm would carry a high cost of GHG emissions if Scope 3 GHG emissions were the focus of the discussion of corporate social responsibility. In addition, such shadow prices were determined to differ substantially among countries, among sectors, and within sectors. Although a number of studies have calculated the shadow price of GHG emissions, these studies have employed country-level or industry-level data or a small sample of firm-level data in one country. This new data from a worldwide firm analysis of the shadow price of GHG emissions can play an important role in developing climate policy and promoting sustainable development. PMID:24265710

  3. Advancing agricultural greenhouse gas quantification*

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Olander, Lydia; Wollenberg, Eva; Tubiello, Francesco; Herold, Martin

    2013-03-01

    Agricultural Research Service 2011), which aim to improve consistency of field measurement and data collection for soil carbon sequestration and soil nitrous oxide fluxes. Often these national-level activity data and emissions factors are the basis for regional and smaller-scale applications. Such data are used for model-based estimates of changes in GHGs at a project or regional level (Olander et al 2011). To complement national data for regional-, landscape-, or field-level applications, new data are often collected through farmer knowledge or records and field sampling. Ideally such data could be collected in a standardized manner, perhaps through some type of crowd sourcing model to improve regional—and national—level data, as well as to improve consistency of locally collected data. Data can also be collected by companies working with agricultural suppliers and in country networks, within efforts aimed at understanding firm and product (supply-chain) sustainability and risks (FAO 2009). Such data may feed into various certification processes or reporting requirements from buyers. Unfortunately, this data is likely proprietary. A new process is needed to aggregate and share private data in a way that would not be a competitive concern so such data could complement or supplement national data and add value. A number of papers in this focus issue discuss issues surrounding quantification methods and systems at large scales, global and national levels, while others explore landscape- and field-scale approaches. A few explore the intersection of top-down and bottom-up data measurement and modeling approaches. 5. The agricultural greenhouse gas quantification project and ERL focus issue Important land management decisions are often made with poor or few data, especially in developing countries. Current systems for quantifying GHG emissions are inadequate in most low-income countries, due to a lack of funding, human resources, and infrastructure. Most non-Annex 1 countries

  4. Effect of different agronomic management practices on greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient cycling in a long-term field trial

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koal, Philipp; Schilling, Rolf; Gerl, Georg; Pritsch, Karin; Munch, Jean Charles

    2015-04-01

    In order to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, modern agronomic management practices need to be established. Therefore, to assess the effect of different farming practices on greenhouse gas emissions, reliable data are required. The experiment covers and compares two main aspects of agricultural management for a better implementation of sustainable land use. The focus lies on the determination and interpretation of greenhouse gas emissions, however, regarding in each case a different agricultural management system, namely an organic farming system and an integrated farming system where the effect of diverse tillage systems and fertilisation practices are observed. In addition, with analysis of the alterable biological, physical and chemical soil properties a link between the impact of different management systems on greenhouse gas emissions and the observed cycle of matter in the soil, especially the nitrogen and carbon cycle, will be enabled. Measurements have been carried out on long-term field trials at the Research Farm Scheyern located in a Tertiary hilly landscape approximately 40 km north of Munich (South Germany). The long-term field trials of the organic and integrated farming system were started in 1992. Since then parcels of land (each around 0.2-0.4 ha) with a particular interior plot set-up have been conducted with the same crop rotation, tillage and fertilisation practice referring to organic and integrated farming management. Thus, the management impacts on the soil of more than 20 years are being examined. Fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 have been monitored since 2007 for the integrated farming system trial and since 2012 for the organic farming system trial using an automated system which consists of chambers (0.4 m2 area) with a motor-driven lid, an automated gas sampling unit, an on-line gas chromatographic analysis system, and a control and data logging unit. Precipitation and temperature data have been observed for each experimental

  5. Animal health and greenhouse gas intensity: the paradox of periparturient parasitism.

    PubMed

    Houdijk, J G M; Tolkamp, B J; Rooke, J A; Hutchings, M R

    2017-09-01

    Here we provide the first known direct measurements of pathogen challenge impacts on greenhouse gas production, yield and intensity. Twin-rearing ewes were ad libitum fed pelleted lucerne from day -32 to 36 (day 0 is parturition), and repeatedly infected with 10,000 Teladorsagia circumcincta infective larvae (n=16), or sham-dosed with water (n=16). A third group of 16 ewes were fed at 80% of uninfected ewes' feed intake during lactation. Methane emissions were measured in respiration chambers (day 30-36) whilst total tract apparent nutrient digestibility around day 28 informed calculated manure methane and nitrous oxide emissions estimates. Periparturient parasitism reduced feed intake (-9%) and litter weight gain (-7%) and doubled maternal body weight loss. Parasitism reduced daily enteric methane production by 10%, did not affect the methane yield per unit of dry matter intake but increased the yield per unit of digestible organic matter intake by 14%. Parasitism did not affect the daily calculated manure methane and nitrous oxide production, but increased the manure methane and nitrous oxide yields per unit of dry matter intake by 16% and 4%, respectively, and per unit of digestible organic matter intake by 46% and 31%, respectively. Accounting for increased lucerne input for delayed weaning and maternal body weight loss compensation, parasitism increased the calculated greenhouse gas intensity per kg of lamb weight gain for enteric methane (+11%), manure methane (+32%) and nitrous oxide (+30%). Supplemented with the global warming potential associated with production of pelleted lucerne, we demonstrated that parasitism increased calculated global warming potential per kg of lamb weight gain by 16%, which was similar to the measured impact of parasitism on the feed conversion ratio. Thus, arising from a pathogen-induced feed efficiency reduction and modified greenhouse gas emissions, we demonstrated that ovine periparturient parasitism increases greenhouse gas

  6. Portuguese agriculture and the evolution of greenhouse gas emissions-can vegetables control livestock emissions?

    PubMed

    Mourao, Paulo Reis; Domingues Martinho, Vítor

    2017-07-01

    One of the most serious externalities of agricultural activity relates to greenhouse gas emissions. This work tests this relationship for the Portuguese case by examining data compiled since 1961. Employing cointegration techniques and vector error correction models (VECMs), we conclude that the evolution of the most representative vegetables and fruits in Portuguese production are associated with higher controls on the evolution of greenhouse gas emissions. Reversely, the evolution of the output levels of livestock and the most representative animal production have significantly increased the level of CO 2 (carbon dioxide) reported in Portugal. We also analyze the cycle length of the long-term relationship between agricultural activity and greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, we highlight the case of synthetic fertilizers, whose values of CO 2 have quickly risen due to changes in Portuguese vegetables, fruit, and animal production levels.

  7. Optimization of wastewater treatment plant operation for greenhouse gas mitigation.

    PubMed

    Kim, Dongwook; Bowen, James D; Ozelkan, Ertunga C

    2015-11-01

    This study deals with the determination of optimal operation of a wastewater treatment system for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, and pollution loads in the effluent. To do this, an integrated performance index that includes three objectives was established to assess system performance. The ASMN_G model was used to perform system optimization aimed at determining a set of operational parameters that can satisfy three different objectives. The complex nonlinear optimization problem was simulated using the Nelder-Mead Simplex optimization algorithm. A sensitivity analysis was performed to identify influential operational parameters on system performance. The results obtained from the optimization simulations for six scenarios demonstrated that there are apparent trade-offs among the three conflicting objectives. The best optimized system simultaneously reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 31%, reduced operating cost by 11%, and improved effluent quality by 2% compared to the base case operation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. EPA GROUP VERIFIES PERFORMANCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS-MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Greenhouse Gas Technology Verification Center (the Center) is one of 12 independently operated environmental technology verification organizations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Center provides third-party performance data to industry and o...

  9. Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on greenhouse gas fluxes from peat soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oh, H. D.; Rezanezhad, F.; Markelov, I.; McCarter, C. P. R.; Van Cappellen, P.

    2017-12-01

    The ongoing displacement of climate zones by global warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of freeze-thaw cycles in middle and high latitude regions, many of which are dominated by organic soils such as peat. Repeated freezing and thawing of soils changes their physical properties, geochemistry, and microbial community structure, which together govern the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. In this presentation, we focus on how freeze-thaw cycles influence greenhouse gas fluxes from peat using a newly developed experimental soil column system that simulates realistic soil temperature profiles during freeze-thaw cycles. We measured the surface and subsurface changes to gas and aqueous phase chemistry to delineate the diffusion pathways and quantify soil greenhouse gas fluxes during freeze-thaw cycles using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as a conservative tracer. Three peat columns were assembled inside a temperature controlled chamber with different soil structures. All three columns were packed with 40 cm of undisturbed, slightly decomposed peat, where the soil of two columns had an additional 10 cm layer on top (one with loose Sphagnum moss and one with an impermeable plug). The results indicate that the release of SF6 and CO2 gas from the soil surface was influenced by the recurrent development of a physical ice barrier, which prevented gas exchange between the soil and atmosphere during freezing conditions. With the onset of thawing a pulse of SF6 and CO2 occurred, resulting in a flux of 3.24 and 2095.52 µmol/m2h, respectively, due to the build-up of gases in the liquid-phase pore space during freezing. Additionally, we developed a model to determine the specific diffusion coefficients for each peat column. These data allow us to better predict how increased frequency and intensity of freeze-thaw cycles will affect greenhouse gas emissions in northern peat soils.

  10. Farm Simulation: a tool for evaluating the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and the adaptation of dairy production to climate change

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Farms both produce greenhouse gas emissions that drive human-induced climate change and are impacted by that climate change. Whole farm and global climate models provide useful tools for studying the benefits and costs of greenhouse gas mitigation and the adaptation of farms to changing climate. The...

  11. The Role of Nuclear Power in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    EPA Science Inventory

    For Frank Princiotta’s book, Global Climate Change—The Technology Challenge As this chapter will point out, nuclear energy is a low greenhouse gas emitter and is capable of providing large amounts of power using proven technology. In the immediate future, it can contribute to gr...

  12. Incorporating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in long range transportation planning.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-05-01

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to be an important focus area for state, local, and federal : agencies. The transportation sector is the second biggest contributor to GHG emissions in the U.S., and : Texas contributes the highest emissions am...

  13. Modeling travel choices to assess potential greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-06-01

    The transportation sector is the source of approximately 27% of total U.S. greenhouse gas : (GHG) emissions (EPA, 2015), and these emissions are projected to increase in the future : (NHTSA, 2011). Given the potentially severe impacts of climate chan...

  14. Intertemporal Regulatory Tasks and Responsibilities for Greenhouse Gas Reductions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deason, Jeffrey A.; Friedman, Lee S.

    2010-01-01

    Jurisdictions are in the process of establishing regulatory systems to control greenhouse gas emissions. Short-term and sometimes long-term emissions reduction goals are established, as California does for 2020 and 2050, but little attention has yet been focused on annual emissions targets for the intervening years. We develop recommendations for…

  15. Impact of nitrogen fertilization on soil-Atmosphere greenhouse gas exchanges in eucalypt plantations with different soil characteristics in southern China.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Kai; Zheng, Hua; Chen, Falin; Li, Ruida; Yang, Miao; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Lan, Jun; Xiang, Xuewu

    2017-01-01

    Nitrogen (N) fertilization is necessary to sustain productivity in eucalypt plantations, but it can increase the risk of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the response of soil greenhouse gas emissions to N fertilization might be influenced by soil characteristics, which is of great significance for accurately assessing greenhouse gas budgets and scientific fertilization in plantations. We conducted a two-year N fertilization experiment (control [CK], low N [LN], middle N [MN] and high N [HN] fertilization) in two eucalypt plantations with different soil characteristics (higher and lower soil organic carbon sites [HSOC and LSOC]) in Guangxi, China, and assessed soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas exchanges. The annual mean fluxes of soil CO2, CH4, and N2O were separately 153-266 mg m-2 h-1, -55 --40 μg m-2 h-1, and 11-95 μg m-2 h-1, with CO2 and N2O emissions showing significant seasonal variations. N fertilization significantly increased soil CO2 and N2O emissions and decreased CH4 uptake at both sites. There were significant interactions of N fertilization and SOC level on soil CO2 and N2O emissions. At the LSOC site, the annual mean flux of soil CO2 emission was only significantly higher than the CK treatment in the HN treatment, but, at the HSOC site, the annual mean flux of soil CO2 emission was significantly higher for both the LN (or MN) and HN treatments in comparison to the CK treatment. Under the CK and LN treatments, the annual mean flux of N2O emission was not significantly different between HSOC and LSOC sites, but under the HN treatment, it was significantly higher in the HSOC site than in the LSOC site. Correlation analysis showed that changes in soil CO2 and N2O emissions were significantly related to soil dissolved organic carbon, ammonia, nitrate and pH. Our results suggested significant interactions of N fertilization and soil characteristics existed in soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas exchanges, which should be considered in assessing greenhouse gas

  16. Impact of nitrogen fertilization on soil–Atmosphere greenhouse gas exchanges in eucalypt plantations with different soil characteristics in southern China

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Kai; Zheng, Hua; Chen, Falin; Li, Ruida; Yang, Miao; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Lan, Jun; Xiang, Xuewu

    2017-01-01

    Nitrogen (N) fertilization is necessary to sustain productivity in eucalypt plantations, but it can increase the risk of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the response of soil greenhouse gas emissions to N fertilization might be influenced by soil characteristics, which is of great significance for accurately assessing greenhouse gas budgets and scientific fertilization in plantations. We conducted a two-year N fertilization experiment (control [CK], low N [LN], middle N [MN] and high N [HN] fertilization) in two eucalypt plantations with different soil characteristics (higher and lower soil organic carbon sites [HSOC and LSOC]) in Guangxi, China, and assessed soil–atmosphere greenhouse gas exchanges. The annual mean fluxes of soil CO2, CH4, and N2O were separately 153–266 mg m-2 h-1, -55 –-40 μg m-2 h-1, and 11–95 μg m-2 h-1, with CO2 and N2O emissions showing significant seasonal variations. N fertilization significantly increased soil CO2 and N2O emissions and decreased CH4 uptake at both sites. There were significant interactions of N fertilization and SOC level on soil CO2 and N2O emissions. At the LSOC site, the annual mean flux of soil CO2 emission was only significantly higher than the CK treatment in the HN treatment, but, at the HSOC site, the annual mean flux of soil CO2 emission was significantly higher for both the LN (or MN) and HN treatments in comparison to the CK treatment. Under the CK and LN treatments, the annual mean flux of N2O emission was not significantly different between HSOC and LSOC sites, but under the HN treatment, it was significantly higher in the HSOC site than in the LSOC site. Correlation analysis showed that changes in soil CO2 and N2O emissions were significantly related to soil dissolved organic carbon, ammonia, nitrate and pH. Our results suggested significant interactions of N fertilization and soil characteristics existed in soil–atmosphere greenhouse gas exchanges, which should be considered in assessing

  17. Impact of stream geomorphology on greenhouse gas concentration in a New York mountain stream

    Treesearch

    Philippe Vidon; Satish Serchan

    2016-01-01

    As increased greenhouse gas concentrations (GHG: N2O, CO2, CH4) in our atmosphere remain a major concern, better quantifying GHG fluxes from natural systems is essential. In this study, we investigate GHG concentrations in saturated riparian sediments (dry, wet, mucky), streambed hyporheic zone...

  18. Waste-to-energy sector and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fotis, S.C.; Sussman, D.

    The waste-to-energy sector provides one important avenue for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significant GHG reductions capable of being achieved by the waste-to-energy (WTE) sector through avoided fossil generation and reduced municipal landfills. The paper begins with a review of the current voluntary reporting mechanism for {open_quotes}registering{close_quotes} GHG reduction credits under section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The paper then provides an overview of possible emerging international and domestic trends that could ultimately lead to mandatory targets and timetables for GHG mitigation in themore » United States and other countries. The paper ends with an analysis of the GHG benefits achievable by the WTE sector, based on the section 1605(b) report filed by the Integrated Waste Services Association IWSA on the GHG emissions avoided for year 1995.« less

  19. Transportation's role in reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, volume 1 : report to Congress, U.S. Department of Transportation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-04-01

    This study evaluates potentially viable strategies to reduce transportation : greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study was mandated by the Energy : Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140, December 2007). The Act directed : the U.S. Department o...

  20. Assessing Greenhouse Gas emissions in the Greater Toronto Area using atmospheric observations (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vogel, F. R.; Chan, E.; Huang, L.; Levin, I.; Worthy, D.

    2013-12-01

    Urban areas are said to be responsible for approximately 75% of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions while comprising only two percent of the land area [1]. This limited spatial expansion should facilitate a monitoring of anthropogenic GHGs from atmospheric observations. As major sources of emissions, cities also have a huge potential to drive emissions reductions. To effectively manage emissions, cities must however, first measure and report these publicly [2]. Modelling studies and measurements of CO2 from fossil fuel burning (FFCO2) in densely populated areas does, however, pose several challenges: Besides continuous in-situ observations, i.e. finding an adequate atmospheric transport model, a sufficiently fine-grained FFCO2 emission model and the proper background reference observations to distinguish the large-scale from the local/urban contributions to the observed FFCO2 concentration offsets ( ΔFFCO2) are required. Pilot studies which include the data from two 'sister sites*' in the vicinity of Toronto, Canada helped to derive flux estimates for Non-CO2 GHGs [3] and improve our understanding of urban FFCO2 emissions. Our 13CO2 observations reveal that the contribution of natural gas burning (mostly due to domestic heating) account for 80%×7% of FFCO2 emissions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) during winter. Our 14CO2 observations in the GTA, furthermore, show that the local offset of CO2 (ΔCO2) between our two sister sites can be largely attributed to urban FFCO2 emissions. The seasonal cycle of the observed ΔFFCO2 in Toronto, combined with high-resolution atmospheric modeling, helps to independently assess the contribution from different emission sectors (transportation, primary energy and industry, domestic heating) as predicted by a dedicated city-scale emission inventory, which deviates from a UNFCCC-based inventory. [1] D. Dodman. 2009. Blaming cities for climate change? An analysis of urban greenhouse gas emissions inventories

  1. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Asphalt Pavement Construction: A Case Study in China.

    PubMed

    Ma, Feng; Sha, Aimin; Lin, Ruiyu; Huang, Yue; Wang, Chao

    2016-03-22

    In China, the construction of asphalt pavement has a significant impact on the environment, and energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from asphalt pavement construction have been receiving increasing attention in recent years. At present, there is no universal criterion for the evaluation of GHG emissions in asphalt pavement construction. This paper proposes to define the system boundaries for GHG emissions from asphalt pavement by using a process-based life cycle assessment method. A method for evaluating GHG emissions from asphalt pavement construction is suggested. The paper reports a case study of GHG emissions from a typical asphalt pavement construction project in China. The results show that the greenhouse gas emissions from the mixture mixing phase are the highest, and account for about 54% of the total amount. The second highest GHG emission phase is the production of raw materials. For GHG emissions of cement stabilized base/subbase, the production of raw materials emits the most, about 98%. The GHG emission for cement production alone is about 92%. The results indicate that any measures to reduce GHG emissions from asphalt pavement construction should be focused on the raw materials manufacturing stage. If the raw materials production phase is excluded, the measures to reduce GHG emissions should be aimed at the mixture mixing phase.

  2. Land Use Effects on Net Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in the US Great Plains: Historical Trends and Model Projections

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Del Grosso, S. J.; Parton, W. J.; Ojima, D. S.; Mosier, A. R.; Mosier, A. R.; Paustian, K.; Peterson, G. A.

    2001-12-01

    We present maps showing regional patterns of land use change and soil C levels in the US Great Plains during the 20th century and time series of net greenhouse gas fluxes associated with different land uses. Net greenhouse gas fluxes were calculated by accounting for soil CO2 fluxes, the CO2 equivalents of N2O emissions and CH4 uptake, and the CO2 costs of N fertilizer production. Both historical and modern agriculture in this region have been net sources of greenhouse gases. The primary reason for this, prior to 1950, is that agriculture mined soil C and resulted in net CO2 emissions. When chemical N fertilizer became widely used in the 1950's agricultural soils began to sequester CO2-C but these soils were still net greenhouse gas sources if the effects of increased N2O emissions and decreased CH4 uptake are included. The sensitivity of net greenhouse gas fluxes to conventional and alternative land uses was explored using the DAYCENT ecosystem model. Model projections suggest that conversion to no-till, reduction of the fallow period, and use of nitrification inhibitors can significantly decrease net greenhouse gas emissions in dryland and irrigated systems, while maintaining or increasing crop yields.

  3. Greenhouse gas mitigation for U.S. plastics production: energy first, feedstocks later

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Posen, I. Daniel; Jaramillo, Paulina; Landis, Amy E.; Griffin, W. Michael

    2017-03-01

    Plastics production is responsible for 1% and 3% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy use, respectively. Replacing conventional plastics with bio-based plastics (made from renewable feedstocks) is frequently proposed as a way to mitigate these impacts. Comparatively little research has considered the potential for green energy to reduce emissions in this industry. This paper compares two strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. plastics production: using renewable energy or switching to renewable feedstocks. Renewable energy pathways assume all process energy comes from wind power and renewable natural gas derived from landfill gas. Renewable feedstock pathways assume that all commodity thermoplastics will be replaced with polylactic acid (PLA) and bioethylene-based plastics, made using either corn or switchgrass, and powered using either conventional or renewable energy. Corn-based biopolymers produced with conventional energy are the dominant near-term biopolymer option, and can reduce industry-wide GHG emissions by 25%, or 16 million tonnes CO2e/year (mean value). In contrast, switching to renewable energy cuts GHG emissions by 50%-75% (a mean industry-wide reduction of 38 million tonnes CO2e/year). Both strategies increase industry costs—by up to 85/tonne plastic (mean result) for renewable energy, and up to 3000 tonne-1 plastic for renewable feedstocks. Overall, switching to renewable energy achieves greater emission reductions, with less uncertainty and lower costs than switching to corn-based biopolymers. In the long run, producing bio-based plastics from advanced feedstocks (e.g. switchgrass) and/or with renewable energy can further reduce emissions, to approximately 0 CO2e/year (mean value).

  4. USDA Agriculture and Forestry Greenhouse Gas Inventory: 1990-2013

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations in the atmosphere have increased by approximately 43%, 152%, and 20% respectively since about 1750. In 2013, total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were 6,673 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMT CO2 eq.), ris...

  5. The Greenhouse Gas Emission from Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Construction in China

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Feng; Sha, Aimin; Yang, Panpan; Huang, Yue

    2016-01-01

    This study proposes an inventory analysis method to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Portland cement concrete pavement construction, based on a case project in the west of China. The concrete pavement construction process was divided into three phases, namely raw material production, concrete manufacture and pavement onsite construction. The GHG emissions of the three phases are analyzed by a life cycle inventory method. The CO2e is used to indicate the GHG emissions. The results show that for 1 km Portland cement concrete pavement construction, the total CO2e is 8215.31 tons. Based on the evaluation results, the CO2e of the raw material production phase is 7617.27 tons, accounting for 92.7% of the total GHG emissions; the CO2e of the concrete manufacture phase is 598,033.10 kg, accounting for 7.2% of the total GHG emissions. Lastly, the CO2e of the pavement onsite construction phase is 8396.59 kg, accounting for only 0.1% of the total GHG emissions. The main greenhouse gas is CO2 in each phase, which accounts for more than 98% of total emissions. N2O and CH4 emissions are relatively insignificant. PMID:27347987

  6. 40 CFR Table W - 1A of Subpart W-Default Whole Gas Emission Factors for Onshore Petroleum and Natural Gas Production

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false 1A of Subpart W-Default Whole Gas Emission Factors for Onshore Petroleum and Natural Gas Production W Table W Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING...

  7. Voluntary reporting of greenhouse gases under Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Holt, E. Jr.; Vernet, J.E. Jr.

    DOE is developing guidelines for the voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and their reductions, under Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The establishment of this voluntary program should encourage the reduction of greenhouse gases while providing the opportunity to share innovative approaches to achieving such reductions. This social learning aspect is an important element of the program. In addition to greenhouse gas reductions achieved during a given year, reporters are encouraged to also report their actual emissions of such gases for 1987 through 1990. Due to the voluntary nature of this program, and the myriad differencesmore » among the potential reporting entities and possible uses for the data reported, the guidelines will need to be structured so as to maximize participation without compromising the usefulness of the data collected. Through a broad notice of inquiry, published in the Federal Register on July 27, 1993, the Department began seeking input into development of the guidelines. Subsequently, to gain a better understanding of the various sectors of the economy, six public workshops were held during the 1993. One workshop addressed institutional issues of potential interest to all sectors of the economy, with the other five workshops focusing more on matters of concern to specific sectors. These meetings were structured so as to provide broad representation from potential reporting entities along with public interest organizations. It is clear that there are significant variations among those reporting greenhouse information. Presently voluntary, the program will need flexibility to encourage broad participation.« less

  8. Long-term effect of biochar application on yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions in a rice paddy cropping system: A four-year case study in south China.

    PubMed

    Qin, Xiaobo; Li, Yu'e; Wang, Hong; Liu, Chong; Li, Jianling; Wan, Yunfan; Gao, Qingzhu; Fan, Fenliang; Liao, Yulin

    2016-11-01

    To evaluate long-term effect of biochar application on yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions (YSGE) in a paddy rice cropping system, a 4-year field experiment by static chamber - gas chromatograph method was conducted in South China. Principal component analysis and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and real-time qPCR was used to unravel the microbial mechanisms of biochar addition. Six treatments were included: control (CK), application of 5tha(-1) biochar (BC1), application of 10tha(-1) biochar (BC2), application of 10tha(-1) biochar (BC3), rice straw return at 2400kgha(-1)(RS) and inoculated rice straw return at 2400kgha(-1)(RI). The results indicated that biochar amendment significantly decreased methane (CH4) and gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This may primarily be ascribed to the stimulated biodiversity and abundance of methanotrophic microbes, increased soil pH and improved aeration by reducing bulk density after biochar incorporation. Compared with CK, RS and RI, 26.18%, 70.02%, 66.47% of CH4 flux and 26.14%, 70.16%, 66.46% of gross GHG emissions were reduced by biochar (mean of three biochar treatments), respectively. Furthermore, biochar significantly increased harvest index of double rice production (p<0.05). In comparison with CK, RS and RI, 29.14%, 68.04%, 62.28% of YSGE was reduced by biochar, respectively, and the highest biochar addition rate (20tha(-1)) contributed most to the mitigation of GHG emissions (36.24% decrease compared to CK) and improvement of rice yield (7.65% increase compared to CK). Results of our study suggested that long-term application of biochar should be the potential way to mitigate GHGs emissions and simultaneously improve rice productivity in the paddy rice system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Validation of an analytical method for simultaneous high-precision measurements of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment plants using a gas chromatography-barrier discharge detector system.

    PubMed

    Pascale, Raffaella; Caivano, Marianna; Buchicchio, Alessandro; Mancini, Ignazio M; Bianco, Giuliana; Caniani, Donatella

    2017-01-13

    Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) emit CO 2 and N 2 O, which may lead to climate change and global warming. Over the last few years, awareness of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from WWTPs has increased. Moreover, the development of valid, reliable, and high-throughput analytical methods for simultaneous gas analysis is an essential requirement for environmental applications. In the present study, an analytical method based on a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a barrier ionization discharge (BID) detector was developed for the first time. This new method simultaneously analyses CO 2 and N 2 O and has a precision, measured in terms of relative standard of variation RSD%, equal to or less than 6.6% and 5.1%, respectively. The method's detection limits are 5.3ppm v for CO 2 and 62.0ppb v for N 2 O. The method's selectivity, linearity, accuracy, repeatability, intermediate precision, limit of detection and limit of quantification were good at trace concentration levels. After validation, the method was applied to a real case of N 2 O and CO 2 emissions from a WWTP, confirming its suitability as a standard procedure for simultaneous GHG analysis in environmental samples containing CO 2 levels less than 12,000mg/L. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options Database and Tool - Data ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Industry and electricity production facilities generate over 50 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. There is a growing consensus among scientists that the primary cause of climate change is anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing GHG emissions from these sources is a key part of the United States’ strategy to reduce the impacts of these global-warming emissions. As a result of the recent focus on GHG emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies are implementing policies and programs to quantify and regulate GHG emissions from key emitting sources in the United States. These policies and programs have generated a need for a reliable source of information regarding GHG mitigation options for both industry and regulators. In response to this need, EPA developed a comprehensive GHG mitigation options database (GMOD) that was compiled based on information from industry, government research agencies, and academia. The GMOD and Tool (GMODT) is a comprehensive data repository and analytical tool being developed by EPA to evaluate alternative GHG mitigation options for several high-emitting industry sectors, including electric power plants, cement plants, refineries, landfills and other industrial sources of GHGs. The data is collected from credible sources including peer-reviewed journals, reports, and others government and academia data sources which include performance, applicability, develop

  11. Greenhouse gas and carbon profile of the U.S. forest products industry value chain

    Treesearch

    Linda S. Heath; Van Maltby; Reid Miner; Kenneth E. Skog; James E. Smith; Jay Unwin; Brad Upton

    2010-01-01

    A greenhouse gas and carbon accounting profile was developed for the U.S. forest products industry value chain for 1990 and 2004-2005 by examining net atmospheric fluxes of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) using a variety of methods and data sources. Major GHG emission sources include direct and indirect (from purchased electricity...

  12. Estimating the Impact of US Agriculture Subsidies on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eshel, G.; Martin, P. A.

    2006-12-01

    It has been proposed in the popular media that US agricultural subsidies contribute deleteriously to both the American diet and environment. In this view, subsidies render mostly corn-based, animal products and sweeteners artificically cheap, leading to enhanced consumption. Problems accompanying this structure mentioned include enhanced meat, fat and sugar consumption and the associated enhancement of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and possible various types of cancer, as well as air, soil and water pollution. Often overlooked in these discussions is the potential enhancement of greenhouse gas emissions accompanying this policy-based steering of food consumption toward certain products at the expense of others, possibly more nutritionally and environmentally benign. If such enhancements are in fact borne out by data, the policies that give rise to them will prove to constitute government-sponsored enhancement of greenhouse gas emissions, in contrast to any climate change mitigation efforts. If so, they represent low- hanging fruits in the national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which may one day be launched. Agriculture subsidies impact the emissions of CO2 (by direct energy consumption), nitrous oxide (by land use alteration and manure management), and methane (by ruminant digestion and manure treatment). Quantifying the impacts of agricultural subsidies is complicated by many compounding and conflicting effects (many related to human behavior rather than the natural sciences) and the relatively short data timeseries. For example, subsidy policies change over time, certain subsidy types are introduced or eliminated, food preferences change as nutritional understanding (or propaganda) shift, etc. Despite the difficulties, such quantification is crucial to better estimate the overall effect and variability of dietary choices on greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately minimize environmental impacts. In this study, we take preliminary

  13. Towards a Novel Integrated Approach for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Support of International Agreements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reimann, S.; Vollmer, M. K.; Henne, S.; Brunner, D.; Emmenegger, L.; Manning, A.; Fraser, P. J.; Krummel, P. B.; Dunse, B. L.; DeCola, P.; Tarasova, O. A.

    2016-12-01

    In the recently adopted Paris Agreement the community of signatory states has agreed to limit the future global temperature increase between +1.5 °C and +2.0 °C, compared to pre-industrial times. To achieve this goal, emission reduction targets have been submitted by individual nations (called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, INDCs). Inventories will be used for checking progress towards these envisaged goals. These inventories are calculated by combining information on specific activities (e.g. passenger cars, agriculture) with activity-related, typically IPCC-sanctioned, emission factors - the so-called bottom-up method. These calculated emissions are reported on an annual basis and are checked by external bodies by using the same method. A second independent method estimates emissions by translating greenhouse gas measurements made at regionally representative stations into regional/global emissions using meteorologically-based transport models. In recent years this so-called top-down approach has been substantially advanced into a powerful tool and emission estimates at the national/regional level have become possible. This method is already used in Switzerland, in the United Kingdom and in Australia to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and independently support the national bottom-up emission inventories within the UNFCCC framework. Examples of the comparison of the two independent methods will be presented and the added-value will be discussed. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and partner organizations are currently developing a plan to expand this top-down approach and to expand the globally representative GAW network of ground-based stations and remote-sensing platforms and integrate their information with atmospheric transport models. This Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS) initiative will help nations to improve the accuracy of their country-based emissions inventories and their ability to evaluate the

  14. A new Masters program in Greenhouse Gas Management and Accounting at Colorado State University

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conant, R. T.; Ogle, S. M.

    2015-12-01

    Management guru Peter Drucker said that "what gets measured gets managed." But the unstated implication is that what doesn't get measured doesn't get managed. Accurate quantification of greenhouse gas mitigation efforts is central to the clean technology sector. Very soon professionals of all kinds (business people, accountants, lawyers) will need to understand carbon accounting and crediting. Over the next few decades food production is expected to double and energy production must triple in order to meet growing global demands; sustainable management of land use and agricultural systems will be critical. The food and energy supply challenges are inextricably linked to the challenge of limiting anthropogenic impacts on climate by reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. To avoid serious disruption of the climate system and stabilize GHG concentrations, society must move aggressively to avoid emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O and to actively draw down CO2 already in the atmosphere. A new cadre of technically adept professionals is needed to meet these challenges. We describe a new professional Masters degree in greenhouse gas management and accounting at Colorado State University. This effort leverages existing, internationally-recognized expertise from across campus and partners from agencies and industry, enabling students from diverse backgrounds to develop the skills needed to fill this emerging demand.

  15. Benefits on public health from transport-related greenhouse gas mitigation policies in Southeastern European cities.

    PubMed

    Sarigiannis, D A; Kontoroupis, P; Nikolaki, S; Gotti, A; Chapizanis, D; Karakitsios, S

    2017-02-01

    Climate change is a major environmental threat of our time. Cities have a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions as most of the traffic, industry, commerce and more than 50% of world population is situated in urban areas. Southern Europe is a region that faces financial turmoil, enhanced migratory fluxes and climate change pressure. The case study of Thessaloniki is presented, one of the only two cities in Greece with established climate change action plans. The effects of feasible traffic policies in year 2020 are assessed and their potential health impact is compared to a business as usual scenario. Two types of measures are investigated: operation of underground rail in the city centre and changes in fleet composition. Potential co-benefits from reduced greenhouse gas emissions on public health by the year 2020 are computed utilizing state-of-the-art concentration response functions for PM x , NO 2 and C 6 H 6 . Results show significant environmental health and monetary co-benefits when the city metro is coupled with appropriate changes in the traffic composition. Monetary savings due to avoided mortality or leukaemia incidence corresponding to the reduction in PM 10 , PM 2.5, NO 2 and C 6 H 6 exposure will be 56.6, 45, 37.7 and 1.0 million Euros respectively. Promotion of 'green' transportation in the city (i.e. the wide use of electric vehicles), will provide monetary savings from the reduction in PM 10 , PM 2.5 , NO 2 and C 6 H 6 exposure up to 60.4, 49.1, 41.2 and 1.08 million Euros. Overall, it was shown that the respective GHG emission reduction policies resulted in clear co-benefits in terms of air quality improvement, public health protection and monetary loss mitigation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Land use change and the impact on greenhouse gas exchange in north Australian savanna soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grover, S. P. P.; Livesley, S. J.; Hutley, L. B.; Jamali, H.; Fest, B.; Beringer, J.; Butterbach-Bahl, K.; Arndt, S. K.

    2011-09-01

    Savanna ecosystems are subject to accelerating land use change as human demand for food and forest products increases. Land use change has been shown to both increase and decrease greenhouse gas fluxes from savannas and considerable uncertainty exists about the non-CO2 fluxes from the soil. We measured methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) over a complete wet-dry seasonal cycle at three replicated sites of each of three land uses: savanna, young pasture and old pasture (converted from savanna 5-7 and 25-30 yr ago, respectively) in the Douglas Daly region of northern Australia. The effect of break of season rains at the end of the dry season was investigated with two irrigation experiments. Land use change from savanna to pasture increased net greenhouse gas fluxes from the soil. Pasture sites were a weaker sink for CH4 than savanna sites and, under wet conditions, old pastures turned from being sinks to a significant source of CH4. Nitrous oxide emissions were generally very low, in the range of 0 to 5 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1, and under dry conditions soil uptake of N2O was apparent. Break of season rains produced a small, short lived pulse of N2O up to 20 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1, most evident in pasture soil. Annual cumulative soil CO2 fluxes increased after clearing, with savanna (14.6 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1) having the lowest fluxes compared to old pasture (18.5 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1) and young pasture (20.0 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1). Clearing savanna increased soil-based greenhouse gas emissions from 53 to ~70 t CO2-equivalents, a 30% increase dominated by an increase in soil CO2 emissions and shift from soil CH4 sink to source. Seasonal variation was clearly driven by soil water content, supporting the emerging view that soil water content is a more important driver of soil gas fluxes than soil temperature in tropical ecosystems where temperature varies little among seasons.

  17. Land use change and the impact on greenhouse gas exchange in north Australian savanna soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grover, S. P. P.; Livesley, S. J.; Hutley, L. B.; Jamali, H.; Fest, B.; Beringer, J.; Butterbach-Bahl, K.; Arndt, S. K.

    2012-01-01

    Savanna ecosystems are subjected to accelerating land use change as human demand for food and forest products increases. Land use change has been shown to both increase and decrease greenhouse gas fluxes from savannas and considerable uncertainty exists about the non-CO2 fluxes from the soil. We measured methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) over a complete wet-dry seasonal cycle at three replicate sites of each of three land uses: savanna, young pasture and old pasture (converted from savanna 5-7 and 25-30 yr ago, respectively) in the Douglas Daly region of Northern Australia. The effect of break of season rains at the end of the dry season was investigated with two irrigation experiments. Land use change from savanna to pasture increased net greenhouse gas fluxes from the soil. Pasture sites were a weaker sink for CH4 than savanna sites and, under wet conditions, old pastures turned from being sinks to a significant source of CH4. Nitrous oxide emissions were generally very low, in the range of 0 to 5 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1, and under dry conditions soil uptake of N2O was apparent. Break of season rains produced a small, short lived pulse of N2O up to 20 μg N2O-N m-2 h-1, most evident in pasture soil. Annual cumulative soil CO2 fluxes increased after clearing, with savanna (14.6 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1) having the lowest fluxes compared to old pasture (18.5 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1) and young pasture (20.0 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1). Clearing savanna increased soil-based greenhouse gas emissions from 53 to ∼ 70 t CO2-equivalents, a 30% increase dominated by an increase in soil CO2 emissions and shift from soil CH4 sink to source. Seasonal variation was clearly driven by soil water content, supporting the emerging view that soil water content is a more important driver of soil gas fluxes than soil temperature in tropical ecosystems where temperature varies little among seasons.

  18. Greenhouse gas exchange over grazed systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Felber, R.; Ammann, C.; Neftel, A.

    2012-04-01

    Grasslands act as sinks and sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) and are, in conjunction with livestock production systems, responsible for a large share of GHG emissions. Whereas ecosystem scale flux measurements (eddy covariance) are commonly used to investigate CO2 exchange (and is becoming state-of-the-art for other GHGs, too), GHG emissions from agricultural animals are usually investigated on the scale of individual animals. Therefore eddy covariance technique has to be tested for combined systems (i.e. grazed systems). Our project investigates the ability of field scale flux measurements to reliably quantify the contribution of grazing dairy cows to the net exchange of CO2 and CH4. To quantify the contribution of the animals to the net flux the position, movement, and grazing/rumination activity of each cow are recorded. In combination with a detailed footprint analysis of the eddy covariance fluxes, the animal related CO2 and CH4 emissions are derived and compared to standard emission values derived from respiration chambers. The aim of the project is to test the assumption whether field scale CO2 flux measurements adequately include the respiration of grazing cows and to identify potential errors in ecosystem Greenhouse gas budgets.

  19. 78 FR 11585 - Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revision to Best Available Monitoring Method Request Submission...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-19

    ... facilities. 211 Extractors of crude petroleum and natural gas. 211112 Natural gas liquid extraction... Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revision to Best Available Monitoring Method Request Submission Deadline for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems Source Category AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION...

  20. A global meta-analysis on the impact of management practices on net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity from cropland soils

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Agricultural practices contribute significant amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but little is known about their effects on net global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) that account for all sources and sinks of carbon dioxide emissions per unit area or crop yield. Se...

  1. PROCEEDINGS: THE 1995 SYMPOSIUM ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND MITIGATION RESEARCH

    EPA Science Inventory

    The report documents the 1995 Symposium on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation Research, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division (EPA/APPCD), in Washington, DC on June 27-29, 1995. The symposium provided a forum of...

  2. 40 CFR 1036.241 - Demonstrating compliance with greenhouse gas pollutant standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... HIGHWAY ENGINES Certifying Engine Families § 1036.241 Demonstrating compliance with greenhouse gas pollutant standards. (a) For purposes of certification, your engine family is considered in compliance with the emission standards in § 1036.108 if all emission-data engines representing the tested...

  3. 40 CFR 1036.241 - Demonstrating compliance with greenhouse gas pollutant standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... HIGHWAY ENGINES Certifying Engine Families § 1036.241 Demonstrating compliance with greenhouse gas pollutant standards. (a) For purposes of certification, your engine family is considered in compliance with the emission standards in § 1036.108 if all emission-data engines representing the tested...

  4. 40 CFR 1036.241 - Demonstrating compliance with greenhouse gas pollutant standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... HIGHWAY ENGINES Certifying Engine Families § 1036.241 Demonstrating compliance with greenhouse gas pollutant standards. (a) For purposes of certification, your engine family is considered in compliance with the emission standards in § 1036.108 if all emission-data engines representing the tested...

  5. Net soil respiration and greenhouse gas balance along a sequence of forest disturbance to smallholder rubber and oil palm plantations in Sumatra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khusyu Aini, Fitri; Hergoualc'h, Kristell; Smith, Jo; Verchot, Louis; Martius, Christopher

    2017-04-01

    The rapid increase in demand for land to establish oil palm and rubber plantations has led to the conversion of forests, with potential impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and on climate change. This study evaluates the net greenhouse gas balance following forest change to other land uses, i.e. one year rubber plantation, twenty-year rubber plantation and eight year oil palm plantation on Sumatran mineral soils. None of the plantations had ever been fertilized previously. During this study they were fertilized to provide nitrogen at the recommended rate used by farmers (33.3 kg N ha-1 y-1). The ecosystem stores carbon in litterfall, standing litter biomass (undergrowth vegetation, leaves, twigs, litter on the soil surface), soil organic matter, root biomass, and standing tree biomass. It releases carbon to the atmosphere through soil respiration fluxes, negative values indicating that carbon is stored by the land use change and positive values indicating emissions to the atmosphere. Net soil respiration was assessed using a mass balance approach: standing litter and tree biomass were measured once; the rate of carbon accumulation from standing litter and tree biomass was calculated by dividing the stock by the age of plantation or the time since logging started in the disturbed forest. The carbon accumulation in standing litter, tree biomass in the forest and soil organic matter for all land-uses was estimated from available in the literature. Root biomass for each land-use system was calculated using the root:shoot ratio. The net soil respiration of carbon dioxide from the forest, disturbed forest, one year rubber plantation, twenty-year rubber plantation and oil palm plantation were calculated to be -6 (± 5), 12 (± 6), 11 (± 15), 10 (± 5), 39 (± 7) Mg ha-1 y-1, respectively. Soil nitrous oxide, methane and litterfall were measured for 14 months and respiration fluxes were measured for 5 months across land uses and different seasons. The measured emissions of

  6. Assessing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Natural Gas Fired Power Plants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hajny, K. D.; Shepson, P. B.; Rudek, J.; Stirm, B. H.; Kaeser, R.; Stuff, A. A.

    2017-12-01

    Natural gas is often discussed as a "bridge fuel" to transition to renewable energy as it only produces 51% the amount of CO2 per unit energy as coal. This, coupled with rapid increases in production fueled by technological advances, has led to a near tripling of natural gas used for electricity generation since 2005. One concern with this idea of a "bridge fuel" is that methane, the primary component of natural gas, is itself a potent greenhouse gas with 28 and 84 times the global warming potential of CO2 based on mass over a 100 and 20 year period, respectively. Studies have estimated that leaks from the point of extraction to end use of 3.2% would offset the climate benefits of natural gas. Previous work from our group saw that 3 combined cycle power plants emitted unburned CH4 from the stacks and leaked additional CH4 from equipment on site, but total loss rates were still less than 2.2%. Using Purdue's Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research (ALAR) we completed additional aircraft based mass balance experiments combined with passes directly over power plant stacks to expand on the previous study. In this work, we have measured at 12 additional natural gas fired power plants including a mix of operation types (baseload, peaking, intermediate) and firing methods (combined cycle, simple thermal, combustion turbine). We have also returned to the 3 plants previously sampled to reinvestigate emissions for each of those, to assess reproducibility of the results. Here we report the comparison of reported continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) data for CO2 to our emission rates calculated from mass balance experiments, as well as a comparison of calculated CH4 emission rates to estimated emission rates based on the EPA emission factor of 1 g CH4/mmbtu natural gas and CEMS reported heat input. We will also discuss emissions from a coal-fired plant which has been sampled by the group in the past and has since converted to natural gas. Lastly, we discuss the

  7. Questioning the accuracy of greenhouse gas accounting from agricultural waste: a case study.

    PubMed

    Chung, Matthew L; Shilton, Andrew N; Guieysse, Benoit; Pratt, Chris

    2013-01-01

    The New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory (the NZ Inventory) uses country-specific data to quantify CH emissions from anaerobic ponds treating dairy farm effluent (315 Gg CO equivalent [CO-e] in 2009). In this study, we used literature data to: (i) evaluate the accuracy of the NZ Inventory's parameters used to quantify these CH emissions; and (ii) determine whether the NZ Inventory's scope is capturing the full spectrum of sources with bio-CH potential entering anaerobic ponds. The research indicated that the current NZ Inventory methodology is underestimating CH emissions from anaerobic ponds across New Zealand by 264 to 603 Gg CO-e annually. Moreover, the NZ Inventory is currently not accounting for (i) manure from supplementary feed pads and stand-off pads (annual CH emissions = 207-330 Gg CO-e); (ii) waste milk (153-280 Gg CO-e); and (iii) supplementary feed waste (90-216 Gg CO-e). Annual CH emissions from anaerobic ponds on dairy farms across New Zealand are thus more likely to be 1029 to 1744 Gg CO-e, indicating that the NZ Inventory is reporting as little as 18% of actual CH emissions produced by this sector. These additional wastes are not accounted for in the methodology prescribed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for estimating CH emissions from dairy manure. Consequently, other significant dairying nations will also probably be underestimating their waste CH emissions. Our research highlights that, if governments attempt to include country-specific emission factors in their greenhouse gas inventories, these factors must be based on an assessment of the full spectrum of sources contributing to greenhouse gas emissions within any given sector. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  8. Final Rule for Phase 1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, have each finalized rules to establish a comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for heavy-duty highway vehicles.

  9. ForGATE - A Forest Sector Greenhouse Gas Assessment Tool for Maine: Calibration and Overview

    Treesearch

    Chris Hennigar; Luke Amos-Binks; Ryan Cameron; John Gunn; David A. MacLean; Mark Twery

    2013-01-01

    This report describes the background calibration, inputs, and outputs of ForGATE, a forest sector greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting tool designed primarily to communicate information relevant to the evaluation of projected net GHG exchange in the context of Maine's forests, the Northeast forest sector, and alternative national or regional carbon (C) accounting...

  10. Energy Market and Economic Impacts Proposal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Intensity with a Cap and Trade System

    EIA Publications

    2007-01-01

    This report was prepared by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in response to a September 27, 2006, request from Senators Bingaman, Landrieu, Murkowski, Specter, Salazar, and Lugar. The Senators requested that EIA assess the impacts of a proposal that would regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) through an allowance cap-and-trade system. The program would set the cap to achieve a reduction in emissions relative to economic output, or greenhouse gas intensity.

  11. Co-benefits of mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions for future air quality and human health

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    West, Jason; Smith, Steven J.; Silva, Raquel

    2013-10-01

    Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions also influences air quality. We simulate the co-benefits of global GHG reductions on air quality and human health via two mechanisms: a) reducing co-emitted air pollutants, and b) slowing climate change and its effect on air quality. Relative to a reference scenario, global GHG mitigation in the RCP4.5 scenario avoids 0.5±0.2, 1.3±0.6, and 2.2±1.6 million premature deaths in 2030, 2050, and 2100, from changes in fine particulate matter and ozone. Global average marginal co-benefits of avoided mortality are $40-400 (ton CO2)-1, exceeding marginal abatement costs in 2030 and 2050, and within the low range ofmore » costs in 2100. East Asian co-benefits are 10-80 times the marginal cost in 2030. These results indicate that transitioning to a low-carbon future might be justified by air quality and health co-benefits.« less

  12. Effect of different agronomic practises on greenhouse gas emissions, especially N2O and nutrient cycling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koal, Philipp; Schilling, Rolf; Gerl, Georg; Pritsch, Karin; Munch, Jean Charles

    2014-05-01

    In order to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, management practises need to be adapted by implementing sustainable land use. At first, reliable field data are required to assess the effect of different farming practises on greenhouse gas budgets. The conducted field experiment covers and compares two main aspects of agricultural management, namely an organic farming system and an integrated farming system, implementing additionally the effects of diverse tillage systems and fertilisation practises. Furthermore, the analysis of the alterable biological, physical and chemical soil properties enables a link between the impact of different management systems on greenhouse gas emissions and the monitored cycle of matter, especially the nitrogen cycle. Measurements were carried out on long-term field trials at the Research Farm Scheyern located in a Tertiary hilly landscape approximately 40 km north of Munich (South Germany). The long-term field trials of the organic and integrated farming system were started in 1992. Since then, parcels in a field (each around 0,2-0,4 ha) with a particular interior plot set-up have been conducted. So the 20 years impacts of different tillage and fertilisation practises on soil properties including trace gases were examined. Fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 are monitored since 2007 for the integrated farming system trial and since 2012 for the organic farming system trial using an automated system which consists of chambers (per point: 4 chambers, each covering 0,4 m2 area) with a motor-driven lid, an automated gas sampling unit, an on-line gas chromatographic analysis system, and a control and data logging unit (Flessa et al. 2002). Each chamber is sampled 3-4 times in 24 hours. The main outcomes are the analysis of temporal and spatial dynamics of greenhouse gas fluxes as influenced by management practice events (fertilisation and tillage) and weather effects (drying-rewetting, freezing-thawing, intense rainfall and dry periods

  13. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Asphalt Pavement Construction: A Case Study in China

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Feng; Sha, Aimin; Lin, Ruiyu; Huang, Yue; Wang, Chao

    2016-01-01

    In China, the construction of asphalt pavement has a significant impact on the environment, and energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from asphalt pavement construction have been receiving increasing attention in recent years. At present, there is no universal criterion for the evaluation of GHG emissions in asphalt pavement construction. This paper proposes to define the system boundaries for GHG emissions from asphalt pavement by using a process-based life cycle assessment method. A method for evaluating GHG emissions from asphalt pavement construction is suggested. The paper reports a case study of GHG emissions from a typical asphalt pavement construction project in China. The results show that the greenhouse gas emissions from the mixture mixing phase are the highest, and account for about 54% of the total amount. The second highest GHG emission phase is the production of raw materials. For GHG emissions of cement stabilized base/subbase, the production of raw materials emits the most, about 98%. The GHG emission for cement production alone is about 92%. The results indicate that any measures to reduce GHG emissions from asphalt pavement construction should be focused on the raw materials manufacturing stage. If the raw materials production phase is excluded, the measures to reduce GHG emissions should be aimed at the mixture mixing phase. PMID:27011196

  14. Towards a comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions inventory for biosolids.

    PubMed

    Alvarez-Gaitan, J P; Short, Michael D; Lundie, Sven; Stuetz, Richard

    2016-06-01

    Effective handling and treatment of the solids fraction from advanced wastewater treatment operations carries a substantial burden for water utilities relative to the total economic and environmental impacts from modern day wastewater treatment. While good process-level data for a range of wastewater treatment operations are becoming more readily available, there remains a dearth of high quality operational data for solids line processes in particular. This study seeks to address this data gap by presenting a suite of high quality, process-level life cycle inventory data covering a range of solids line wastewater treatment processes, extending from primary treatment through to biosolids reuse in agriculture. Within the study, the impacts of secondary treatment technology and key parameters such as sludge retention time, activated sludge age and primary-to-waste activated sludge ratio (PS:WAS) on the life cycle inventory data of solids processing trains for five model wastewater treatment plant configurations are presented. BioWin(®) models are calibrated with real operational plant data and estimated electricity consumption values were reconciled against overall plant energy consumption. The concept of "representative crop" is also introduced in order to reduce the uncertainty associated with nitrous oxide emissions and soil carbon sequestration offsets under biosolids land application scenarios. Results indicate that both the treatment plant biogas electricity offset and the soil carbon sequestration offset from land-applied biosolids, represent the main greenhouse gas mitigation opportunities. In contrast, fertiliser offsets are of relatively minor importance in terms of the overall life cycle emissions impacts. Results also show that fugitive methane emissions at the plant, as well as nitrous oxide emissions both at the plant and following agricultural application of biosolids, are significant contributors to the overall greenhouse gas balance and combined are

  15. Reducing Energy Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emission in the Corporate Sector, a Delphi Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kramer, Maxim L.

    2013-01-01

    The study is titled "Reducing energy cost and GreenHouse Gas emission in the corporate sector, A Delphi Study". The study applied the Delphi methodology and focused on the Green IT solutions that can help the modern corporate organizations with less than 1000 employees to decrease their energy costs and GHG emissions. The study presents…

  16. 78 FR 24378 - 2013 Revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule and Proposed Confidentiality Determinations...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-25

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 98 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0934; FRL-9789-1] RIN 2060-AR52 2013 Revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule and Proposed Confidentiality Determinations for New or Substantially Revised Data Elements Correction In proposed rule document 2013-06093, appearing on...

  17. Influence of altered precipitation pattern on greenhouse gas emissions and soil enzyme activities in Pannonian soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Forstner, Stefan Johannes; Michel, Kerstin; Berthold, Helene; Baumgarten, Andreas; Wanek, Wolfgang; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Kitzler, Barbara

    2013-04-01

    water only once in two weeks (D=dry). Both groups received same water totals for each soil. At the end of each two week drying period, greenhouse gas fluxes were measured via an open-chamber-system (CO2, NO) and a closed-chamber-approach (CH4, N2O, CO2). Additional cylinders were harvested destructively to quantify inorganic N forms, microbial biomass C, N and extracellular enzyme activity (Cellulase, Xylanase, Protease, Phenoloxidase, Peroxidase). We hypothesize that after rewetting (1) rates of greenhouse gas fluxes will generally increase, as well as (2) extracellular enzyme activity indicating enhanced microbial activity. However, response may be different for gases and enzymes involved in the C and N cycle, respectively, as drying/rewetting stress may uncouple microbial mediated biogeochemical cycles. Results will be presented at the EGU General Assembly. Reference: Schimel, J., Balser, T.C., and Wallenstein, M. (2007). Microbial stress-response physiology and its implications for ecosystem function. Ecology 88, 1386-1394.

  18. Greenhouse gas emissions from Australian open-cut coal mines: contribution from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation.

    PubMed

    Day, Stuart J; Carras, John N; Fry, Robyn; Williams, David J

    2010-07-01

    Spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation of waste coal and other carbonaceous material at open-cut coal mines are potentially significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the magnitude of these emissions is largely unknown. In this study, emissions from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation were estimated for six Australian open-cut coal mines with annual coal production ranging from 1.7 to more than 16 Mt. Greenhouse emissions from all other sources at these mines were also estimated and compared to those from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation. In all cases, fugitive emission of methane was the largest source of greenhouse gas; however, in some mines, spontaneous combustion accounted for almost a third of all emissions. For one mine, it was estimated that emissions from spontaneous combustion were around 250,000 t CO(2)-e per annum. The contribution from low-temperature oxidation was generally less than about 1% of the total for all six mines. Estimating areas of spoil affected by spontaneous combustion by ground-based surveys was prone to under-report the area. Airborne infrared imaging appears to be a more reliable method.

  19. Greenhouse gas budgets of managed European grasslands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ammann, C.; Horváth, L.; Jones, S. K.

    2012-04-01

    Greenhouse gas exchange of grasslands are directly and indirectly related to the respective carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) budget. Within the framework of the NitroEurope project we investigated the greenhouse gas, carbon, and nitrogen budgets of four European grassland systems over several years: Easter Bush (UK), Oensingen intensive and extensive (CH), and Bugac (HU). They span contrasting climatic conditions, management types (grazing, cutting) and intensity. While Easter Bush (pasture) and Oensingen int. (meadow) were intensively managed and received a considerable amount of fertiliser, the unfertilised sites Bugac (pasture) and Oensingen ext. (meadow) depended on atmospheric N input (wet and dry deposition) and biological N fixation. The experimental results of the four sites were also compared to published GHG fluxes of other European grasslands. While the ecosystem CO2 exchange was measured on the field scale with the eddy covariance method, the soil fluxes of the other greenhouse gases CH4 and N2O have been detected generally by means of static chambers (only occasional application of eddy covariance). The emission of CH4 by grazing ruminant resulting from enteric fermentation was estimated by animal type specific emission factors. For characterizing the total GHG effect of the grassland sites, the contributions of the different GHGs were normalised to CO2-equivalents. Except for Oensingen ext., all sites showed positive C budgets (sequestration). The observed positive correlation between C and N sequestration (with a ratio between 10 and 20) agrees with studies reported in the literature. The magnitude of N2O emission depended mainly on management intensity (fertiliser input) and on the soil moisture conditions. Whereas for the Oensingen and the Bugac sites, the total GHG budget was dominated by the carbon budget, for Easter Bush the combined effect of N2O and CH4 emission (including animal enteric fermentation) was in the same order of magnitude as the

  20. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2008 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2008.

  1. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2003

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2005 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2003.

  2. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2007

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2009 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2007.

  3. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2007 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2005.

  4. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2000

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2002 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2000.

  5. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-1996

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 1998 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 1996.

  6. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2011

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2013 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2011.

  7. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2012

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2014 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2012.

  8. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2004

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2006 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2004.

  9. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-1997

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 1999 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 1997.

  10. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-1998

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2000 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 1998.

  11. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2002

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2004 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2002.

  12. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-1999

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2001 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 1999.

  13. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2001

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2003 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2001.

  14. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2013

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2015 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2013.

  15. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2008 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2006.

  16. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2009

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2011 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2009.

  17. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    View the 2012 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory developed by the U.S. Government to meet U.S. commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This version of the inventory covers the period from 1990 to 2010.

  18. Carbon stocks and greenhouse gas balance of an old-growth forest and an anthropogenic peatland in southern Chile

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perez-Quezada, J. F.; Brito, C. E.; Valdés, A.; Urrutia, P.

    2016-12-01

    Few studies have reported the effects of deforestation on carbon stocks and greenhouse gas balance in the temperate forests of the southern hemisphere. In some areas of southern Chile, after clear-cut or forest fires occurs a proliferation of Sphagnum moss, generating an anthropogenic type of peatland. We measured the effects of this change on the carbon stocks and the greenhouse gas balance, starting in 2013. Carbon stocks were measured in >30 plots on each site; ecosystem CO2 fluxes were measured continuously using eddy covariance stations; CH4 and N2O fluxes were measured monthly using closed chambers and cavity ring-down spectroscopy technology. Total ecosystem carbon stock was 1,523 Mg ha-1 in the forest and 130 Mg ha-1 in the peatland, representing a 91% difference. Both land use types were found to act as sinks of CO2 (NEE=-1094.2 and -31.9 g CO2 m-2 year-¹ for the forest and peatland, respectively); CH4 was mainly captured in the forest and peatland soils, generating balances of -0.70 and -0.12 g CH₄ m-2 year-¹. N2O fluxes were extremely low, so were considered as null. These results indicate that the greenhouse gas balance moved from -1134.6 to -38.8 g CO2-eq m-2 year-1 when land use changed from forest to anthropogenic peatland. These results provide evidence of the importance of preserving old-growth forests in southern Chile.

  19. Straw management and greenhouse gas emissions in sugarcane cropping in São Paulo State, Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pitombo, L.; Cantarella, H.; Packer, A.; Ramos, N.; de Lima, M.; Carmo, J.

    2012-04-01

    Greenhouse gas emissions during the cropping would consolidate or derail the biofuels as an environmental commodity, mainly due to N2O emissions from fertilizers. It occurs because the Greenhouse Gas Potential of N2O is 298 times greater than CO2; thus, the range among the balance favorable or not is very close. Since in São Paulo State the sugarcane harvest has been changed from burned to no-burned form due to environmental and social factors, the straw is maintained in the field. However, primarily because straw changes carbon, nitrogen and water availability, we hypothesized that straw influences N2O emissions from soil. At this work, our aim is to determine the amount of applied fertilizer emitted as N2O in sugarcane crop with different levels of straw maintained in the field. The experiment was installed in October 2011 in a commercial area in São Paulo State, which is the principal producer in Brazil (22°22' S, 47°30'W). It is conducted in four blocks with four plots (12x15m) each with the treatments 0; 50; 75; 100% of produced straw by the crop maintained in the field. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied at line as ammonium nitrate (100 kg N ha-1) in all plots. Subplots were included with no nitrogen fertilizer for determination of background emissions. For gas efflux determination is adopted the chamber-based method, where is used the linear regression based on the curve generated from the four gas values measured along the 30 min intervals. The gas measurements are taken at fertilizer line and in between-row position. Inside the chambers (30 cm diameter) were placed the respective amount of straw (by area) and fertilizer (by length). We adopt high frequency of gas samplings to avoid quantification errors from seasonality. Among October and December the samplings are done in alternated days because we are waiting the peak emissions in this period as well as verify in other works. After December, the samplings interval will decrease progressively until once

  20. Comparison of net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity affected by management practices in two dryland cropping sites

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Little is known about the effect of management practices on net global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) that account for all sources and sinks of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in dryland cropping systems. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of a combinat...

  1. Carbon Geography. The political economy of congressional support for legislation intended to mitigate greenhouse gas production

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    CRAGG, MICHAEL I.; ZHOU, YUYU; GURNEY, KEVIN

    2012-04-20

    Over the last five years, the U.S Congress has voted on several pieces of legislation intended to sharply reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Given that climate change is a world public bad, standard economic logic would predict that the United States would -free rideII and wait for other nations to reduce their emissions. Within the Congress, there are clear patterns to who votes in favor of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents a political economy analysis of the determinants of pro-greenII votes on such legislation. Conservatives consistently vote against such legislation. Controlling for a Representative’s ideology, representatives frommore » richer districts and districts with a lower per-capita carbon dioxide footprint are more likely to vote in favor of climate change mitigation legislation. Representatives from districts where industrial emissions represent a larger share of greenhouse gas emissions are more likely to vote no.« less

  2. Greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potentials of soils amended with raw and carbonized swine solids

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The objective of this research is to study the greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potentials of the soils amended with raw swine solids and swine biochars made from different thermochemical conditions. Triplicate sets of small pots were designed: 1) control soil with a 50/50 mixture o...

  3. Implications of low natural gas prices on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. electricity sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jaramillo, P.; Venkatesh, A.; Griffin, M.; Matthews, S.

    2012-12-01

    Increased production of unconventional natural gas resources in the U.S. has drastically reduced the price of natural gas. While in 2005 prices went above 10/MMBtu, since 2011 they have been below 3/MMBtu. These low prices have encouraged the increase of natural gas utilization in the United States electricity sector. Natural gas can offset coal for power generation, reducing emissions such as greenhouse gases, sulfur and nitrogen oxides. In quantifying the benefit of offsetting coal by using natural gas, life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have shown up to 50% reductions in life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be expected. However, these studies predominantly use limited system boundaries that contain single individual coal and natural gas power plants. They do not consider (regional) fleets of power plants that are dispatched on the basis of their short-run marginal costs. In this study, simplified economic dispatch models (representing existing power plants in a given region) are developed for three U.S. regions - ERCOT, MISO and PJM. These models, along with historical load data are used to determine how natural gas utilization will increase in the short-term due to changes in natural gas price. The associated changes in fuel mix and life cycle GHG emissions are estimated. Results indicate that life cycle GHG emissions may, at best, decrease by 5-15% as a result of low natural gas prices, compared to almost 50% reductions estimated by previous LCAs. This study thus provides more reasonable estimates of potential reductions in GHG emissions from using natural gas instead of coal in the electricity sector in the short-term.

  4. Soil greenhouse gas fluxes during wetland forest retreat along the lower Savannah River, Georgia (USA)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krauss, Ken W.; Whitbeck, Julie L.

    2012-01-01

    Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (tidal swamps) are periodically affected by salinity intrusion at seaward transitions with marsh, which, along with altered hydrology, may affect the balance of gaseous carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses from soils. We measured greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from healthy, moderately degraded, and degraded tidal swamp soils undergoing sea-level-rise-induced retreat along the lower Savannah River, Georgia, USA. Soil CO2 flux ranged from 90.2 to 179.1 mg CO2 m-2 h-1 among study sites, and was the dominant greenhouse gas emitted. CO2 flux differed among sites in some months, while CH4 and N2O fluxes were 0.18 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 and 1.23 μg N2O m-2 h-1, respectively, with no differences among sites. Hydrology, soil temperature, and air temperature, but not salinity, controlled the annual balance of soil CO2 emissions from tidal swamp soils. No clear drivers were found for CH4 or N2O emissions. On occasion, large ebbing or very low tides were even found to draw CO2 fluxes into the soil (dark CO2 uptake), along with CH4 and N2O. Overall, we hypothesized a much greater role for salinity and site condition in controlling the suite of greenhouse gases emitted from tidal swamps than we discovered, and found that CO2 emissions-not CH4 or N2O-contributed most to the global warming potential from these tidal swamp soils.

  5. Soil greenhouse gas fluxes during wetland forest retreat along the Lower Savannah River, Georgia (USA)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krauss, Ken W.; Whitbeck, Julie L.

    2012-01-01

    Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (tidal swamps) are periodically affected by salinity intrusion at seaward transitions with marsh, which, along with altered hydrology, may affect the balance of gaseous carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses from soils. We measured greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from healthy, moderately degraded, and degraded tidal swamp soils undergoing sea-level-rise-induced retreat along the lower Savannah River, Georgia, USA. Soil CO2 flux ranged from 90.2 to 179.1 mg CO2 m-2 h-1 among study sites, and was the dominant greenhouse gas emitted. CO2 flux differed among sites in some months, while CH4 and N2O fluxes were 0.18 mg CH4 m-2 h-1 and 1.23 μg N2O m-2 h-1, respectively, with no differences among sites. Hydrology, soil temperature, and air temperature, but not salinity, controlled the annual balance of soil CO2 emissions from tidal swamp soils. No clear drivers were found for CH4 or N2O emissions. On occasion, large ebbing or very low tides were even found to draw CO2 fluxes into the soil (dark CO2 uptake), along with CH4 and N2O. Overall, we hypothesized a much greater role for salinity and site condition in controlling the suite of greenhouse gases emitted from tidal swamps than we discovered, and found that CO2 emissions–not CH4 or N2O–contributed most to the global warming potential from these tidal swamp soils.

  6. Net mitigation potential of straw return to Chinese cropland: estimation with a full greenhouse gas budget model.

    PubMed

    Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiaoke; Han, Bing; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Duan, Xiaonan; Zheng, Hua

    2010-04-01

    Based on the carbon-nitrogen cycles and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and emission processes related to straw return and burning, a compound greenhouse gas budget model, the "Straw Return and Burning Model" (SRBM), was constructed to estimate the net mitigation potential of straw return to the soil in China. As a full GHG budget model, the SRBM addressed the following five processes: (1) soil carbon sequestration, (2) mitigation of synthetic N fertilizer substitution, (3) methane emission from rice paddies, (4) additional fossil fuel use for straw return, and (5) CH4 and N2O emissions from straw burning in the fields. Two comparable scenarios were created to reflect different degrees of implementation for straw return and straw burning. With GHG emissions and mitigation effects of the five processes converted into global warming potential (GWP), the net GHG mitigation was estimated. We concluded that (1) when the full greenhouse gas budget is considered, the net mitigation potential of straw return differs from that when soil carbon sequestration is considered alone; (2) implementation of straw return across a larger area of cropland in 10 provinces (i.e., Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan) will increase net GHG emission; (3) if straw return is promoted as a feasible mitigation measure in the remaining provinces, the total net mitigation potential before soil organic carbon (SOC) saturation will be 71.89 Tg CO2 equivalent (eqv)/yr, which is equivalent to 1.733% of the annual carbon emission from fossil fuel use in China in 2003; (4) after SOC saturation, only 13 of 21 provinces retain a relatively small but permanent net mitigation potential, while in the others the net GHG mitigation potential will gradually diminish; and (5) the major obstacle to the feasibility or permanence of straw return as a mitigation measure is the increased CH4 emission from rice paddies. The paper also suggests that comparable

  7. The challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution through energy sources: evidence from a panel of developed countries.

    PubMed

    Akhmat, Ghulam; Zaman, Khalid; Shukui, Tan; Sajjad, Faiza; Khan, Muhammad Azhar; Khan, Muhammad Zahir

    2014-06-01

    The objective of the study is to investigate the long-run relationship between climatic factors (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural methane emissions, and industrial nitrous oxide emission), air pollution (i.e., carbon dioxide emissions), and energy sources (i.e., nuclear energy; oil, gas, and coal energy; and fossil fuel energy) in the panel of 35 developed countries (including EU-15, new EU member states, G-7, and other countries) over a period of 1975-2012. In order to achieve this objective, the present study uses sophisticated panel econometric techniques including panel cointegration, panel fully modified OLS (FMOLS), and dynamic OLS (DOLS). The results show that there is a long-run relationship between the variables. Nuclear energy reduces greenhouse gases and carbon emissions; however, the other emissions, i.e., agricultural methane emissions and industrial nitrous oxide, are still to increase during the study period. Electricity production from oil, gas, and coal sources increases the greenhouse gases and carbon emissions; however, the intensity to increase emissions is far less than the intensity to increase emissions through fossil fuel. Policies that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases can simultaneously alter emissions of conventional pollutants that have deleterious effects on human health and the environment.

  8. Assessing the greenhouse gas emissions of Brazilian soybean biodiesel production.

    PubMed

    Cerri, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino; You, Xin; Cherubin, Maurício Roberto; Moreira, Cindy Silva; Raucci, Guilherme Silva; Castigioni, Bruno de Almeida; Alves, Priscila Aparecida; Cerri, Domingos Guilherme Pellegrino; Mello, Francisco Fujita de Castro; Cerri, Carlos Clemente

    2017-01-01

    Soybean biodiesel (B100) has been playing an important role in Brazilian energy matrix towards the national bio-based economy. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the most widely used indicator for assessing the environmental sustainability of biodiesels and received particular attention among decision makers in business and politics, as well as consumers. Former studies have been mainly focused on the GHG emissions from the soybean cultivation, excluding other stages of the biodiesel production. Here, we present a holistic view of the total GHG emissions in four life cycle stages for soybean biodiesel. The aim of this study was to assess the GHG emissions of Brazilian soybean biodiesel production system with an integrated life cycle approach of four stages: agriculture, extraction, production and distribution. Allocation of mass and energy was applied and special attention was paid to the integrated and non-integrated industrial production chain. The results indicated that the largest source of GHG emissions, among four life cycle stages, is the agricultural stage (42-51%) for B100 produced in integrated systems and the production stage (46-52%) for B100 produced in non-integrated systems. Integration of industrial units resulted in significant reduction in life cycle GHG emissions. Without the consideration of LUC and assuming biogenic CO2 emissions is carbon neutral in our study, the calculated life cycle GHG emissions for domestic soybean biodiesel varied from 23.1 to 25.8 gCO2eq. MJ-1 B100 and those for soybean biodiesel exported to EU ranged from 26.5 to 29.2 gCO2eq. MJ-1 B100, which represent reductions by 65% up to 72% (depending on the delivery route) of GHG emissions compared with the EU benchmark for diesel fuel. Our findings from a life cycle perspective contributed to identify the major GHG sources in Brazilian soybean biodiesel production system and they can be used to guide mitigation priority for policy and decision-making. Projected scenarios in this

  9. Assessing the greenhouse gas emissions of Brazilian soybean biodiesel production

    PubMed Central

    You, Xin; Cherubin, Maurício Roberto; Moreira, Cindy Silva; Raucci, Guilherme Silva; Castigioni, Bruno de Almeida; Alves, Priscila Aparecida; Cerri, Domingos Guilherme Pellegrino; Mello, Francisco Fujita de Castro; Cerri, Carlos Clemente

    2017-01-01

    Soybean biodiesel (B100) has been playing an important role in Brazilian energy matrix towards the national bio-based economy. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the most widely used indicator for assessing the environmental sustainability of biodiesels and received particular attention among decision makers in business and politics, as well as consumers. Former studies have been mainly focused on the GHG emissions from the soybean cultivation, excluding other stages of the biodiesel production. Here, we present a holistic view of the total GHG emissions in four life cycle stages for soybean biodiesel. The aim of this study was to assess the GHG emissions of Brazilian soybean biodiesel production system with an integrated life cycle approach of four stages: agriculture, extraction, production and distribution. Allocation of mass and energy was applied and special attention was paid to the integrated and non-integrated industrial production chain. The results indicated that the largest source of GHG emissions, among four life cycle stages, is the agricultural stage (42–51%) for B100 produced in integrated systems and the production stage (46–52%) for B100 produced in non-integrated systems. Integration of industrial units resulted in significant reduction in life cycle GHG emissions. Without the consideration of LUC and assuming biogenic CO2 emissions is carbon neutral in our study, the calculated life cycle GHG emissions for domestic soybean biodiesel varied from 23.1 to 25.8 gCO2eq. MJ-1 B100 and those for soybean biodiesel exported to EU ranged from 26.5 to 29.2 gCO2eq. MJ-1 B100, which represent reductions by 65% up to 72% (depending on the delivery route) of GHG emissions compared with the EU benchmark for diesel fuel. Our findings from a life cycle perspective contributed to identify the major GHG sources in Brazilian soybean biodiesel production system and they can be used to guide mitigation priority for policy and decision-making. Projected scenarios in

  10. Persistence of climate changes due to a range of greenhouse gases.

    PubMed

    Solomon, Susan; Daniel, John S; Sanford, Todd J; Murphy, Daniel M; Plattner, Gian-Kasper; Knutti, Reto; Friedlingstein, Pierre

    2010-10-26

    Emissions of a broad range of greenhouse gases of varying lifetimes contribute to global climate change. Carbon dioxide displays exceptional persistence that renders its warming nearly irreversible for more than 1,000 y. Here we show that the warming due to non-CO(2) greenhouse gases, although not irreversible, persists notably longer than the anthropogenic changes in the greenhouse gas concentrations themselves. We explore why the persistence of warming depends not just on the decay of a given greenhouse gas concentration but also on climate system behavior, particularly the timescales of heat transfer linked to the ocean. For carbon dioxide and methane, nonlinear optical absorption effects also play a smaller but significant role in prolonging the warming. In effect, dampening factors that slow temperature increase during periods of increasing concentration also slow the loss of energy from the Earth's climate system if radiative forcing is reduced. Approaches to climate change mitigation options through reduction of greenhouse gas or aerosol emissions therefore should not be expected to decrease climate change impacts as rapidly as the gas or aerosol lifetime, even for short-lived species; such actions can have their greatest effect if undertaken soon enough to avoid transfer of heat to the deep ocean.

  11. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Three Cage Layer Housing Systems

    PubMed Central

    Fournel, Sébastien; Pelletier, Frédéric; Godbout, Stéphane; Lagacé, Robert; Feddes, John

    2011-01-01

    Simple Summary Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were measured from three different cage layer housing systems. A comparative study was conducted to identify the housing system with the least impact on the environment. The results showed that liquid manure from deep-pit housing systems produces greater emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) than natural and forced dried manure from belt housing systems. The influencing factors appeared to be the manure removal frequency and the dry matter content of the manure. Abstract Agriculture accounts for 10 to 12% of the World’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Manure management alone is responsible for 13% of GHG emissions from the agricultural sector. During the last decade, Québec’s egg production systems have shifted from deep-pit housing systems to manure belt housing systems. The objective of this study was to measure and compare carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from three different cage layer housing systems: a deep liquid manure pit and a manure belt with natural or forced air drying. Deep liquid manure pit housing systems consist of “A” frame layer cages located over a closed pit containing the hens’ droppings to which water is added to facilitate removal by pumping. Manure belt techniques imply that manure drops on a belt beneath each row of battery cages where it is either dried naturally or by forced air until it is removed. The experiment was replicated with 360 hens reared into twelve independent bench-scale rooms during eight weeks (19–27 weeks of age). The natural and forced air manure belt systems reduced CO2 (28.2 and 28.7 kg yr−1 hen−1, respectively), CH4 (25.3 and 27.7 g yr−1 hen−1, respectively) and N2O (2.60 and 2.48 g yr−1 hen−1, respectively) emissions by about 21, 16 and 9% in comparison with the deep-pit technique (36.0 kg CO2 yr−1 hen−1, 31.6 g CH4 yr−1 hen−1 and 2.78 g N2O yr−1 hen−1). The

  12. Positive feedback of greenhouse gas balances to warming is determined by non-growing season emissions in an alpine meadow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niu, S.; Wang, J.; Quan, Q.; Chen, W.; Wen, X.; Yu, G.

    2017-12-01

    Large uncertainties exist in the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) in response to climate warming and human activity. So far, numerous previous studies have evaluated the CO2 budget, but little attention has paid to CH4 and N2O budgets and the concurrent balance of these three gases in combination, especially in the non-growing season. Here, we synthesized eddy covariance measurement with the automatic chamber measurements of CO2, CH4, and N2O exposed to three levels of temperature treatments (ambient, +1.5 °C, +2.5 °C) and two disturbance treatments (ummowing, mowing) in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. We have found that warming caused increase in CH4 uptake and decrease in N2O emission offset little of the enhancement in CO2 emission, triggering a positive feedback to climate warming. Warming switches the ecosystem from a net sink (-17 ± 14 g CO2-eq m-2 yr-1) in the control to a net source of greenhouse gases of 94 ± 36 gCO2-eq m-2 yr-1 in the plots with +1.5 °C warming treatment, and 177 ± 6 gCO2-eq m-2 yr-1 in the plots with +2.5 °C warming treatment. The changes in the non-growing season balance, rather than those in the growing season, dominate the warming responses of annual greehouse gas balance. And this is not changed by mowing. The dominant role of responses of winter greenhouse gas balance in the positive feedback of ecosystem to climate warming highlights that greenhouse gas balance in cold season has to be considered when assessing climate-carbon cycle feedback.

  13. Net farm income and land use under a U.S. greenhouse gas cap and trade

    Treesearch

    Justin S. Baker; Bruce A. McCarl; Brian C. Murray; Steven K. Rose; Ralph J. Alig; Darius Adams; Greg Latta; Robert Beach; Adam Daigneault

    2010-01-01

    During recent years, the U.S. agricultural sector has experienced high prices for energy related inputs and commodities, and a rapidly developing bioenergy market. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation would further alter agricultural markets and increase land competition in forestry and agriculture by shifting input costs, creating an agricultural GHG abatement...

  14. Greenhouse gas balance of a Scots pine forest using biometric, eddy covariance and chamber measurements.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gielen, Bert; De Vos, Bruno; Papale, Dario; Janssens, Ivan

    2013-04-01

    In recent years, the status of forests as sources or sinks of carbon has received much attention. Nonetheless, evidence-based long-term estimates of the magnitude of the carbon sequestration in forests are still scarce. In this study we present two independent estimates of net carbon sequestration in a temperate Scots pine dominated forest ecosystem over a 9 year period (2002-2010) and in addition, to determine the full greenhouse gas balance, the first results of automated chamber measurements of N2O and CH4. First, the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) was estimated from net ecosystem CO2 exchange as measured by the eddy covariance technique (NECBEC). To this end, the eddy covariance estimates were combined with non-CO2 carbon fluxes such as DOC leaching and VOC emissions. The second approach to determine the carbon sequestration was based on the changes in the ecosystem carbon stocks over time (NECBSC). For this NECBSC estimate, two assessments of the ecosystem carbon stocks (2002 and 2010) were compared. Results showed that the eddy covariance approach estimated a net uptake of 2.4 ± 1.25 tC ha-1 yr-1, while the stock based approach suggested a carbon sink of 1.8 ± 1.20 tC ha-1 yr-1. No significant change was observed in the mineral soil carbon, while the carbon stock of the litter layer slightly decreased. Phytomass was thus the main carbon sink (2.1 tC ha-1 yr-1) in the pine forest, predominantly in the stems (1.3 tC ha-1 yr-1). The fact that stem wood is the main carbon sink within the ecosystem implies that the future harvesting has the potential to fully offset the CO2 uptake by this Scots pine forest. Estimates of the impact of N2O and CH4 emissions from the soil on the total greenhouse gas budget will be presented.

  15. Near-Roadway Air Pollution and Coronary Heart Disease: Burden of Disease and Potential Impact of a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy in Southern California

    PubMed Central

    Ghosh, Rakesh; Lurmann, Frederick; Perez, Laura; Penfold, Bryan; Brandt, Sylvia; Wilson, John; Milet, Meredith; Künzli, Nino; McConnell, Rob

    2015-01-01

    Background Several studies have estimated the burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality from ambient regional particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5). The burden of near-roadway air pollution (NRAP) generally has not been examined, despite evidence of a causal link with CHD. Objective We investigated the CHD burden from NRAP and compared it with the PM2.5 burden in the California South Coast Air Basin for 2008 and under a compact urban growth greenhouse gas reduction scenario for 2035. Methods We estimated the population attributable fraction and number of CHD events attributable to residential traffic density, proximity to a major road, elemental carbon (EC), and PM2.5 compared with the expected disease burden if the population were exposed to background levels of air pollution. Results In 2008, an estimated 1,300 CHD deaths (6.8% of the total) were attributable to traffic density, 430 deaths (2.4%) to residential proximity to a major road, and 690 (3.7%) to EC. There were 1,900 deaths (10.4%) attributable to PM2.5. Although reduced exposures in 2035 should result in smaller fractions of CHD attributable to traffic density, EC, and PM2.5, the numbers of estimated deaths attributable to each of these exposures are anticipated to increase to 2,500, 900, and 2,900, respectively, due to population aging. A similar pattern of increasing NRAP-attributable CHD hospitalizations was estimated to occur between 2008 and 2035. Conclusion These results suggest that a large burden of preventable CHD mortality is attributable to NRAP and is likely to increase even with decreasing exposure by 2035 due to vulnerability of an aging population. Greenhouse gas reduction strategies developed to mitigate climate change offer unexploited opportunities for air pollution health co-benefits. Citation Ghosh R, Lurmann F, Perez L, Penfold B, Brandt S, Wilson J, Milet M, Künzli N, McConnell R. 2016. Near-roadway air pollution and coronary heart disease: burden of disease and potential

  16. Warming Mars Using Artificial Super-Greenhouse Gases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marinova, M. M.; McKay, C. P.; Hashimoto, H.

    Artificial super-greenhouse gases will be needed in terraforming Mars. They could be used to initiate warming and also to supplement the greenhouse effect of a breathable oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere containing a limited amount of carbon dioxide. The leading super-greenhouse gas candidates are SF6 and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) such as CF4 and C2F6. The transmission spectra of C2F6, CF2Cl2, and CF3Cl were analyzed, and their specific absorption bands quantitatively assessed. A detailed band model was used to accurately calculate and compare the greenhouse warming of Earth and Mars given different temperature profiles and concentrations of the gases. The results show that for the current Mars, 0.1 Pa (10-6 atm) of a single super-greenhouse gas will result in a warming of about 3 K. The synthesis of this amount of gas requires about 1020 J, equivalent to ~ 70 minutes of the total solar energy reaching Mars. Super-greenhouse gases are a viable method for warming up a planet alone and are certainly practical in combination with other methods.

  17. [Effects of understory removal on soil greenhouse gas emissions in Carya cathayensis stands].

    PubMed

    Liu, Juan; Chen, Xue-shuang; Wu, Jia-sen; Jiang, Pei-kun; Zhou, Guo-mo; Li, Yong-fu

    2015-03-01

    CO2, N2O and CH4 are important greenhouse gases, and soils in forest ecosystems are their important sources. Carya cathayensis is a unique tree species with seeds used for high-grade dry fruit and oil production. Understory vegetation management plays an important role in soil greenhouse gases emission of Carya cathayensis stands. A one-year in situ experiment was conducted to study the effects of understory removal on soil CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions in C. cathayensis plantation by closed static chamber technique and gas chromatography method. Soil CO2 flux had a similar seasonal trend in the understory removal and preservation treatments, which was high in summer and autumn, and low in winter and spring. N2O emission occurred mainly in summer, while CH4 emission showed no seasonal trend. Understory removal significantly decreased soil CO, emission, increased N2O emission and CH4 uptake, but had no significant effect on soil water soluble organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon. The global warming potential of soil greenhouse gases emitted in the understory removal. treatment was 15.12 t CO2-e . hm-2 a-1, which was significantly lower than that in understory preservation treatment (17.04 t CO2-e . hm-2 . a-1).

  18. The influence of submarine groundwater discharge on greenhouse gas evasion from coastal waters (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santos, I. R.

    2013-12-01

    Coastal waters are thought to play a major role on global carbon budgets but we still lack a quantitative understanding about some mechanisms driving greenhouse gas cycling in coastal waters. Very little is known about the role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in delivering carbon to rivers, estuaries and coastal waters even though the concentrations of most carbon species in groundwater are often much higher than those in surface waters. I hypothesize that SGD plays a significant role in coastal carbon and greenhouse gas budgets even if the volumetric SGD contribution is small. I will report new, detailed observations of radon (a natural groundwater tracer) and carbon dioxide and methane concentrations and stable isotopes in tidal rivers, estuaries, coastal wetlands, mangroves and coral reef lagoons. Groundwater exchange at these contrasting sites was driven by a wide range of processes, including terrestrial hydraulic gradients, tidal pumping, and convection. In all systems, SGD was an important source of carbon dioxide, DIC, and methane to surface waters. In some cases, groundwater seepage alone could account for 100% of carbon dioxide evasion from surface waters to the atmosphere. Combining high precision in situ radon and greenhouse gas concentration and stable isotope observations allows for an effective, unambiguous assessment of how groundwater seepage drives carbon dynamics in surface waters.

  19. Transit investments for greenhouse gas and energy reduction program : second assessment report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-08-01

    This report is the second assessment of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administrations Transit Investments for : Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program. The TIGGER Program provides capital funds to transit age...

  20. Greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

    PubMed

    Babel, Sandhya; Vilaysouk, Xaysackda

    2016-01-01

    Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the major environmental problems throughout the world including in Lao PDR. In Vientiane, due to the lack of a collection service, open burning and illegal dumping are commonly practised. This study aims to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the current situation of MSW management (MSWM) in Vientiane and proposes an alternative solution to reduce the GHG emission and environmental impacts. The 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2006 model) are used for the estimation of GHG emission from landfill and composting. For the estimation of GHG emission from open burning, the Atmospheric Brown Clouds Emission Inventory Manual (ABC EIM) is used. In Vientiane, a total of 232, 505 tonnes year(-1) of MSW was generated in 2011. Waste generation in Vientiane is 0.69 kg per capita per day, and about 31% of the total MSW generated was directly sent to landfill (71,162 tonnes year(-1)). The total potential GHG emission from the baseline scenario in 2011 was 110,182 tonnes year(-1) CO2-eq, which is 0.15 tonne year(-1) CO2-eq per capita. From the three MSWM scenarios proposed, scenario S3, which includes recycling, composting and landfilling, seems to be an effective solution for dealing with MSW in Vientiane with less air pollution, and is environmentally friendly. The total GHG emission in scenario S3 is reduced to 91,920 tonnes year(-1) CO2-eq (47% reduction), compared with the S1 scenario where all uncollected waste is diverted to landfill. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Projecting insect voltinism under high and low greenhouse gas emission conditions

    Treesearch

    Shi Chen; Shelby J. Fleischer; Patrick C. Tobin; Michael C. Saunders

    2011-01-01

    We develop individual-based Monte Carlo methods to explore how climate change can alter insect voltinism under varying greenhouse gas emissions scenarios by using input distributions of diapause termination or spring emergence, development rate, and diapause initiation, linked to daily temperature and photoperiod. We show concurrence of these projections with a field...

  2. Evaluating options for balancing the water-electricity nexus in California: Part 2--greenhouse gas and renewable energy utilization impacts.

    PubMed

    Tarroja, Brian; AghaKouchak, Amir; Sobhani, Reza; Feldman, David; Jiang, Sunny; Samuelsen, Scott

    2014-11-01

    A study was conducted to compare the technical potential and effectiveness of different water supply options for securing water availability in a large-scale, interconnected water supply system under historical and climate-change augmented inflow and demand conditions. Part 2 of the study focused on determining the greenhouse gas and renewable energy utilization impacts of different pathways to stabilize major surface reservoir levels. Using a detailed electric grid model and taking into account impacts on the operation of the water supply infrastructure, the greenhouse gas emissions and effect on overall grid renewable penetration level was calculated for each water supply option portfolio that successfully secured water availability from Part 1. The effects on the energy signature of water supply infrastructure were found to be just as important as that of the fundamental processes for each option. Under historical (baseline) conditions, many option portfolios were capable of securing surface reservoir levels with a net neutral or negative effect on emissions and a benefit for renewable energy utilization. Under climate change augmented conditions, however, careful selection of the water supply option portfolio was required to prevent imposing major emissions increases for the system. Overall, this analysis provided quantitative insight into the tradeoffs associated with choosing different pathways for securing California's water supply. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Uncertainty analysis of a coupled ecosystem response model simulating greenhouse gas fluxes from a temperate grassland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liebermann, Ralf; Kraft, Philipp; Houska, Tobias; Breuer, Lutz; Müller, Christoph; Kraus, David; Haas, Edwin; Klatt, Steffen

    2015-04-01

    Among anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, CO2 is the dominant driver of global climate change. Next to its direct impact on the radiation budget, it also affects the climate system by triggering feedback mechanisms in terrestrial ecosystems. Such mechanisms - like stimulated photosynthesis, increased root exudations and reduced stomatal transpiration - influence both the input and the turnover of carbon and nitrogen compounds in the soil. The stabilization and decomposition of these compounds determines how increasing CO2 concentrations change the terrestrial trace gas emissions, especially CO2, N2O and CH4. To assess the potential reaction of terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions to rising tropospheric CO2 concentration, we make use of a comprehensive ecosystem model integrating known processes and fluxes of the carbon-nitrogen cycle in soil, vegetation and water. We apply a state-of-the-art ecosystem model with measurements from a long term field experiment of CO2 enrichment. The model - a grassland realization of LandscapeDNDC - simulates soil chemistry coupled with plant physiology, microclimate and hydrology. The data - comprising biomass, greenhouse gas emissions, management practices and soil properties - has been attained from a FACE (Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment) experiment running since 1997 on a temperate grassland in Giessen, Germany. Management and soil data, together with weather records, are used to drive the model, while cut biomass as well as CO2 and N2O emissions are used for calibration and validation. Starting with control data from installations without CO2 enhancement, we begin with a GLUE (General Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation) assessment using Latin Hypercube to reduce the range of the model parameters. This is followed by a detailed sensitivity analysis, the application of DREAM-ZS for model calibration, and an estimation of the effect of input uncertainty on the simulation results. Since first results indicate problems with

  4. Greenhouse gas emission from soil amended with biochar made from hydrothermally carbonizing swine solids

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Biochar made from hydrothermally carbonizing swine solids was mixed with a 50/50 mixture of Norfolk Ap and E horizon at a rate of 20 g/kg. During the incubation period of 54 days, greenhouse gas (CO2 and N2O) emission fluxes were calculated by nonlinearly regressing time-series headspace gas concent...

  5. Evaluating the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation in dairy production.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Process-level modeling at the farm scale provides a tool for evaluating strategies for both mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM) simulates representative crop, beef or dairy farms over many years of weather to predict performance...

  6. Impacts of Urban Water Conservation Strategies on Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Health: Southern California as a Case Study.

    PubMed

    Sokolow, Sharona; Godwin, Hilary; Cole, Brian L

    2016-05-01

    To determine how urban water conservation strategies in California cities can affect water and energy conservation efforts, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit public health. We expanded upon our 2014 health impact assessment of California's urban water conservation strategies by comparing the status quo to 2 options with the greatest potential impact on the interrelated issues of water and energy in California: (1) banning landscape irrigation and (2) expanding alternative water sources (e.g., desalination, recycled water). Among the water conservation strategies evaluated, expanded use of recycled water stood out as the water conservation strategy with potential to reduce water use, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions, with relatively small negative impacts for the public's health. Although the suitability of recycled water for urban uses depends on local climate, geography, current infrastructure, and finances, analyses similar to that presented here can help guide water policy decisions in cities across the globe facing challenges of supplying clean, sustainable water to urban populations.

  7. Efficiency of energy recovery from municipal solid waste and the resultant effect on the greenhouse gas balance.

    PubMed

    Gohlke, Oliver

    2009-11-01

    Global warming is a focus of political interest and life-cycle assessment of waste management systems reveals that energy recovery from municipal solid waste is a key issue. This paper demonstrates how the greenhouse gas effects of waste treatment processes can be described in a simplified manner by considering energy efficiency indicators. For evaluation to be consistent, it is necessary to use reasonable system boundaries and to take the generation of electricity and the use of heat into account. The new European R1 efficiency criterion will lead to the development and implementation of optimized processes/systems with increased energy efficiency which, in turn, will exert an influence on the greenhouse gas effects of waste management in Europe. Promising technologies are: the increase of steam parameters, reduction of in-plant energy consumption, and the combined use of heat and power. Plants in Brescia and Amsterdam are current examples of good performance with highly efficient electricity generation. Other examples of particularly high heat recovery rates are the energy-from-waste (EfW) plants in Malmö and Gothenburg. To achieve the full potential of greenhouse gas reduction in waste management, it is necessary to avoid landfilling combustible wastes, for example, by means of landfill taxes and by putting incentives in place for increasing the efficiency of EfW systems.

  8. Transit investments for greenhouse gas and energy reduction program : first assessment report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-07-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide an overview and preliminary analysis of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administrations TIGGER Program. TIGGER, which stands for Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Redu...

  9. Development of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Model (GEM) for Heavy- & Medium-Duty Vehicle Compliance

    EPA Science Inventory

    A regulatory vehicle simulation program was designed for determining greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel consumption by estimating the performance of technologies, verifying compliance with the regulatory standards and estimating the overall benefits of the program.

  10. Global Warming and the Neglected Greenhouse Gas: A Cross-National Study of the Social Causes of Methane Emissions Intensity, 1995

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jorgenson, Andrew

    2006-01-01

    The human dimensions of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming attract considerable attention in macrosociology. However, cross-national analyses generally neglect greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide. The current study addresses this paucity through the testing of theoretically derived models for the social structural causes of the…

  11. Estimating the greenhouse gas fluxes of European grasslands with a process-based model: 1. Model evaluation from in situ measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vuichard, Nicolas; Soussana, Jean-FrançOis; Ciais, Philippe; Viovy, Nicolas; Ammann, Christof; Calanca, Pierluigi; Clifton-Brown, John; Fuhrer, Jürg; Jones, Mike; Martin, CéCile

    2007-03-01

    We improved a process-oriented biogeochemical model of carbon and nitrogen cycling in grasslands and tested it against in situ measurements of biomass and CO2 and CH4 fluxes at five European grassland sites. The new version of the model (PASIM) calculates the growth and senescence of aboveground vegetation biomass accounting for sporadic removals when the grassland is cut and for continuous removals when it is grazed. Limitations induced by high leaf area index (LAI), soil water deficits and aging of leaves are also included. We added to this a simple empirical formulation to account for the detrimental impact on vegetation of trampling and excreta by grazing animals. Finally, a more realistic methane emission module than is currently used was introduced on the basis of the quality of the animals' diet. Evaluation of this improved version of PASIM is performed at (1) Laqueuille, France, on grassland continuously grazed by cattle with two plots of intensive and extensive grazing intensities, (2) Oensingen, Switzerland, on cut grassland with two fertilized and nonfertilized plots, and (3) Carlow, Ireland, on grassland that is both cut and grazed by cattle during the growing season. In addition, we compared the modeled animal CH4 emissions with in situ measurements on cattle for two grazing intensities at the grazed grassland site of Laqueuille. Altogether, when all improvements to the PASIM model are included, we found that the new parameterizations resulted into a better fit to the observed seasonal cycle of biomass and of measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes. However, the large uncertainties in measurements of biomass and LAI make simulation of biomass dynamics difficult to make. Also simulations for cut grassland are better than for grazed swards. This work paves the way for simulating greenhouse gas fluxes over grasslands in a spatially explicit manner, in order to quantify and understand the past, present and future role of grasslands in the greenhouse gas budget of the

  12. Sectoral roles in greenhouse gas emissions and policy implications for energy utilization and carbon emissions trading: a case study of Beijing, China.

    PubMed

    Ge, Jianping; Lei, Yalin; Xu, Qun; Wang, Xibo

    2016-01-01

    In this study, a decomposition and emissions matrix is developed to identify the roles (giver or taker) played by the sectors in the greenhouse gas emissions for the economy of Beijing in China. Our results indicate that services were the most important emitter if we consider the total (direct and indirect) emissions. In addition to Construction, Scientific studies and technical services and Finance sectors of services were the largest takers. They have a large role in boosting greenhouse gas emissions throughout the economy of Beijing. As the basis and supporter of production activities, the electricity production and the transportation sectors were the greatest givers. More emphasis should be placed on using clean energy and carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce emissions within these sectors. Based on the roles played by these sectors in greenhouse gas emissions, some policy implications were proposed for energy utilization and carbon emissions trading.

  13. The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Parmentier, Frans-Jan W.; Christensen, Torben R.; Sørensen, Lise Lotte; Rysgaard, Søren; McGuire, A. David; Miller, Paul A.; Walker, Donald A.

    2013-01-01

    In September 2012, Arctic sea-ice extent plummeted to a new record low: two times lower than the 1979–2000 average. Often, record lows in sea-ice cover are hailed as an example of climate change impacts in the Arctic. Less apparent, however, are the implications of reduced sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean for marine–atmosphere CO2 exchange. Sea-ice decline has been connected to increasing air temperatures at high latitudes. Temperature is a key controlling factor in the terrestrial exchange of CO2 and methane, and therefore the greenhouse-gas balance of the Arctic. Despite the large potential for feedbacks, many studies do not connect the diminishing sea-ice extent with changes in the interaction of the marine and terrestrial Arctic with the atmosphere. In this Review, we assess how current understanding of the Arctic Ocean and high-latitude ecosystems can be used to predict the impact of a lower sea-ice cover on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange.

  14. Greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and marine transportation : mitigation potential and policies

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-12-01

    This paper provides an overview of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions : from aviation and marine transportation and the various mitigation options to reduce these emissions. Reducing global emissions by 50 to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050reduct...

  15. High accuracy Primary Reference gas Mixtures for high-impact greenhouse gases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nieuwenkamp, Gerard; Zalewska, Ewelina; Pearce-Hill, Ruth; Brewer, Paul; Resner, Kate; Mace, Tatiana; Tarhan, Tanil; Zellweger, Christophe; Mohn, Joachim

    2017-04-01

    Climate change, due to increased man-made emissions of greenhouse gases, poses one of the greatest risks to society worldwide. High-impact greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) and indirect drivers for global warming (e.g. CO) are measured by the global monitoring stations for greenhouse gases, operated and organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Reference gases for the calibration of analyzers have to meet very challenging low level of measurement uncertainty to comply with the Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) set by the WMO. Within the framework of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), a project to improve the metrology for high-impact greenhouse gases was granted (HIGHGAS, June 2014-May 2017). As a result of the HIGHGAS project, primary reference gas mixtures in cylinders for ambient levels of CO2, CH4, N2O and CO in air have been prepared with unprecedented low uncertainties, typically 3-10 times lower than usually previously achieved by the NMIs. To accomplish these low uncertainties in the reference standards, a number of preparation and analysis steps have been studied and improved. The purity analysis of the parent gases had to be performed with lower detection limits than previously achievable. E.g., to achieve an uncertainty of 2•10-9 mol/mol (absolute) on the amount fraction for N2O, the detection limit for the N2O analysis in the parent gases has to be in the sub nmol/mol domain. Results of an OPO-CRDS analyzer set-up in the 5µm wavelength domain, with a 200•10-12 mol/mol detection limit for N2O, will be presented. The adsorption effects of greenhouse gas components at cylinder surfaces are critical, and have been studied for different cylinder passivation techniques. Results of a two-year stability study will be presented. The fit-for-purpose of the reference materials was studied for possible variation on isotopic composition between the reference material and the sample. Measurement results for a suit of CO2 in air

  16. Data Build-up for the Construction of Korean Specific Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory in Livestock Categories.

    PubMed

    Won, S G; Cho, W S; Lee, J E; Park, K H; Ra, C S

    2014-03-01

    Many studies on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from livestock industries have revealed that livestock production directly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through enteric fermentation and manure management, which causes negative impacts on animal environment sustainability. In the present study, three essential values for GHG emission were measured; i.e., i) maximum CH4 producing capacity at mesophilic temperature (37°C) from anaerobically stored manure in livestock category (B0,KM, Korean livestock manure for B0), ii) EF3(s) value representing an emission factor for direct N2O emissions from manure management system S in the country, kg N2O-N kg N(-1), at mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (55°C) temperatures, and iii) Nex(T) emissions showing annual N excretion for livestock category T, kg N animal(-1) yr(-1), from different livestock manure. Static incubation with and without aeration was performed to obtain the N2O and CH4 emissions from each sample, respectively. Chemical compositions of pre- and post-incubated manure were analyzed. Contents of total solids (% TS) and volatile solid (% VS), and the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C/N) decrease significantly in all the samples by C-containing biogas generation, whereas moisture content (%) and pH increased after incubation. A big difference of total nitrogen content was not observed in pre- and post-incubation during CH4 and N2O emissions. CH4 emissions (g CH4 kg VS(-1)) from all the three manures (sows, layers and Korean cattle) were different and high C/N ratio resulted in high CH4 emission. Similarly, N2O emission was found to be affected by % VS, pH, and temperature. The B0,KM values for sows, layers, and Korean cattle obtained at 37°C are 0.0579, 0.0006, and 0.0828 m(3) CH4 kg VS(-1), respectively, which are much less than the default values in IPCC guideline (GL) except the value from Korean cattle. For sows and Korean cattle, Nex(T) values of 7.67 and 28.19 kg N yr(-1

  17. Policy suggestions to carry out the research on the standards of greenhouse gas emission allowances in key industries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Liang; Liu, Mei; Zong, Jianfang; Guo, Huiting; Sun, Liang

    2018-05-01

    On the basis of summarizing and combing the functions and effects of the long-term implementation of the serial standards on the limitation of energy consumption per unit product in China, this paper focuses on the analysis of the practical demands of the green house gas emission allowances for key industrial enterprises, and puts forward the suggestions on the formulation of relevant standards. The differences and connections between the present standards of the energy consumption per unit product and future standards of greenhouse gas emission allowances in the key industries are discussed. The proposal is provided to the administrations with helpful guidelines and promotes enterprises to establish the clearer GHG emission reduction strategies and to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These suggestions will provide guarantee for realizing the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in China.

  18. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas contribution to UK autumn flood risk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pall, Pardeep; Aina, Tolu; Stone, Dáithí; Stott, Peter; Nozawa, Toru; Hilberts, Arno; Lohmann, Dag; Allen, Myles

    2010-05-01

    Interest in attributing the risk of damaging weather-related events to anthropogenic climate change is increasing[1]. Yet climate models typically used for studying the attribution problem do not resolve weather at scales causing damage[2]. Here we present the first multi-step study that attributes increasing risk of a damaging regional weather-related event to global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The event was the UK flooding of October and November 2000, occurring during the wettest autumn in England & Wales since records began in 1766[3] and inundating several river catchments[4]. Nearly 10,000 properties were flooded and transport services and power supplies severely disrupted, with insured losses estimated at £1.3bn[5,6]. Though the floods were deemed a ‘wake up call' to the impacts of climate change[7], anthropogenic drivers cannot be blamed for this individual event: but they could be blamed for changing its risk[8,9]. Indeed, typically quoted thermodynamic arguments do suggest increased probability of precipitation extremes under anthropogenic warming[10]. But these arguments are too simple[11,12,13] to fully account for the complex weather[4,14] associated with the flooding. Instead we use a Probabilistic Event Attribution framework, to rigorously estimate the contribution of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to England & Wales Autumn 2000 flood risk. This involves comparing an unprecedented number of daily river runoff realisations for the region, under Autumn 2000 scenarios both with and without the emissions. These realisations are produced using publicly volunteered distributed computing power to generate several thousand seasonal forecast resolution climate model simulations[15,16] that are then fed into a precipitation-runoff model[17,18]. Autumn 2000 flooding is characterised by realisations exceeding the highest daily river runoff for that period, derived from the observational-based ERA-40 re-anaylsis[19]. We find that our

  19. Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from production of compost bedding on a dairy farm.

    PubMed

    Fillingham, M A; VanderZaag, A C; Burtt, S; Baldé, H; Ngwabie, N M; Smith, W; Hakami, A; Wagner-Riddle, C; Bittman, S; MacDonald, D

    2017-12-01

    Recent developments in composting technology enable dairy farms to produce their own bedding from composted manure. This management practice alters the fate of carbon and nitrogen; however, there is little data available documenting how gaseous emissions are impacted. This study measured in-situ emissions of methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and ammonia (NH 3 ) from an on-farm solid-liquid separation system followed by continuously-turned plug-flow composting over three seasons. Emissions were measured separately from the continuously-turned compost phase, and the compost-storage phase prior to the compost being used for cattle bedding. Active composting had low emissions of N 2 O and CH 4 with most carbon being emitted as CO 2 -C and most N emitted as NH 3 -N. Compost storage had higher CH 4 and N 2 O emissions than the active phase, while NH 3 was emitted at a lower rate, and CO 2 was similar. Overall, combining both the active composting and storage phases, the mean total emissions were 3.9×10 -2 gCH 4 kg -1 raw manure (RM), 11.3gCO 2 kg -1 RM, 2.5×10 -4 g N 2 O kg -1 RM, and 0.13g NH 3 kg -1 RM. Emissions with solid-separation and composting were compared to calculated emissions for a traditional (unseparated) liquid manure storage tank. The total greenhouse gas emissions (CH 4 +N 2 O) from solid separation, composting, compost storage, and separated liquid storage were reduced substantially on a CO 2 -equivalent basis compared to traditional liquid storage. Solid-liquid separation and well-managed composting could mitigate overall greenhouse gas emissions; however, an environmental trade off was that NH 3 was emitted at higher rates from the continuously turned composter than reported values for traditional storage. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Pile mixing increases greenhouse gas emissions during composting of dairy manure

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The effect of pile mixing on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stored dairy manure was determined using large flux chambers designed to completely cover pilot-scale manure piles. GHG emissions from piles that were mixed four times during the 80 day trial were about 20% higher than unmixed piles. ...

  1. Technology Opportunities to Reduce U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pena, Federico

    1997-10-01

    This report serves as the technology basis of a needed national climate change technology strategy, with the confidence that a strong technology R&D program will deliver a portfolio of technologies with the potential to provide very substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions along with continued economic growth. Much more is needed to define such a strategy, including identification of complementary deployment policies and analysis to support the seeping and prioritization of R&D programs. A national strategy must be based upon governmental, industrial, and academic partnerships.

  2. Are greenhouse gas emissions and cognitive skills related? Cross-country evidence.

    PubMed

    Omanbayev, Bekhzod; Salahodjaev, Raufhon; Lynn, Richard

    2018-01-01

    Are greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and cognitive skills (CS) related? We attempt to answer this question by exploring this relationship, using cross-country data for 150 countries, for the period 1997-2012. After controlling for the level of economic development, quality of political regimes, population size and a number of other controls, we document that CS robustly predict GHG. In particular, when CS at a national level increase by one standard deviation, the average annual rate of air pollution changes by nearly 1.7% (slightly less than one half of a standard deviation). This significance holds for a number of robustness checks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Comparing the greenhouse gas emissions from three alternative waste combustion concepts.

    PubMed

    Vainikka, Pasi; Tsupari, Eemeli; Sipilä, Kai; Hupa, Mikko

    2012-03-01

    Three alternative condensing mode power and combined heat and power (CHP) waste-to-energy concepts were compared in terms of their impacts on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a heat and power generation system. The concepts included (i) grate, (ii) bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) and (iii) circulating fluidised bed (CFB) combustion of waste. The BFB and CFB take advantage of advanced combustion technology which enabled them to reach electric efficiency up to 35% and 41% in condensing mode, respectively, whereas 28% (based on the lower heating value) was applied for the grate fired unit. A simple energy system model was applied in calculating the GHG emissions in different scenarios where coal or natural gas was substituted in power generation and mix of fuel oil and natural gas in heat generation by waste combustion. Landfilling and waste transportation were not considered in the model. GHG emissions were reduced significantly in all of the considered scenarios where the waste combustion concepts substituted coal based power generation. With the exception of condensing mode grate incinerator the different waste combustion scenarios resulted approximately in 1 Mton of fossil CO(2)-eq. emission reduction per 1 Mton of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated. When natural gas based power generation was substituted by electricity from the waste combustion significant GHG emission reductions were not achieved. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Drops of energy: conserving urban water to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Yuanchun; Zhang, Bing; Wang, Haikun; Bi, Jun

    2013-10-01

    Water and energy are two essential resources of modern civilization and are inherently linked. Indeed, the optimization of the water supply system would reduce energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions in the municipal water sector. This research measured the climatic cobenefit of water conservation based on a water flow analysis. The results showed that the estimated energy consumption of the total water system in Changzhou, China, reached approximately 10% of the city's total energy consumption, whereas the industrial sector was found to be more energy intensive than other sectors within the entire water system, accounting for nearly 70% of the total energy use of the water system. In addition, four sustainable water management scenarios would bring the cobenefit of reducing the total energy use of the water system by 13.9%, and 77% of the energy savings through water conservation was indirect. To promote sustainable water management and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, China would require its water price system, both for freshwater and recycled water, to be reformed.

  5. Sector trends and driving forces of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions: focus in industry and buildings

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Price, Lynn; Worrell, Ernst; Khrushch, Marta

    Disaggregation of sectoral energy use and greenhouse gas emissions trends reveals striking differences between sectors and regions of the world. Understanding key driving forces in the energy end-use sectors provides insights for development of projections of future greenhouse gas emissions. This report examines global and regional historical trends in energy use and carbon emissions in the industrial, buildings, transport, and agriculture sectors, with a more detailed focus on industry and buildings. Activity and economic drivers as well as trends in energy and carbon intensity are evaluated. The authors show that macro-economic indicators, such as GDP, are insufficient for comprehending trendsmore » and driving forces at the sectoral level. These indicators need to be supplemented with sector-specific information for a more complete understanding of future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.« less

  6. Achieving Realistic Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions in U.S. Cities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blackhurst, Michael F.

    2011-12-01

    , and GHG reductions. Results suggest uncertainty in local stocks, demands, and efficiency significantly impacts anticipated outcomes. Annual greenhouse gas reductions of 1 ton CO2 eq/capita/yr in Pittsburgh could cost near nothing or over $20 per capita annually. Capital-constrained policies generate slightly less social savings (a present value of a few hundred dollars per capita) than policies that maximize social savings. However, sectors, technologies, and end uses targeted for intervention vary depending on policy objectives and constraints. The optimal efficiency investment strategy for some end uses varies significantly (in excess of 100%) between Pittsburgh and Austin, suggesting that resources and guidance conducted at the national scale may mislead state and local decision-makers. Section 3 then evaluates the impact of rebound effects on modeled efficiency program outcomes. Differential rebound effects across end-uses can change the optimal program design strategy, i.e., the end-uses and technologies targeted for intervention. The rebound effect results suggest that rebound should be integral to effective efficiency program design. Section 4 evaluates the life cycle assessment costs and benefits of the widespread retrofit of green roofs in a typical urban mixed-use neighborhood. Shadow-cost analysis was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of green roofs' many benefits. Results suggest green roofs are currently not cost effective on a private cost basis, but multi-family and commercial building green roofs are competitive when social benefits are included. Multifamily and commercial green roofs are also competitive alternatives for reducing greenhouse gases and storm water run-off. However, green roofs are not competitive energy conservation techniques. GHG impacts are dominated by the material production and use phases. Energy impacts are dominated by the use phase, with urban heat island (UHI) impacts being an order of magnitude higher than direct

  7. Modeling greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms.

    PubMed

    Rotz, C Alan

    2017-11-15

    Dairy farms have been identified as an important source of greenhouse gas emissions. Within the farm, important emissions include enteric CH 4 from the animals, CH 4 and N 2 O from manure in housing facilities during long-term storage and during field application, and N 2 O from nitrification and denitrification processes in the soil used to produce feed crops and pasture. Models using a wide range in level of detail have been developed to represent or predict these emissions. They include constant emission factors, variable process-related emission factors, empirical or statistical models, mechanistic process simulations, and life cycle assessment. To fully represent farm emissions, models representing the various emission sources must be integrated to capture the combined effects and interactions of all important components. Farm models have been developed using relationships across the full scale of detail, from constant emission factors to detailed mechanistic simulations. Simpler models, based upon emission factors and empirical relationships, tend to provide better tools for decision support, whereas more complex farm simulations provide better tools for research and education. To look beyond the farm boundaries, life cycle assessment provides an environmental accounting tool for quantifying and evaluating emissions over the full cycle, from producing the resources used on the farm through processing, distribution, consumption, and waste handling of the milk and dairy products produced. Models are useful for improving our understanding of farm processes and their interacting effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Through better understanding, they assist in the development and evaluation of mitigation strategies for reducing emissions and improving overall sustainability of dairy farms. The Authors. Published by the Federation of Animal Science Societies and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article

  8. Greenhouse gas emissions in an agroforestry system in the southeastern U.S.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Agroforestry systems can provide diverse ecosystem services and economic benefits that conventional farming practices cannot. Importantly, these systems have the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for external inputs, enhancing nutrient cycling and promoting C seques...

  9. EDITORIAL: Tropical deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gibbs, Holly K.; Herold, Martin

    2007-10-01

    's tropical forests that can provide key consistency and prioritization for national-level efforts. Gibbs et al calculate a range of national-level forest carbon stock estimates that can be used immediately, and also review ground-based and remote sensing approaches to estimate national-level tropical carbon stocks with increased accuracy. These papers help illustrate that methodologies and tools are indeed available to estimate emissions from deforestation. Clearly, important technical challenges remain (e.g. quantifying degradation, assessing uncertainty, verification procedures, capacity building, and Landsat data continuity) but we now have a sufficient technical base to support REDD early actions and readiness mechanisms for building national monitoring systems. Thus, we enter the COP 13 in Bali, Indonesia with great hope for a more inclusive climate policy encompassing all countries and emissions sources from both land-use and energy sectors. Our understanding of tropical deforestation and carbon emissions is improving and with that, opportunities to conserve tropical forests and the host of ecosystem services they provide while also increasing revenue streams in developing countries through economic incentives to avoid deforestation and degradation. References Gullison R E et al 2007 Tropical forests and climate policy Science 316 985 6 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007 Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis: Summary for Policymakers http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-spm.pdf Santilli M et al 2005 Tropical deforestation and the Kyoto Protocol: an editorial essay Clim. Change 71 267 76 Focus on Tropical Deforestation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Contents The articles below represent the first accepted contributions and further additions will appear in the near future. Pan-tropical monitoring of deforestation F Achard, R DeFries, H Eva, M Hansen, P Mayaux and H-J Stibig Monitoring and estimating tropical forest carbon

  10. Subjective Well-Being Approach to Environmental Valuation: Evidence for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beja, Edsel L., Jr.

    2012-01-01

    The subjective well-being approach to environmental valuation is applied to analyze the valuation of greenhouse gas emissions with a fairness-adjustment in the valuation exercise. Results indicate that industrialized countries have high willingness-to-pay to reduce emissions. Developing countries differ in their valuations. Results indicate that…

  11. Greenhouse-gas Consequences of US Corn-based Ethanol in a Flat World

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davidson, E. A.; Coe, M. T.; Nepstad, D. C.; Donner, S. D.; Bustamante, M. M.; Neill, C.

    2008-12-01

    Competition for arable land is now occurring among food, fiber, and fuel production sectors. In the USA, increased corn production for ethanol has come primarily at the expense of reduced soybean production. Only a few countries, mainly Brazil, have appropriate soils, climate, and infrastructure needed for large absolute increases in cropped area in the next decade that could make up the lost US soybean production. Our objective is to improve estimates of the potential net greenhouse gas (GHG) consequences, both domestically and in Brazil, of meeting the new goals established by the US Congress for expansion of corn- based ethanol in the USA. To meet this goal of 57 billion liters per year of corn-based ethanol production, an additional 1-7 million hectares will need to be planted in corn, depending upon assumptions regarding future increases in corn yield. Net GHG emissions saved in the USA by substituting ethanol for gasoline are estimated at 14 Tg CO2-equivalents once the production goal of 57 million L/yr is reached. If reduced US soybean production caused by this increase in US corn planting results in a compensatory increase in Brazilian production of soybeans in the Cerrado and Amazon regions, we estimate a potential net release of 1800 to 9100 Tg CO2-equivalents of GHG emissions due to land-use change. Many opportunities exist for agricultural intensification that would minimize new land clearing and its environmental impacts, but if Brazilian deforestation is held to only 15% of the area estimated here to compensate lost US soybean production, the GHG mitigation of US corn-based ethanol production during the next 15 years would be more than offset by emissions from Brazilian land-use change. Other motivations for advancing corn-based ethanol production in the USA, such as reduced reliance on foreign oil and increased prosperity for farming communities, must be considered separately, but the greenhouse-gas-mitigation rationale is clearly unsupportable.

  12. Energy Intensity and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Tight Oil Production in the Bakken Formation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brandt, Adam R.; Yeskoo, Tim; McNally, Michael S.

    The Bakken formation has contributed to the recent rapid increase in U.S. oil production, reaching a peak production of >1.2 × 106 barrels per day in early 2015. In this study, we estimate the energy intensity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 7271 Bakken wells drilled from 2006 to 2013. We model energy use and emissions using the Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) model, supplemented with an open-source drilling and fracturing model, GHGfrack. Overall well-to-refinery-gate (WTR) consumption of natural gas, diesel, and electricity represent 1.3%, 0.2%, and 0.005% of produced crude energy content, respectively. Fugitive emissions are modeledmore » for a “typical” Bakken well using previously published results of atmospheric measurements. Flaring is a key driver of emissions: wells that flared in 2013 had a mean flaring rate that was ≈500 standard cubic feet per barrel or ≈14% of the energy content of the produced crude oil. Resulting production-weighted mean GHG emissions in 2013 were 10.2 g of CO2 equivalent GHGs per megajoule (henceforth, gCO2eq/MJ) of crude. Between-well variability gives a 5–95% range of 2–28 gCO2eq/MJ. If flaring is completely controlled, Bakken crude compares favorably to conventional U.S. crude oil, with 2013 emissions of 3.5 gCO2eq/MJ for nonflaring wells, compared to the U.S. mean of ≈8 gCO2eq/MJ.« less

  13. Energy analyses and greenhouse gas emissions assessment for saffron production cycle.

    PubMed

    Bakhtiari, Amir Abbas; Hematian, Amir; Sharifi, Azin

    2015-10-01

    Population growth and world climate changes are putting high pressure on agri-food production systems. Exacerbating use of energy sources and expanding the environmental damaging symptoms are the results of these difficult situations. This study was conducted to determine the energy balance for saffron production cycle and investigate the corresponding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Iran. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is one of the main spice that historically cultivated in Iran. Data were obtained from 127 randomly selected saffron growers using a face to face questionnaire technique. The results revealed that in 5 years of saffron production cycle, the overall input and output energy use were to be 163,912.09 and 184,868.28 MJ ha(-1), respectively. The highest-level of energy consumption belongs to seeds (23.7 %) followed by chemical fertilizers (23.4 %). Energy use efficiency, specific energy, net energy, and energy productivity of saffron production were 1.1, 13.4 MJ kg(-1), 20,956.2 MJ ha(-1), and 0.1 kg MJ(-1), respectively. The result shows that the cultivation of saffron emits 2325.5 kg CO2 eq. ha(-1) greenhouse gas, in which around 46.5 % belonged to electricity followed by chemical fertilizers. In addition the Cobb-Douglas production function was applied into EViews 7 software to define the functional relationship. The results of econometric model estimation showed that the impact of human labor, electricity, and water for irrigation on stigma, human labor, electricity, and seed on corm and also human labor and farmyard manure (FYM) on flower and leaf yield were found to be statistically significant. Sensitivity analysis results of the energy inputs demonstrated that the marginal physical productivity (MPP) worth of electricity energy was the highest for saffron stigma and corm, although saffron flower and leaf had more sensitivity on chemicals energy inputs. Moreover, MPP values of renewable and indirect energies were higher than non-renewable and

  14. Localising livestock protein feed production and the impact on land use and greenhouse gas emissions.

    PubMed

    Sasu-Boakye, Y; Cederberg, C; Wirsenius, S

    2014-08-01

    Livestock farmers in Sweden usually grow feed grains for livestock but import protein feed from outside Sweden. Aside from the economic implications, some environmental issues are associated with this practice. We used life cycle assessment to evaluate the impact of local protein feed production on land use and greenhouse gas emissions, compared with the use of imported protein feed, for pig meat and dairy milk produced in Sweden. Our results showed that local production reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5% and 12%, respectively, for pigs and dairy cows. Land use for feed production in Sweden increased by 11% for pigs and 25% for dairy cows, but total land use decreased for pig production and increased for dairy milk production. Increased protein feed cultivation in Sweden decreased inputs needed for animal production and improved some ecological processes (e.g. nutrient recycling) of the farm systems. However, the differences in results between scenarios are relatively small and influenced to an extent by methodological choices such as co-product allocation. Moreover, it was difficult to assess the contribution of greenhouse emissions from land use change. The available accounting methods we applied did not adequately account for the potential land use changes and in some cases provided conflicting results. We conclude that local protein feed production presents an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but at a cost of increasing land occupation in Sweden for feed production.

  15. The regulatory role of endogenous iron on greenhouse gas emissions under intensive nitrogen fertilization in subtropical soils of China.

    PubMed

    Han, Jiangpei; Shi, Liangsheng; Wang, Yakun; Chen, Zhuowei; Wu, Laosheng

    2018-05-01

    Anaerobic batch experiments were conducted to study the regulatory role of endogenous iron in greenhouse gas emissions under intensive nitrogen fertilization in subtropical soils of China. Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ , and NO 3 - -N dynamics and N 2 O, CH 4 , and CO 2 emissions, as well as the relationships between N fertilizer, endogenous iron, and greenhouse gas emissions were investigated. The emissions of N 2 O increased to different extents from all the test soils by N1 (260 mg N kg -1 ) application compared with N0. After 24 days of anaerobic incubation, the cumulative emissions of N 2 O from red soils in De'an (DR) were significantly higher than that from paddy soils in De'an (DP) and Qujialing (QP) under N1. However, N application enhanced CH 4 and CO 2 emissions from the red soils slightly but inhibited the emissions from paddy soils. The maximal CH 4 and CO 2 emission fluxes occurred in DP soil without N input. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that there were significant correlations (P < 0.01) between Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ , NO 3 - -N, (N 2 O + N 2 )-N concentrations in DP soil, implying that Fe 2+ oxidation was coupled with nitrate reduction accompanied by (N 2 O + N 2 )-N emissions and the endogenous iron played a regulatory role in greenhouse gas emissions mainly through the involvement in denitrification. The proportion of the electrons donated by Fe 2+ used for N 2 O production in denitrification in DP soil was approximately 37.53%. Moreover, positive correlations between Fe 2+ and CH 4 , CO 2 were found in both DR and QP soils, suggesting that endogenous iron might regulate the anaerobic decomposition of organic carbon to CH 4 and CO 2 in the two soils. Soil pH was also an important factor controlling greenhouse gas emissions by affecting endogenous iron availability and C and N transformation processes.

  16. Life cycle greenhouse gas and energy assessment of winegrape production in California

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Purpose: This study applies life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy use, and direct water use in winegrape production across common vineyard management scenarios in two representative growing regions of California, USA (Napa and Lodi). California hosts 90 percent...

  17. Strategies to meet the challenges of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Quantifying and predicting soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems have been research goals for numerous institutions, especially since the turn of the millennium. Cost, time, and politics are variables that have limited the rapid development of robust quant...

  18. Evidence for under-reported western European emissions of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keller, Christoph A.; Brunner, Dominik; Henne, Stephan; Vollmer, Martin K.; O'Doherty, Simon; Reimann, Stefan

    2011-08-01

    Western European emission inventories of the potent greenhouse gas trifluoromethane (HFC-23) are validated at a country level by combining 2-hourly atmospheric in-situ measurements at Jungfraujoch (Switzerland) and Mace Head (Ireland) with Lagrangian transport simulations. HFC-23 has an atmospheric lifetime of ˜270 yr and a 100-yr global warming potential (GWP) of 14,800 and is unintentionally produced during the manufacture of chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22). For the study region we derive emissions of 144-216 Mg/yr for July 2008-July 2010, which are 60-140% higher than the official emissions gathered from the national reports for the year 2009. The largest discrepancy is found for Italy, where our estimate of 26-56 Mg/yr exceeds the national inventory (2.6 Mg/yr) by more than an order of magnitude. These findings suggest that non-reported emissions from Annex 1 countries partly explain the recently derived gap between global bottom-up and top-down HFC-23 emission estimates. The results presented here provide independent information to relevant authorities on effective reporting of HFC-23 emissions, and demonstrate the potential of atmospheric measurements for real-world verification of greenhouse gas emissions.

  19. Rice management interventions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions: a review.

    PubMed

    Hussain, Saddam; Peng, Shaobing; Fahad, Shah; Khaliq, Abdul; Huang, Jianliang; Cui, Kehui; Nie, Lixiao

    2015-03-01

    Global warming is one of the gravest threats to crop production and environmental sustainability. Rice, the staple food of more than half of the world's population, is the most prominent cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agriculture and gives way to global warming. The increasing demand for rice in the future has deployed tremendous concerns to reduce GHG emissions for minimizing the negative environmental impacts of rice cultivation. In this review, we presented a contemporary synthesis of existing data on how crop management practices influence emissions of GHGs in rice fields. We realized that modifications in traditional crop management regimes possess a huge potential to overcome GHG emissions. We examined and evaluated the different possible options and found that modifying tillage permutations and irrigation patterns, managing organic and fertilizer inputs, selecting suitable cultivar, and cropping regime can mitigate GHG emissions. Previously, many authors have discussed the feasibility principle and the influence of these practices on a single gas or, in particular, in the whole agricultural sector. Nonetheless, changes in management practices may influence more than one gas at the same time by different mechanisms or sometimes their effects may be antagonistic. Therefore, in the present attempt, we estimated the overall global warming potential of each approach to consider the magnitude of its effects on all gases and provided a comprehensive assessment of suitable crop management practices for reducing GHG emissions in rice culture.

  20. Chapter 8: Uncertainty assessment for quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks

    Treesearch

    Jay Breidt; Stephen M. Ogle; Wendy Powers; Coeli Hoover

    2014-01-01

    Quantifying the uncertainty of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reductions from agriculture and forestry practices is an important aspect of decision�]making for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners as the uncertainty range for each GHG estimate communicates our level of confidence that the estimate reflects the actual balance of GHG exchange between...

  1. Identifying key sources of uncertainty in the modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment.

    PubMed

    Sweetapple, Christine; Fu, Guangtao; Butler, David

    2013-09-01

    This study investigates sources of uncertainty in the modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment, through the use of local and global sensitivity analysis tools, and contributes to an in-depth understanding of wastewater treatment modelling by revealing critical parameters and parameter interactions. One-factor-at-a-time sensitivity analysis is used to screen model parameters and identify those with significant individual effects on three performance indicators: total greenhouse gas emissions, effluent quality and operational cost. Sobol's method enables identification of parameters with significant higher order effects and of particular parameter pairs to which model outputs are sensitive. Use of a variance-based global sensitivity analysis tool to investigate parameter interactions enables identification of important parameters not revealed in one-factor-at-a-time sensitivity analysis. These interaction effects have not been considered in previous studies and thus provide a better understanding wastewater treatment plant model characterisation. It was found that uncertainty in modelled nitrous oxide emissions is the primary contributor to uncertainty in total greenhouse gas emissions, due largely to the interaction effects of three nitrogen conversion modelling parameters. The higher order effects of these parameters are also shown to be a key source of uncertainty in effluent quality. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Greenhouse gas emissions from home composting in practice.

    PubMed

    Ermolaev, Evgheni; Sundberg, Cecilia; Pell, Mikael; Jönsson, Håkan

    2014-01-01

    In Sweden, 16% of all biologically treated food waste is home composted. Emissions of the greenhouse gases CH4 and N2O and emissions of NH3 from home composts were measured and factors affecting these emissions were examined. Gas and substrate in the compost bins were sampled and the composting conditions assessed 13 times during a 1-year period in 18 home composts managed by the home owners. The influence of process parameters and management factors was evaluated by regression analysis. The mean CH4 and N2O concentration was 28.1 and 5.46 ppm (v/v), respectively, above the ambient level and the CH4:CO2 and N2O:CO2 ratio was 0.38% and 0.15%, respectively (median values 0.04% and 0.07%, respectively). The home composts emitted less CH4 than large-scale composts, but similar amounts of N2O. Overall NH3 concentrations were low. Increasing the temperature, moisture content, mixing frequency and amount of added waste all increased CH4 emissions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Transportation's role in reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, volume 1 and volume 2 : report to Congress, U.S. Department of Transportation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-04-01

    This study evaluates potentially viable strategies to reduce transportation : greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study was mandated by the Energy : Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140, December 2007). The Act directed : the U.S. Department o...

  4. LIFE-CYCLE EVALUATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper discusses a life-cycle evaluation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from municipal soild waste (MSW) management in the U.S. (NOTE: Using integrated waste management, recycling/composting, waste-to-energy, and better control of landfill gas, communities across the U.S. a...

  5. The development and trial of an unmanned aerial system for the measurement of methane flux from landfill and greenhouse gas emission hotspots.

    PubMed

    Allen, Grant; Hollingsworth, Peter; Kabbabe, Khristopher; Pitt, Joseph R; Mead, Mohammed I; Illingworth, Samuel; Roberts, Gareth; Bourn, Mark; Shallcross, Dudley E; Percival, Carl J

    2018-01-09

    This paper describes the development of a new sampling and measurement method to infer methane flux using proxy measurements of CO 2 concentration and wind data recorded by Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The flux method described and trialed here is appropriate to the spatial scale of landfill sites and analogous greenhouse gas emission hotspots, making it an important new method for low-cost and rapid case study quantification of fluxes from currently uncertain (but highly important) greenhouse gas sources. We present a case study using these UAS-based measurements to derive instantaneous methane fluxes from a test landfill site in the north of England using a mass balance model tailored for UAS sampling and co-emitted CO 2 concentration as a methane-emission proxy. Methane flux (and flux uncertainty) during two trials on 27 November 2014 and 5 March 2015, were found to be 0.140 kg s -1 (±61% at 1σ), and 0.050 kg s -1 (±54% at 1σ), respectively. Uncertainty contributing to the flux was dominated by ambient variability in the background (inflow) concentration (>40%) and wind speed (>10%); with instrumental error contributing only ∼1-2%. The approach described represents an important advance concerning the challenging problem of greenhouse gas hotspot flux calculation, and offers transferability to a wide range of analogous environments. This new measurement solution could add to a toolkit of approaches to better validate source-specific greenhouse emissions inventories - an important new requirement of the UNFCCC COP21 (Paris) climate change agreement. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Bridging the data gap: engaging developing country farmers in greenhouse gas accounting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paustian, Keith

    2013-06-01

    Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ed B Metz, O R Davidson, P R Bosch, R Dave and L A Meyer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) chapter 8, pp 498-540 Jawson M D, Shafer S R, Franzluebbers A J, Parkin T B and Follett R F 2005 GRACEnet: greenhouse gas reduction through agricultural carbon enhancement network Soil Tillage Res. 83 167-72 Lal R 2004 Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security Science 304 1623-7 Milne E et al 2013 Methods for the quantification of GHG emissions at the landscape level for developing countries in smallholder contexts Environ. Res. Lett. 8 015019 National Academy of Sciences 2010 Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements (Committee: S Pacala, C Breidenich, P Brewer, I Fung, M Gunson, G Heddle, B Law, G Marland, K Paustian, M Prather, J Randerson, P Tans, S Wofsy) (Washington, DC: National Academies Press) p 110 Paustian K 2012 Agriculture, farmers and GHG mitigation: a new social network? Carbon Manag. 3 253-7 Paustian K et al 2012 COMET 2.0—decision support system for agricultural greenhouse gas accounting Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases: Coordinated Agricultural Research through GraceNet to Address Our Changing Climate ed M Liebig, A Franzluebbers and R Follett (San Diego, CA: Academic) pp 251-70 Qiang C Z, Kuek S C, Dymond A and Esselaar S 2011 Mobile Applications for Agriculture and Rural Development (Washington, DC: ICT Sector Unit, World Bank) (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/MobileApplications_for_ARD.pdf) Sanchez P A et al 2009 Digital soil map of the world Science 325 680-1 Skiba U et al 2009 Biosphere-atmosphere exchange of reactive nitrogen and greenhouse gases at the NitroEurope core flux measurement sites: measurement strategy and first data sets Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 133 139

  7. DairyGHG: a tool for evaluating the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint of dairy production systems

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their potential impact on the environment have become important national and international concerns. Dairy production, along with all other animal agriculture, is a recognized source of GHG emissions, but little information exists on the net emissions from our farm...

  8. Greenhouse Gas Fluxes at the Tablelands, NL, Canada: A Site of Active Serpentinization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morrill, P. L.; Morrissey, L. S.; Cumming, E.

    2016-12-01

    Active sites of serpentinization have been proposed as sites for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. However, in addition to their ability to convert carbon dioxide to carbonate rock, sites of serpentinization also have the potential release methane, which is a more power greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Very little is known about the natural flux of carbon dioxide sequestered and methane released into the atmosphere from active sites of serpentinization. In this study we measured carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide gas fluxes at a pool of ultra-basic water discharging from serpentinized rock in Winterhouse Canyon, Gros Morne, Newfoundland. We found that the flux of methane released was 4.6 x 10-7 mol/m2/min and the carbon dioxide sequestered was 1.9 x 10-5 mol/m2/min, while the concentrations of nitrous oxide showed little change. Based on these fluxes we calculated predictive climate change parameters such as net radiative forcing and global warming potential which predicted that despite the methane being released the site still had an overall long-term atmospheric cooling effect based on the natural rate of carbon dioxide sequestration.

  9. Minimizing field time to get reasonable greenhouse gas flux estimates from many chambers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Greenhouse gas measurements from soil are typically derived from static chambers placed in several replicate field plots and in multiple locations within a plot. Inherent variability in emissions is due to a number of known and unknown factors. Getting robust emission estimates from numerous chamber...

  10. The causes of the municipal solid waste and the greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector in the United States.

    PubMed

    Lee, Seungtaek; Kim, Jonghoon; Chong, Wai K O

    2016-10-01

    The United States generated approximately 730kg of waste per capita in 2013, which is the highest amount of waste among OECD countries. The waste has adverse effects to human health and the environment. One of the most serious adverse effects is greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane (CH4), which causes global warming. However, the United States' amount of waste generation is not decreasing, and the recycling rate is only 26%, which is lower than other OECD countries. In order to decrease waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions, identifying the causality of the waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions from waste sector should be made a priority. The research objective is to verify whether the Environmental Kuznets Curve relationship is supported for waste generation and GDP across the U.S. Moreover, it also confirmed that total waste generation and recycling of waste influences carbon dioxide emissions from the waste sector. Based on the results, critical insight and suggestions were offered to policymakers, which is the potential way to lower the solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector. This research used annually based U.S. data from 1990 to 2012, and these data were collected from various data sources. To verify the causal relationship, the Granger causality test was applied. The results showed that there is no causality between GDP and waste generation, but total waste and recycling generate significantly increasing and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector, respectively. This implies that waste generation will not decrease even if GDP increases. And, if waste generation decreases or the recycling rate increases, greenhouse gas emission will decrease. Based on these results, increasing the recycling rate is first suggested. The second suggestion is to break the causal relationship between MSW and greenhouse gas emission from the waste sector. The third is that the U.S. government should benchmark a

  11. Spatial and Temporal Variations in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from an Agricultural Reservoir

    EPA Science Inventory

    Reservoirs are being built at an increasing rate each year to provide humans with resources such as hydroelectric power and drinking water. These man-made systems have provided society with important services, but these have come at the cost of enhanced greenhouse gas (GHG) emiss...

  12. Chapter 5: Quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in animal production systems

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The purpose of this publication is to develop methods to quantify greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from U.S. agriculture and forestry. This chapter provides guidance for reporting GHG emissions from animal production systems. In particular, it focuses on methods for estimating emissions from beef cat...

  13. 75 FR 63823 - Final Guidance, “Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting”

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-18

    ..., 2009. The purpose of the Executive Order is to establish an integrated strategy toward sustainability... Federal agencies. Among other provisions, E.O. 13514 requires agencies to measure, report, and reduce.../sustainability/fed-ghg . DATES: The Final Guidance, ``Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting'' is...

  14. Microsimulation of household and firm behaviors: anticipation of greenhouse gas emissions for Austin, Texas.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-05-01

    Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be attributed to household and firm travel and : building decisions. This study demonstrates the development and application of a microsimulation model : for household and firm evolution and location c...

  15. Long-term greenhouse gas measurements from aircraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karion, A.; Sweeney, C.; Wolter, S.; Newberger, T.; Chen, H.; Andrews, A.; Kofler, J.; Neff, D.; Tans, P.

    2013-03-01

    In March 2009 the NOAA/ESRL/GMD Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases Group collaborated with the US Coast Guard (USCG) to establish the Alaska Coast Guard (ACG) sampling site, a unique addition to NOAA's atmospheric monitoring network. This collaboration takes advantage of USCG bi-weekly Arctic Domain Awareness (ADA) flights, conducted with Hercules C-130 aircraft from March to November each year. Flights typically last 8 h and cover a large area, traveling from Kodiak up to Barrow, Alaska, with altitude profiles near the coast and in the interior. NOAA instrumentation on each flight includes a flask sampling system, a continuous cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) carbon dioxide (CO2)/methane (CH4)/carbon monoxide (CO)/water vapor (H2O) analyzer, a continuous ozone analyzer, and an ambient temperature and humidity sensor. Air samples collected in flight are analyzed at NOAA/ESRL for the major greenhouse gases and a variety of halocarbons and hydrocarbons that influence climate, stratospheric ozone, and air quality. We describe the overall system for making accurate greenhouse gas measurements using a CRDS analyzer on an aircraft with minimal operator interaction and present an assessment of analyzer performance over a three-year period. Overall analytical uncertainty of CRDS measurements in 2011 is estimated to be 0.15 ppm, 1.4 ppb, and 5 ppb for CO2, CH4, and CO, respectively, considering short-term precision, calibration uncertainties, and water vapor correction uncertainty. The stability of the CRDS analyzer over a seven-month deployment period is better than 0.15 ppm, 2 ppb, and 4 ppb for CO2, CH4, and CO, respectively, based on differences of on-board reference tank measurements from a laboratory calibration performed prior to deployment. This stability is not affected by variation in pressure or temperature during flight. We conclude that the uncertainty reported for our measurements would not be significantly affected if the measurements were made without in

  16. Reduction of Greenhouse Gas and Criteria Pollutant Emissions by Direct Conversion of Associated Flare Gas to Synthetic Fuels at Oil Wellheads

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tan, Eric C; Zhang, Yi Min; Schuetzle, Dennis

    This study describes the results of a 'well-to-wheel' life cycle assessment (LCA) carried out to determine the potential greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emission reductions that could be achieved by converting associated flare gas directly to synthetic fuels at oil wellheads in the US and globally. A Greyrock Flare Gas-to-Fuels(TM) conversion process at an Ohio oil well was used as the base case for this LCA. The liquid fuel produced directly from associated gas is comprised primarily of premium synthetic diesel with a small amount of synthetic gasoline. In this LCA scenario, the synthetic diesel and synthetic gasoline are blendedmore » at 20 and 10 vol% with petroleum diesel and gasoline, respectively. While the synthetic diesel fuel can be used as is (100%), the 20 vol% synthetic diesel blend (with petroleum diesel) was found to significantly improve engine performance, increase fuel economy, and reduce emissions. The direct conversion of associated gas to synthetic diesel fuels globally could reduce emissions of CO2 and CH4 by up to 356 and 5.96 million metric tons/year, respectively, resulting in the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by about 113.3 and 92.2% (20 year global warming potential) and 73.8 and 50.7% (100 year global warming potential) for synthetic diesel and gasoline fuels when compared to petroleum-derived gasoline fuels, respectively. Likewise, diesel criteria emissions could be reduced globally by up to 23.3, 0.374, 42.4, and 61.3 million metric tons/year globally for CO, particulates, NOx, and hydrocarbons, respectively. The potential economic benefit of this approach is that up to 5.30 and 71.1 billion liters of synthetic fuels could be produced each year in the US and globally from associated gas, respectively.« less

  17. Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks Across California Land Cover

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fischer, M. L.

    2017-12-01

    Significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are needed to limit rising planetary temperatures that will otherwise limit Earth's capacity to support life, introducing geopolitical instability. To help mitigate this threat, California has legislated landmark reductions in state-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that set an example for broader action. Beginning with relatively assured reduction of current emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, future goals are much more challenging with 40% and 80% reductions below 1990 emissions by 2030 and 2050, respectively. While the majority of the reductions must focus on fossil fuels, inventory estimates of non-CO2 GHG emissions (i.e., CH4, N2O, and industrial compounds) constitute 15% of the total, suggesting reductions are required across multiple land use sectors. However, recent atmospheric inversion studies show methane and nitrous oxide (CH4 & N2O) emissions exceed current inventory estimates by factors of 1.2-1.8 and 1.6-2.6 (at 95% confidence), respectively, perhaps constituting up to 30% of State total emissions. The discrepancy is likely because current bottom-up models used for inventories do not accurately capture important management or biophysical factors. In the near term, process level experiments and sector-specific inversions are being planned to quantify the factors controlling non-CO2 GHG emissions for several of the dominant emission sectors. For biosphere carbon, California forests lands, which also depend on the combination of management, climate, and weather, lost above ground carbon from 2001-2010, and may be expected to lose soil and root carbon as a longer-term result. Here, it is important to identify and apply the best principles in forestry and agriculture to increase carbon stocks in depleted forest and agricultural areas, focusing on approaches that provide resilience to future climate and weather variations. Taken together, improved atmospheric, plant, and soil observations, together

  18. Thermal and wind-driven water motions in vegetated waters and their role in greenhouse gas fluxes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poindexter, C.; Variano, E. A.

    2016-12-01

    The relative importance of different methane transport pathways in wetlands can impact total wetland methane fluxes. The transport of methane and other gases through the water column is affected by a variety of forces. We investigate the role of wind- and thermally-driven water motions in greenhouse gas fluxes in a freshwater marsh and a rice field using in situ velocity measurements in combination with gas transfer velocity models. We measure velocity using an Acoustic Doppler velocimeter, correcting for instrument generated velocities, and a Volumetric Particle Imager. These measurements indicate the presence of wind-driven motions in the wetland water column located below a dense 3-m emergent vegetation canopy. In the rice field's water column, velocity data suggest the occurrence of thermal convection. Results from these in-situ velocity measurements correspond with the non-negligible gas transfer velocities we predict via semi-empirical models. This underscores the importance of hydrodynamics to greenhouse gas fluxes even in shallow, vegetated inland waters.

  19. Net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity influenced by irrigation, tillage, crop rotation, and nitrogen fertilization

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Little information exists about sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (GHGs) affected by management practices to account for net emissions from agroecosystems. We evaluated the effects of irrigation, tillage, crop rotation, and N fertilization on net global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas...

  20. Impacts of Urban Water Conservation Strategies on Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Health: Southern California as a Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Sokolow, Sharona; Godwin, Hilary

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. To determine how urban water conservation strategies in California cities can affect water and energy conservation efforts, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and benefit public health. Methods. We expanded upon our 2014 health impact assessment of California's urban water conservation strategies by comparing the status quo to 2 options with the greatest potential impact on the interrelated issues of water and energy in California: (1) banning landscape irrigation and (2) expanding alternative water sources (e.g., desalination, recycled water). Results. Among the water conservation strategies evaluated, expanded use of recycled water stood out as the water conservation strategy with potential to reduce water use, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions, with relatively small negative impacts for the public’s health. Conclusions. Although the suitability of recycled water for urban uses depends on local climate, geography, current infrastructure, and finances, analyses similar to that presented here can help guide water policy decisions in cities across the globe facing challenges of supplying clean, sustainable water to urban populations. PMID:26985606

  1. Biochars mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and bioaccumulation of potentially toxic elements and arsenic speciation in Phaseolus vulgaris L.

    PubMed

    Ibrahim, Muhammad; Li, Gang; Khan, Sardar; Chi, Qiaoqiao; Xu, Yaoyang; Zhu, Yongguan

    2017-08-01

    Anthropogenic and natural activities can lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions and discharge of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) into soil environment. Biochar amendment to soils is a cost-effective technology and sustainable approach used to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, improve phytoremediation, and minimize the health risks associated with consumption of PTE-contaminated vegetables. Greenhouse pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of peanut shell biochar (PNB) and sewage sludge biochar (SSB) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, plant growth, PTE bioaccumulation, and arsenic (As) speciation in bean plants. Results indicated that amendments of PNB and SSB increased plant biomass production by increasing soil fertility and reducing bioavailability of PTEs. Addition of biochars also increased soil pH, total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and ammonium-nitrogen (NH 4 -N) but decreased available concentrations of PTEs such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and As. The concentration of nitrate-nitrogen (NO 3 - -N) was also decreased in biochar-amended soils. In addition, PNB and SSB amendments significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the bioaccumulation of chromium (Cr), As, Cd, Pb, and nickel (Ni) in stalks, leaves, and fruits of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Similarly, PNB and SSB amendments significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced inorganic As species like arsenite (As (III)) and arsenate (As (V)). Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) emissions were significantly (P < 0.01) reduced but nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions first increased and then decreased amended with both biochars. Current findings demonstrate that SSB and PNB are two beneficial soil amendments simultaneous mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and PTE bioaccumulation as well as arsenic speciation in P. vulgaris L.

  2. Greenhouse-gas exchange of croplands worldwide: a process-based model simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Inatomi, M.; Ito, A.

    2009-12-01

    Croplands cover about 15% of the land surface, and play unique roles in global biogeochemical cycles. Especially, greenhouse gas budget of croplands is important for climate projection in the future and for mitigation toward climate stabilization. Sustainable cropland is carbon-neutral (i.e., neither a sink nor a source of CO2 for a long time), but those in developed countries consume fossil fuels for agricultural operations and releases CO2 as revealed by LCAs. Paddy field is one of the substantial sources of CH4, and cropland may be the largest anthropogenic source of N2O. However, these features have not been evaluated and discussed using a spatial-explicit comprehensive framework at the global scale. This study applies a process-based terrestrial ecosystem model (VISIT) to worldwide croplands. Exchange of CO2 is simulated as a difference between photosynthesis and respiration, each of which is calculated in a biogeochemical carbon cycle scheme. Net carbon budget accounts for carbon flows by planting, compost input, and harvest. Exchange of CH4 is simulated as a difference between oxidation by aerobic soils and production by anaerobic soils, each of which is calculated using mechanistic schemes. Emission of N2O from nitrification and denitrification is simulated with a semi-mechanistic scheme on the basis of leaky-pipe concept. We are also validating the model through comparison with chamber and tower flux measurements. Global simulations were conducted during a period from 1901 to 2100 on the basis of historical and projected climate and land-use conditions, at a spatial resolution of 0.5 x 0.5 degree. Cropland type and distribution was derived from SAGE-HYDE dataset and country-base fertilizer input was obtained from FAOSTAT. Our preliminary simulation for the 1990s estimated that croplands are a net sink of CO2 by 1.1 Gt C/yr; this sink is offset by emission by food consumption. Paddy fields are estimated to release CH4 by 46 Tg CH4/yr, and croplands

  3. Correcting a fundamental error in greenhouse gas accounting related to bioenergy.

    PubMed

    Haberl, Helmut; Sprinz, Detlef; Bonazountas, Marc; Cocco, Pierluigi; Desaubies, Yves; Henze, Mogens; Hertel, Ole; Johnson, Richard K; Kastrup, Ulrike; Laconte, Pierre; Lange, Eckart; Novak, Peter; Paavola, Jouni; Reenberg, Anette; van den Hove, Sybille; Vermeire, Theo; Wadhams, Peter; Searchinger, Timothy

    2012-06-01

    Many international policies encourage a switch from fossil fuels to bioenergy based on the premise that its use would not result in carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. Frequently cited bioenergy goals would at least double the present global human use of plant material, the production of which already requires the dedication of roughly 75% of vegetated lands and more than 70% of water withdrawals. However, burning biomass for energy provision increases the amount of carbon in the air just like burning coal, oil or gas if harvesting the biomass decreases the amount of carbon stored in plants and soils, or reduces carbon sequestration. Neglecting this fact results in an accounting error that could be corrected by considering that only the use of 'additional biomass' - biomass from additional plant growth or biomass that would decompose rapidly if not used for bioenergy - can reduce carbon emissions. Failure to correct this accounting flaw will likely have substantial adverse consequences. The article presents recommendations for correcting greenhouse gas accounts related to bioenergy.

  4. Correcting a fundamental error in greenhouse gas accounting related to bioenergy

    PubMed Central

    Haberl, Helmut; Sprinz, Detlef; Bonazountas, Marc; Cocco, Pierluigi; Desaubies, Yves; Henze, Mogens; Hertel, Ole; Johnson, Richard K.; Kastrup, Ulrike; Laconte, Pierre; Lange, Eckart; Novak, Peter; Paavola, Jouni; Reenberg, Anette; van den Hove, Sybille; Vermeire, Theo; Wadhams, Peter; Searchinger, Timothy

    2012-01-01

    Many international policies encourage a switch from fossil fuels to bioenergy based on the premise that its use would not result in carbon accumulation in the atmosphere. Frequently cited bioenergy goals would at least double the present global human use of plant material, the production of which already requires the dedication of roughly 75% of vegetated lands and more than 70% of water withdrawals. However, burning biomass for energy provision increases the amount of carbon in the air just like burning coal, oil or gas if harvesting the biomass decreases the amount of carbon stored in plants and soils, or reduces carbon sequestration. Neglecting this fact results in an accounting error that could be corrected by considering that only the use of ‘additional biomass’ – biomass from additional plant growth or biomass that would decompose rapidly if not used for bioenergy – can reduce carbon emissions. Failure to correct this accounting flaw will likely have substantial adverse consequences. The article presents recommendations for correcting greenhouse gas accounts related to bioenergy. PMID:23576835

  5. Incorporating climate into belowground carbon estimates in the national greenhouse gas inventory

    Treesearch

    Matthew B. Russell; Grant M. Domke; Christopher W. Woodall; Anthony W. D’Amato

    2015-01-01

    Refined estimation of carbon (C) stocks within forest ecosystems is a critical component of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of projected climate change through forest C management. Recent evidence has pointed to the importance of climate as a driver of belowground C stocks. This study describes an approach for adjusting allometric...

  6. Invasive floating macrophytes reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a small tropical lake

    PubMed Central

    Attermeyer, K.; Flury, S.; Jayakumar, R.; Fiener, P.; Steger, K.; Arya, V.; Wilken, F.; van Geldern, R.; Premke, K.

    2016-01-01

    Floating macrophytes, including water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), are dominant invasive organisms in tropical aquatic systems, and they may play an important role in modifying the gas exchange between water and the atmosphere. However, these systems are underrepresented in global datasets of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigated the carbon (C) turnover and GHG emissions from a small (0.6 km2) water-harvesting lake in South India and analysed the effect of floating macrophytes on these emissions. We measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions with gas chambers in the field as well as water C mineralization rates and physicochemical variables in both the open water and in water within stands of water hyacinths. The CO2 and CH4 emissions from areas covered by water hyacinths were reduced by 57% compared with that of open water. However, the C mineralization rates were not significantly different in the water between the two areas. We conclude that the increased invasion of water hyacinths and other floating macrophytes has the potential to change GHG emissions, a process that might be relevant in regional C budgets. PMID:26846590

  7. Invasive floating macrophytes reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a small tropical lake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Attermeyer, K.; Flury, S.; Jayakumar, R.; Fiener, P.; Steger, K.; Arya, V.; Wilken, F.; van Geldern, R.; Premke, K.

    2016-02-01

    Floating macrophytes, including water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), are dominant invasive organisms in tropical aquatic systems, and they may play an important role in modifying the gas exchange between water and the atmosphere. However, these systems are underrepresented in global datasets of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigated the carbon (C) turnover and GHG emissions from a small (0.6 km2) water-harvesting lake in South India and analysed the effect of floating macrophytes on these emissions. We measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions with gas chambers in the field as well as water C mineralization rates and physicochemical variables in both the open water and in water within stands of water hyacinths. The CO2 and CH4 emissions from areas covered by water hyacinths were reduced by 57% compared with that of open water. However, the C mineralization rates were not significantly different in the water between the two areas. We conclude that the increased invasion of water hyacinths and other floating macrophytes has the potential to change GHG emissions, a process that might be relevant in regional C budgets.

  8. Microbial Community and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes from Abandoned Rice Paddies with Different Vegetation.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sunghyun; Lee, Seunghoon; McCormick, Melissa; Kim, Jae Geun; Kang, Hojeong

    2016-10-01

    The area of rice paddy fields has declined continuously in East Asian countries due to abandonment of agriculture and concurrent socioeconomic changes. When they are abandoned, rice paddy fields generally transform into wetlands by natural succession. While previous studies have mainly focused on vegetation shifts in abandoned rice paddies, little information is available about how these changes may affect their contribution to wetland functions. As newly abandoned fields proceed through succession, their hydrology and plant communities often change. Moreover, the relationships between these changes, soil microbial characteristics, and emissions of greenhouse gasses are poorly understood. In this study, we examined changes over the course of secondary succession of abandoned rice paddies to wetlands and investigated their ecological functions through changes in greenhouse gas fluxes and microbial characteristics. We collected gas and soil samples in summer and winter from areas dominated by Cyperaceae, Phragmites, and Sphagnum in each site. We found that CO2 emissions in summer were significantly higher than those in winter, but CH4 and N2O emission fluxes were consistently at very low levels and were similar among seasons and locations, due to their low nutrient conditions. These results suggest that microbial activity and abundance increased in summer. Greenhouse gas flux, soil properties, and microbial abundance were not affected by plant species, although the microbial community composition was changed by plant species. This information adds to our basic understanding of the contribution of wetlands that are transformed from abandoned rice paddy systems.

  9. An investigation of a super-Earth exoplanet with a greenhouse-gas atmosphere using a general circulation model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zalucha, Angela M.; Michaels, Timothy I.; Madhusudhan, Nikku

    2013-11-01

    We use the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (GCM) dynamical core, in conjunction with a Newtonian relaxation scheme that relaxes to a gray, analytical solution of the radiative transfer equation, to simulate a tidally locked, synchronously orbiting super-Earth exoplanet. This hypothetical exoplanet is simulated under the following main assumptions: (1) the size, mass, and orbital characteristics of GJ 1214b (Charbonneau, D. [2009]. Nature 462, 891-894), (2) a greenhouse-gas dominated atmosphere, (3), the gas properties of water vapor, and (4) a surface. We have performed a parameter sweep over global mean surface pressure (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 bar) and global mean surface albedo (0.1, 0.4, and 0.7). Given assumption (1) above, the period of rotation of this exoplanet is 1.58 Earth-days, which we classify as the rapidly rotating regime. Our parameter sweep differs from Heng and Vogt (Heng, K., Vogt, S.S. [2011]. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 415, 2145-2157), who performed their study in the slowly rotating regime and using Held and Suarez (Held, I.M., Suarez, M.J. [1994]. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 75 (10), 1825-1830) thermal forcing. This type of thermal forcing is a prescribed function, not related to any radiative transfer, used to benchmark Earth’s atmosphere. An equatorial, westerly, superrotating jet is a robust feature in our GCM results. This equatorial jet is westerly at all longitudes. At high latitudes, the flow is easterly. The zonal winds do show a change with global mean surface pressure. As global mean surface pressure increases, the speed of the equatorial jet decreases between 9 and 15 h local time (substellar point is located at 12 h local time). The latitudinal extent of the equatorial jet increases on the nightside. For the two greatest initial surface pressure cases, an increasingly westerly component of flow develops at middle to high latitudes between 11 and 18 h local time. On the nightside, the easterly flow in the

  10. Greenhouse gas scenario sensitivity and uncertainties in precipitation projections for central Belgium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Van Uytven, E.; Willems, P.

    2018-03-01

    Climate change impact assessment on meteorological variables involves large uncertainties as a result of incomplete knowledge on the future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate model physics, next to the inherent internal variability of the climate system. Given that the alteration in greenhouse gas concentrations is the driver for the change, one expects the impacts to be highly dependent on the considered greenhouse gas scenario (GHS). In this study, we denote this behavior as GHS sensitivity. Due to the climate model related uncertainties, this sensitivity is, at local scale, not always that strong as expected. This paper aims to study the GHS sensitivity and its contributing role to climate scenarios for a case study in Belgium. An ensemble of 160 CMIP5 climate model runs is considered and climate change signals are studied for precipitation accumulation, daily precipitation intensities and wet day frequencies. This was done for the different seasons of the year and the scenario periods 2011-2040, 2031-2060, 2051-2081 and 2071-2100. By means of variance decomposition, the total variance in the climate change signals was separated in the contribution of the differences in GHSs and the other model-related uncertainty sources. These contributions were found dependent on the variable and season. Following the time of emergence concept, the GHS uncertainty contribution is found dependent on the time horizon and increases over time. For the most distinct time horizon (2071-2100), the climate model uncertainty accounts for the largest uncertainty contribution. The GHS differences explain up to 18% of the total variance in the climate change signals. The results point further at the importance of the climate model ensemble design, specifically the ensemble size and the combination of climate models, whereupon climate scenarios are based. The numerical noise, introduced at scales smaller than the skillful scale, e.g. at local scale, was not considered in this study.

  11. PROTOTYPE TOOL FOR EVALUATING THE COST AND EFFECTIVENESS OF GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper introduces the structure of a tool, being developed by the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development, that will be able to analyze the benefits of new technologies and strategies for controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. When completed, the tool will be able ...

  12. The Effect of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation on Drought Impacts in the U.S.

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this paper, we present a methodology for analyzing the economic benefits in the U.S. of changes in drought frequency and severity due to global greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. We construct reduced-form models of the effect of drought on agriculture and reservoir recreation i...

  13. 76 FR 74853 - 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-01

    ...EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, are issuing this joint proposal to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy for light-duty vehicles for model years 2017-2025. This proposal extends the National Program beyond the greenhouse gas and corporate average fuel economy standards set for model years 2012-2016. On May 21, 2010, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum requesting that NHTSA and EPA develop through notice and comment rulemaking a coordinated National Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of light-duty vehicles for model years 2017- 2025. This proposal, consistent with the President's request, responds to the country's critical need to address global climate change and to reduce oil consumption. NHTSA is proposing Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act, and EPA is proposing greenhouse gas emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. These standards apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium- duty passenger vehicles, and represent a continued harmonized and consistent National Program. Under the National Program for model years 2017-2025, automobile manufacturers would be able to continue building a single light-duty national fleet that satisfies all requirements under both programs while ensuring that consumers still have a full range of vehicle choices. EPA is also proposing a minor change to the regulations applicable to MY 2012-2016, with respect to air conditioner performance and measurement of nitrous oxides.

  14. Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrero, Mario; Henderson, Benjamin; Havlík, Petr; Thornton, Philip K.; Conant, Richard T.; Smith, Pete; Wirsenius, Stefan; Hristov, Alexander N.; Gerber, Pierre; Gill, Margaret; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Valin, Hugo; Garnett, Tara; Stehfest, Elke

    2016-05-01

    The livestock sector supports about 1.3 billion producers and retailers, and contributes 40-50% of agricultural GDP. We estimated that between 1995 and 2005, the livestock sector was responsible for greenhouse gas emissions of 5.6-7.5 GtCO2e yr-1. Livestock accounts for up to half of the technical mitigation potential of the agriculture, forestry and land-use sectors, through management options that sustainably intensify livestock production, promote carbon sequestration in rangelands and reduce emissions from manures, and through reductions in the demand for livestock products. The economic potential of these management alternatives is less than 10% of what is technically possible because of adoption constraints, costs and numerous trade-offs. The mitigation potential of reductions in livestock product consumption is large, but their economic potential is unknown at present. More research and investment are needed to increase the affordability and adoption of mitigation practices, to moderate consumption of livestock products where appropriate, and to avoid negative impacts on livelihoods, economic activities and the environment.

  15. Nitrogen deposition and greenhouse gas emissions from grasslands: uncertainties and future directions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Increases in atmospheric nitrogen deposition (Ndep) can strongly affect the greenhouse gas (GHG; CO2, CH4 and N2O) sink capacity of terrestrial ecosystems. Grasslands play an important role in determining the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere. Robust predictions of the net GHG sink strength of...

  16. The challenge of identifying greenhouse gas-induced climatic change

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maccracken, Michael C.

    1992-01-01

    Meeting the challenge of identifying greenhouse gas-induced climatic change involves three steps. First, observations of critical variables must be assembled, evaluated, and analyzed to determine that there has been a statistically significant change. Second, reliable theoretical (model) calculations must be conducted to provide a definitive set of changes for which to search. Third, a quantitative and statistically significant association must be made between the projected and observed changes to exclude the possibility that the changes are due to natural variability or other factors. This paper provides a qualitative overview of scientific progress in successfully fulfilling these three steps.

  17. A gas chromatograph system for semi-continuous greenhouse gas measurements at Puy de Dôme station, Central France

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lopez, M.; Schmidt, M.; Ramonet, M.; Bonne, J.-L.; Colomb, A.; Kazan, V.; Laj, P.; Pichon, J.-M.

    2015-03-01

    Three years of greenhouse gases measurements, obtained using a gas chromatograph (GC) system located at the Puy de Dôme station at 1465 m a.s.l. in Central France are presented. The GC system was installed in 2010 at Puy de Dôme and was designed for automatic and accurate semi-continuous measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur hexafluoride mole fractions. We present in detail the instrumental set up and the calibration strategy, which together allow the GC to reach repeatabilities of 0.1 μmol mol-1, 1.2, 0.3 nmol mol-1 and 0.06 pmol mol-1 for CO2, CH4, N2O and SF6, respectively. Comparisons of the atmospheric time series with those obtained using other instruments shown that the GC system meets the World Meteorological Organization recommendations. The analysis of the three-year atmospheric time series revealed how the planetary boundary layer height drives the mole fractions observed at a mountain site such as Puy de Dôme where air masses alternate between the planetary boundary layer and the free troposphere. Accurate long-lived greenhouse gases measurements collocated with 222Rn measurements as an atmospheric tracer, allowed us to determine the CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions in the catchment area of the station. The derived CO2 surface flux revealed a clear seasonal cycle with net uptake by plant assimilation in the spring and net emission caused by the biosphere and burning of fossil fuel during the remainder of the year. We calculated a mean annual CO2 flux of 1150 t(CO2) km-2. The derived CH4 and N2O emissions in the station catchment area were 5.6 t(CH4) km-2 yr-1 and 1.5 t(N2O) km-2 yr-1, respectively. Our derived annual CH4 flux is in agreement with the national French inventory, whereas our derived N2O flux is five times larger than the same inventory.

  18. Component greenhouse gas fluxes and radiative balance from two deltaic marshes in Louisiana: Pairing chamber techniques and eddy covariance

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Krauss, Ken W.; Holm, Guerry O.; Perez, Brian C.; McWhorter, David E.; Cormier, Nicole; Moss, Rebecca; Johnson, Darren; Neubauer, Scott C; Raynie, Richard C

    2016-01-01

    Coastal marshes take up atmospheric CO2 while emitting CO2, CH4, and N2O. This ability to sequester carbon (C) is much greater for wetlands on a per-area basis than from most ecosystems, facilitating scientific, political, and economic interest in their value as greenhouse gas sinks. However, the greenhouse gas balance of Gulf of Mexico wetlands is particularly understudied. We describe the net ecosystem exchange (NEEc) of CO2 and CH4 using eddy covariance (EC) in comparison with fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O using chambers from brackish and freshwater marshes in Louisiana, USA. From EC, we found that 182 g C m-2 y-1 was lost through NEEc from the brackish marsh. Of this, 11 g C m-2 y-1 resulted from net CH4 emissions and the remaining 171 g C m-2 y-1 resulted from net CO2 emissions. In contrast, -290 g C m2 y-1 was taken up through NEEc by the freshwater marsh, with 47 g C m-2 y-1 emitted as CH4 and -337 g C m-2 y-1 taken up as CO2. From chambers, we discovered that neither site had large fluxes of N2O. Sustained-flux greenhouse gas accounting metrics indicated that both marshes had a positive (warming) radiative balance, with the brackish marsh having a substantially greater warming effect than the freshwater marsh. That net respiratory emissions of CO2 and CH4 as estimated through chamber techniques were 2-4 times different from emissions estimated through EC requires additional understanding of the artifacts created by different spatial and temporal sampling footprints between techniques.

  19. Global cropland and greenhouse gas impacts of UK food supply are increasingly located overseas

    PubMed Central

    Macdiarmid, Jennie I.

    2016-01-01

    Producing sufficient, healthy food for a growing world population amid a changing climate is a major challenge for the twenty-first century. Agricultural trade could help alleviate this challenge by using comparative productivity advantages between countries. However, agricultural trade has implications for national food security and could displace environmental impacts from developed to developing countries. This study illustrates the global effects resulting from the agricultural trade of a single country, by analysing the global cropland and greenhouse gas impacts of the UK's food and feed supply. The global cropland footprint associated with the UK food and feed supply increased by 2022 kha (+23%) from 1986 to 2009. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) associated with fertilizer and manure application, and rice cultivation remained relatively constant at 7.9 Mt CO2e between 1987 and 2008. Including GHGE from land-use change, however, leads to an increase from 19.1 in 1987 to 21.9 Mt CO2e in 2008. The UK is currently importing over 50% of its food and feed, whereas 70% and 64% of the associated cropland and GHGE impacts, respectively, are located abroad. These results imply that the UK is increasingly reliant on external resources and that the environmental impact of its food supply is increasingly displaced overseas. PMID:26740576

  20. Open-source LCA tool for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from crude oil production using field characteristics.

    PubMed

    El-Houjeiri, Hassan M; Brandt, Adam R; Duffy, James E

    2013-06-04

    Existing transportation fuel cycle emissions models are either general and calculate nonspecific values of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from crude oil production, or are not available for public review and auditing. We have developed the Oil Production Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimator (OPGEE) to provide open-source, transparent, rigorous GHG assessments for use in scientific assessment, regulatory processes, and analysis of GHG mitigation options by producers. OPGEE uses petroleum engineering fundamentals to model emissions from oil and gas production operations. We introduce OPGEE and explain the methods and assumptions used in its construction. We run OPGEE on a small set of fictional oil fields and explore model sensitivity to selected input parameters. Results show that upstream emissions from petroleum production operations can vary from 3 gCO2/MJ to over 30 gCO2/MJ using realistic ranges of input parameters. Significant drivers of emissions variation are steam injection rates, water handling requirements, and rates of flaring of associated gas.

  1. Reducing Urban Greenhouse Gas Footprints.

    PubMed

    Pichler, Peter-Paul; Zwickel, Timm; Chavez, Abel; Kretschmer, Tino; Seddon, Jessica; Weisz, Helga

    2017-11-07

    Cities are economically open systems that depend on goods and services imported from national and global markets to satisfy their material and energy requirements. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) footprints are thus a highly relevant metric for urban climate change mitigation since they not only include direct emissions from urban consumption activities, but also upstream emissions, i.e. emissions that occur along the global production chain of the goods and services purchased by local consumers. This complementary approach to territorially-focused emission accounting has added critical nuance to the debate on climate change mitigation by highlighting the responsibility of consumers in a globalized economy. Yet, city officials are largely either unaware of their upstream emissions or doubtful about their ability to count and control them. This study provides the first internationally comparable GHG footprints for four cities (Berlin, Delhi NCT, Mexico City, and New York metropolitan area) applying a consistent method that can be extended to other global cities using available data. We show that upstream emissions from urban household consumption are in the same order of magnitude as cities' overall territorial emissions and that local policy leverage to reduce upstream emissions is larger than typically assumed.

  2. Nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions under different N and water management in a subtropical double-season rice cropping system.

    PubMed

    Liang, Kaiming; Zhong, Xuhua; Huang, Nongrong; Lampayan, Rubenito M; Liu, Yanzhuo; Pan, Junfeng; Peng, Bilin; Hu, Xiangyu; Fu, Youqiang

    2017-12-31

    Nitrogen non-point pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission are major challenges in rice production. This study examined options for both economic and environmental sustainability through optimizing water and N management. Field experiments were conducted to examine the crop yields, N use efficiency (NUE), greenhouse gas emissions, N losses under different N and water management. There were four treatments: zero N input with farmer's water management (N0), farmer's N and water management (FP), optimized N management with farmer's water management (OPT N ) and optimized N management with alternate wetting and drying irrigation (OPT N +AWD). Grain yields in OPT N and OPT N +AWD treatments increased by 13.0-17.3% compared with FP. Ammonia volatilization (AV) was the primary pathway for N loss for all treatments and accounted for over 50% of the total losses. N losses mainly occurred before mid-tillering. N losses through AV, leaching and surface runoff in OPT N were reduced by 18.9-51.6% compared with FP. OPT N +AWD further reduced N losses from surface runoff and leaching by 39.1% and 6.2% in early rice season, and by 46.7% and 23.5% in late rice season, respectively, compared with OPT N . The CH 4 emissions in OPT N +AWD were 20.4-45.4% lower than in OPT N and FP. Total global warming potential of CH 4 and N 2 O was the lowest in OPT N +AWD. On-farm comparison confirmed that N loss through runoff in OPT N +AWD was reduced by over 40% as compared with FP. OPT N and OPT N +AWD significantly increased grain yield by 6.7-13.9%. These results indicated that optimizing water and N management can be a simple and effective approach for enhancing yield with reduced environmental footprints. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Siting Background Towers to Characterize Incoming Air for Urban Greenhouse Gas Estimation: A Case Study in the Washington, DC/Baltimore Area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mueller, K.; Yadav, V.; Lopez-Coto, I.; Karion, A.; Gourdji, S.; Martin, C.; Whetstone, J.

    2018-03-01

    There is increased interest in understanding urban greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To accurately estimate city emissions, the influence of extraurban fluxes must first be removed from urban greenhouse gas (GHG) observations. This is especially true for regions, such as the U.S. Northeastern Corridor-Baltimore/Washington, DC (NEC-B/W), downwind of large fluxes. To help site background towers for the NEC-B/W, we use a coupled Bayesian Information Criteria and geostatistical regression approach to help site four background locations that best explain CO2 variability due to extraurban fluxes modeled at 12 urban towers. The synthetic experiment uses an atmospheric transport and dispersion model coupled with two different flux inventories to create modeled observations and evaluate 15 candidate towers located along the urban domain for February and July 2013. The analysis shows that the average ratios of extraurban inflow to total modeled enhancements at urban towers are 21% to 36% in February and 31% to 43% in July. In July, the incoming air dominates the total variability of synthetic enhancements at the urban towers (R2 = 0.58). Modeled observations from the selected background towers generally capture the variability in the synthetic CO2 enhancements at urban towers (R2 = 0.75, root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 3.64 ppm; R2 = 0.43, RMSE = 4.96 ppm for February and July). However, errors associated with representing background air can be up to 10 ppm for any given observation even with an optimal background tower configuration. More sophisticated methods may be necessary to represent background air to accurately estimate urban GHG emissions.

  4. 77 FR 62623 - 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-15

    ... and their associated effects? 1. Inventory 2. Health Effects of Non-GHG Pollutants 3. Environmental Effects of Non-GHG Pollutants 4. Air Quality Impacts of Non-GHG Pollutants 5. Other Unquantified Health...-Greenhouse Gas Health and Environmental Impacts 8. Energy Security Impacts 9. Additional Impacts 10. Summary...

  5. EPA Science Matters Newsletter: Breaking Through? Evaluating Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation (Published April 2014)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Read about the MARKet ALlocation (MARKAL) model that Dan Loughlin and his research colleagues created to help researchers to identify technologies that can make a true difference in reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

  6. Effects of dry period length on production, cash flows and greenhouse gas emissions of the dairy herd: A dynamic stochastic simulation model.

    PubMed

    Kok, Akke; van Middelaar, Corina E; Mostert, Pim F; van Knegsel, Ariëtte T M; Kemp, Bas; de Boer, Imke J M; Hogeveen, Henk

    2017-01-01

    Shortening or omitting the dry period of dairy cows improves metabolic health in early lactation and reduces management transitions for dairy cows. The success of implementation of these strategies depends on their impact on milk yield and farm profitability. Insight in these impacts is valuable for informed decision-making by farmers. The aim of this study was to investigate how shortening or omitting the dry period of dairy cows affects production and cash flows at the herd level, and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk, using a dynamic stochastic simulation model. The effects of dry period length on milk yield and calving interval assumed in this model were derived from actual performance of commercial dairy cows over multiple lactations. The model simulated lactations, and calving and culling events of individual cows for herds of 100 cows. Herds were simulated for 5 years with a dry period of 56 (conventional), 28 or 0 days (n = 50 herds each). Partial cash flows were computed from revenues from sold milk, calves, and culled cows, and costs from feed and rearing youngstock. Greenhouse gas emissions were computed using a life cycle approach. A dry period of 28 days reduced milk production of the herd by 3.0% in years 2 through 5, compared with a dry period of 56 days. A dry period of 0 days reduced milk production by 3.5% in years 3 through 5, after a dip in milk production of 6.9% in year 2. On average, dry periods of 28 and 0 days reduced partial cash flows by €1,249 and €1,632 per herd per year, and increased greenhouse gas emissions by 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. Considering the potential for enhancing cow welfare, these negative impacts of shortening or omitting the dry period seem justifiable, and they might even be offset by improved health.

  7. Stepwise multiple regression method of greenhouse gas emission modeling in the energy sector in Poland.

    PubMed

    Kolasa-Wiecek, Alicja

    2015-04-01

    The energy sector in Poland is the source of 81% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Poland, among other European Union countries, occupies a leading position with regard to coal consumption. Polish energy sector actively participates in efforts to reduce GHG emissions to the atmosphere, through a gradual decrease of the share of coal in the fuel mix and development of renewable energy sources. All evidence which completes the knowledge about issues related to GHG emissions is a valuable source of information. The article presents the results of modeling of GHG emissions which are generated by the energy sector in Poland. For a better understanding of the quantitative relationship between total consumption of primary energy and greenhouse gas emission, multiple stepwise regression model was applied. The modeling results of CO2 emissions demonstrate a high relationship (0.97) with the hard coal consumption variable. Adjustment coefficient of the model to actual data is high and equal to 95%. The backward step regression model, in the case of CH4 emission, indicated the presence of hard coal (0.66), peat and fuel wood (0.34), solid waste fuels, as well as other sources (-0.64) as the most important variables. The adjusted coefficient is suitable and equals R2=0.90. For N2O emission modeling the obtained coefficient of determination is low and equal to 43%. A significant variable influencing the amount of N2O emission is the peat and wood fuel consumption. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  8. Greenhouse gas emissions from rice microcosms amended with a plant microbial fuel cell.

    PubMed

    Arends, Jan B A; Speeckaert, Jonas; Blondeel, Evelyne; De Vrieze, Jo; Boeckx, Pascal; Verstraete, Willy; Rabaey, Korneel; Boon, Nico

    2014-04-01

    Methane (CH4) release from wetlands is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions. Gas exchange occurs mainly through the aerenchyma of plants, and production of greenhouse gases is heavily dependent on rhizosphere biogeochemical conditions (i.e. substrate availability and redox potential). It is hypothesized that by introducing a biocatalyzed anode electrode in the rhizosphere of wetland plants, a competition for carbon and electrons can be invoked between electrical current-generating bacteria and methanogenic Archaea. The anode electrode is part of a bioelectrochemical system (BES) capable of harvesting electrical current from microbial metabolism. In this work, the anode of a BES was introduced in the rhizosphere of rice plants (Oryza sativa), and the impact on methane emissions was monitored. Microbial current generation was able to outcompete methanogenic processes when the bulk matrix contained low concentrations of organic carbon, provided that the electrical circuit with the effective electroactive microorganisms was in place. When interrupting the electrical circuit or supplying an excess of organic carbon, methanogenic metabolism was able to outcompete current generating metabolism. The qPCR results showed hydrogenotrophic methanogens were the most abundant methanogenic group present, while mixotrophic or acetoclastic methanogens were hardly detected in the bulk rhizosphere or on the electrodes. Competition for electron donor and acceptor were likely the main drivers to lower methane emissions. Overall, electrical current generation with BESs is an interesting option to control CH4 emissions from wetlands but needs to be applied in combination with other mitigation strategies to be successful and feasible in practice.

  9. Influence of infrastructure on water quality and greenhouse gas dynamics in urban streams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Rose M.; Kaushal, Sujay S.; Beaulieu, Jake J.; Pennino, Michael J.; Welty, Claire

    2017-06-01

    Streams and rivers are significant sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) globally, and watershed management can alter greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from streams. We hypothesized that urban infrastructure significantly alters downstream water quality and contributes to variability in GHG saturation and emissions. We measured gas saturation and estimated emission rates in headwaters of two urban stream networks (Red Run and Dead Run) of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study Long-Term Ecological Research project. We identified four combinations of stormwater and sanitary infrastructure present in these watersheds, including: (1) stream burial, (2) inline stormwater wetlands, (3) riparian/floodplain preservation, and (4) septic systems. We selected two first-order catchments in each of these categories and measured GHG concentrations, emissions, and dissolved inorganic and organic carbon (DIC and DOC) and nutrient concentrations biweekly for 1 year. From a water quality perspective, the DOC : NO3- ratio of streamwater was significantly different across infrastructure categories. Multiple linear regressions including DOC : NO3- and other variables (dissolved oxygen, DO; total dissolved nitrogen, TDN; and temperature) explained much of the statistical variation in nitrous oxide (N2O, r2 = 0.78), carbon dioxide (CO2, r2 = 0.78), and methane (CH4, r2 = 0.50) saturation in stream water. We measured N2O saturation ratios, which were among the highest reported in the literature for streams, ranging from 1.1 to 47 across all sites and dates. N2O saturation ratios were highest in streams draining watersheds with septic systems and strongly correlated with TDN. The CO2 saturation ratio was highly correlated with the N2O saturation ratio across all sites and dates, and the CO2 saturation ratio ranged from 1.1 to 73. CH4 was always supersaturated, with saturation ratios ranging from 3.0 to 2157. Longitudinal surveys extending form headwaters to third

  10. Executive Summary: EPA's Waiver Decision on California's Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for New Motor Vehicles

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This letter from EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to Governor Schwarzenegger denies California's request for a waiver of Federal preemption for motor vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards submitted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

  11. Aligning corporate greenhouse-gas emissions targets with climate goals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krabbe, Oskar; Linthorst, Giel; Blok, Kornelis; Crijns-Graus, Wina; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Höhne, Niklas; Faria, Pedro; Aden, Nate; Pineda, Alberto Carrillo

    2015-12-01

    Corporate climate action is increasingly considered important in driving the transition towards a low-carbon economy. For this, it is critical to ensure translation of global goals to greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets at company level. At the moment, however, there is a lack of clear methods to derive consistent corporate target setting that keeps cumulative corporate GHG emissions within a specific carbon budget (for example, 550-1,300 GtCO2 between 2011 and 2050 for the 2 °C target). Here we propose a method for corporate emissions target setting that derives carbon intensity pathways for companies based on sectoral pathways from existing mitigation scenarios: the Sectoral Decarbonization Approach (SDA). These company targets take activity growth and initial performance into account. Next to target setting on company level, the SDA can be used by companies, policymakers, investors or other stakeholders as a benchmark for tracking corporate climate performance and actions, providing a mechanism for corporate accountability.

  12. Estimating regional greenhouse gas fluxes: An uncertainty analysis of planetary boundary layer techniques and bottom-up inventories

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Quantification of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes is essential for establishing mitigation strategies and evaluating their effectiveness. Here, we used multiple top-down approaches and multiple trace gas observations at a tall tower to estimate GHG regional fluxes and evaluate the GHG fluxes de...

  13. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. liquefied natural gas exports: implications for end uses.

    PubMed

    Abrahams, Leslie S; Samaras, Constantine; Griffin, W Michael; Matthews, H Scott

    2015-03-03

    This study analyzes how incremental U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports affect global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We find that exported U.S. LNG has mean precombustion emissions of 37 g CO2-equiv/MJ when regasified in Europe and Asia. Shipping emissions of LNG exported from U.S. ports to Asian and European markets account for only 3.5-5.5% of precombustion life cycle emissions, hence shipping distance is not a major driver of GHGs. A scenario-based analysis addressing how potential end uses (electricity and industrial heating) and displacement of existing fuels (coal and Russian natural gas) affect GHG emissions shows the mean emissions for electricity generation using U.S. exported LNG were 655 g CO2-equiv/kWh (with a 90% confidence interval of 562-770), an 11% increase over U.S. natural gas electricity generation. Mean emissions from industrial heating were 104 g CO2-equiv/MJ (90% CI: 87-123). By displacing coal, LNG saves 550 g CO2-equiv per kWh of electricity and 20 g per MJ of heat. LNG saves GHGs under upstream fugitive emissions rates up to 9% and 5% for electricity and heating, respectively. GHG reductions were found if Russian pipeline natural gas was displaced for electricity and heating use regardless of GWP, as long as U.S. fugitive emission rates remain below the estimated 5-7% rate of Russian gas. However, from a country specific carbon accounting perspective, there is an imbalance in accrued social costs and benefits. Assuming a mean social cost of carbon of $49/metric ton, mean global savings from U.S. LNG displacement of coal for electricity generation are $1.50 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gaseous natural gas exported as LNG ($.028/kWh). Conversely, the U.S. carbon cost of exporting the LNG is $1.80/Mcf ($.013/kWh), or $0.50-$5.50/Mcf across the range of potential discount rates. This spatial shift in embodied carbon emissions is important to consider in national interest estimates for LNG exports.

  14. Quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater treatment plants using a ground-based remote sensing approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delre, Antonio; Mønster, Jacob; Scheutz, Charlotte

    2016-04-01

    different capacity, process unit technologies and locations. The method was applied at plants with different combination of nitrogen removal technologies and sewage sludge treatment. According to the plant capacity and technologies, quantified emissions ranged in the following intervals: from 0.7 to 3.4 kg N2O/h and from 1.1 to 17.6 kg CH4/h. In addition to quantifying the whole emission from the facilities, main sources in the plants were identified. While CH4 was generally emitted from sludge treatment areas, N2O was detected from nitrogen removal technologies both in the main stream and in the side treatment. Process units like biosolids storage and aeration tanks were the only units releasing both GHGs, although in different magnitude. References IPCC, 2006. Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 5 - Waste. Mønster, J., Samuelsson, J., Kjeldsen, P., Rella, C.W., Scheutz, C., 2014. Quantifying methane emission from fugitive sources by combining tracer release and downwind measurements - a sensitivity analysis based on multiple field surveys. Waste Manag. 34, 1416-28. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2014.03.025 Yoshida, H., Mønster, J., Scheutz, C., 2014. Plant-integrated measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Water Res. 1, 108-118. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2014.05.014

  15. Greenhouse Gas Dynamics in a Salt-Wedge Estuary Revealed by High Resolution Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy Observations.

    PubMed

    Tait, Douglas R; Maher, Damien T; Wong, WeiWen; Santos, Isaac R; Sadat-Noori, Mahmood; Holloway, Ceylena; Cook, Perran L M

    2017-12-05

    Estuaries are an important source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but uncertainties remain in the flux rates and production pathways of greenhouse gases in these dynamic systems. This study performs simultaneous high resolution measurements of the three major greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) as well as carbon stable isotope ratios of carbon dioxide and methane, above and below the pycnocline along a salt wedge estuary (Yarra River estuary, Australia). We identified distinct zones of elevated greenhouse gas concentrations. At the tip of salt wedge, average CO 2 and N 2 O concentrations were approximately five and three times higher than in the saline mouth of the estuary. In anaerobic bottom waters, the natural tracer radon ( 222 Rn) revealed that porewater exchange was the likely source of the highest methane concentrations (up to 1302 nM). Isotopic analysis of CH 4 showed a dominance of acetoclastic production in fresh surface waters and hydrogenotrophic production occurring in the saline bottom waters. The atmospheric flux of methane (in CO 2 equivalent units) was a major (35-53%) contributor of atmospheric radiative forcing from the estuary, while N 2 O contributed <2%. We hypothesize that the release of bottom water gases when stratification episodically breaks down will release large pulses of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

  16. Tradeoffs between costs and greenhouse gas emissions in the design of urban transit systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Griswold, Julia B.; Madanat, Samer; Horvath, Arpad

    2013-12-01

    Recent investments in the transit sector to address greenhouse gas emissions have concentrated on purchasing efficient replacement vehicles and inducing mode shift from the private automobile. There has been little focus on the potential of network and operational improvements, such as changes in headways, route spacing, and stop spacing, to reduce transit emissions. Most models of transit system design consider user and agency cost while ignoring emissions and the potential environmental benefit of operational improvements. We use a model to evaluate the user and agency costs as well as greenhouse gas benefit of design and operational improvements to transit systems. We examine how the operational characteristics of urban transit systems affect both costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The research identifies the Pareto frontier for designing an idealized transit network. Modes considered include bus, bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail transit (LRT), and metro (heavy) rail, with cost and emissions parameters appropriate for the United States. Passenger demand follows a many-to-many travel pattern with uniformly distributed origins and destinations. The approaches described could be used to optimize the network design of existing bus service or help to select a mode and design attributes for a new transit system. The results show that BRT provides the lowest cost but not the lowest emissions for our large city scenarios. Bus and LRT systems have low costs and the lowest emissions for our small city scenarios. Relatively large reductions in emissions from the cost-optimal system can be achieved with only minor increases in user travel time.

  17. Environmental implications of alternative-fueled automobiles: Air quality and greenhouse gas tradeoffs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    MaClean, H.L.; Lave, L.B.

    The authors analyze alternative fuel-powerstrain options for internal combustion engine automobiles. Fuel/engine efficiency, energy use, pollutant discharges, and greenhouse gas emissions are estimated for spark and compression ignited, direct injected (DI), and indirect injected (II) engines fueled by conventional and reformulated gasoline, reformulated diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), and alcohols. Since comparisons of fuels and technologies in dissimilar vehicles are misleading, the authors hold emissions level, range, vehicle size class, and style constant. At present, CNG vehicles have the best exhaust emissions performance while DI diesels have the worst. Compared to a conventional gasoline fueled II automobile, greenhouse gases couldmore » be reduced by 40% by a DI CNG automobile and by 25% by a DI diesel. Gasoline- and diesel-fueled automobiles are able to attain long ranges with little weight or fuel economy penalty. CNG vehicles have the highest penalty for increasing range, due to their heavy fuel storage systems, but are the most attractive for a 160-km range. DI engines, particularly diesels, may not be able to meet strict emissions standards, at least not without lowering efficiency.« less

  18. Greenhouse gas emission reduction: A case study of Sri Lanka

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Meier, P.; Munasinghe, M.

    1995-12-31

    In this paper we describe a case study for Sri Lanka that explores a wide range of options for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Options range from renewable technologies to carbon taxes and transportation sector initiatives. We find that setting electricity prices to reflect long-run marginal cost has a significant beneficial impact on the environment, and the expected benefits predicted on theoretical grounds are confirmed by the empirical results. Pricing reform also has a much broader impact than physical approaches to demand side management, although several options such as compact fluorescent lighting appear to have great potential. Options to reducemore » GHG emissions are limited as Sri Lanka lacks natural gas, and nuclear power is not practical until the system reaches a much larger size. Building the few remaining large hydro facilities would significantly reduce GHG emissions, but these would require costly resettlement programs. Given the inevitability for fossil-fuel base load generation, both clean coal technologies such as pressurized fluidized bed combustion, as well as steam-cycle residual oil fueled plants merit consideration as alternatives to the conventional pulverized coal-fired plants currently being considered. Transportation sector measures necessary to ameliorate local urban air pollution problems, such as vehicle inspection and maintenance programs, also bring about significant reductions of GHG emissions. 51 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.« less

  19. Greenhouse gas emissions from dairy open lot and manure stockpile in northern China: A case study.

    PubMed

    Ding, Luyu; Lu, Qikun; Xie, Lina; Liu, Jie; Cao, Wei; Shi, Zhengxiang; Li, Baoming; Wang, Chaoyuan; Zhang, Guoqiang; Ren, Shixi

    2016-03-01

    The open lots and manure stockpiles of dairy farm are major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in typical dairy cow housing and manure management system in China. GHG (CO(2), CH(4) and N(2)O) emissions from the ground level of brick-paved open lots and uncovered manure stockpiles were estimated according to the field measurements of a typical dairy farm in Beijing by closed chambers in four consecutive seasons. Location variation and manure removal strategy impacts were assessed on GHG emissions from the open lots. Estimated CO(2), CH(4) and N(2)O emissions from the ground level of the open lots were 137.5±64.7 kg hd(-1) yr(-1), 0.45±0.21 kg hd(-1) yr(-1) and 0.13±0.08 kg hd(-1) yr(-1), respectively. There were remarkable location variations of GHG emissions from different zones (cubicle zone vs. aisle zone) of the open lot. However, the emissions from the whole open lot were less affected by the locations. After manure removal, lower CH(4) but higher N(2)O emitted from the open lot. Estimated CO(2), CH(4) and N(2)O emissions from stockpile with a stacking height of 55±12 cm were 858.9±375.8 kg hd(-1) yr(-1), 8.5±5.4 kg hd(-1) yr(-1) and 2.3±1.1 kg hd(-1) yr(-1), respectively. In situ storage duration, which estimated by manure volatile solid contents (VS), would affect GHG emissions from stockpiles. Much higher N(2)O was emitted from stockpiles in summer due to longer manure storage. This study deals with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from open lots and stockpiles. It's an increasing area of concern in some livestock producing countries. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology is commonly used for estimation of national GHG emission inventories. There is a shortage of on-farm information to evaluate the accuracy of these equations and default emission factors. This work provides valuable information for improving accounting practices within China or for similar manure management practice in other countries.

  20. Global Change Could Amplify Fire Effects on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    PubMed Central

    Niboyet, Audrey; Brown, Jamie R.; Dijkstra, Paul; Blankinship, Joseph C.; Leadley, Paul W.; Le Roux, Xavier; Barthes, Laure; Barnard, Romain L.; Field, Christopher B.; Hungate, Bruce A.

    2011-01-01

    Background Little is known about the combined impacts of global environmental changes and ecological disturbances on ecosystem functioning, even though such combined impacts might play critical roles in shaping ecosystem processes that can in turn feed back to climate change, such as soil emissions of greenhouse gases. Methodology/Principal Findings We took advantage of an accidental, low-severity wildfire that burned part of a long-term global change experiment to investigate the interactive effects of a fire disturbance and increases in CO2 concentration, precipitation and nitrogen supply on soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in a grassland ecosystem. We examined the responses of soil N2O emissions, as well as the responses of the two main microbial processes contributing to soil N2O production – nitrification and denitrification – and of their main drivers. We show that the fire disturbance greatly increased soil N2O emissions over a three-year period, and that elevated CO2 and enhanced nitrogen supply amplified fire effects on soil N2O emissions: emissions increased by a factor of two with fire alone and by a factor of six under the combined influence of fire, elevated CO2 and nitrogen. We also provide evidence that this response was caused by increased microbial denitrification, resulting from increased soil moisture and soil carbon and nitrogen availability in the burned and fertilized plots. Conclusions/Significance Our results indicate that the combined effects of fire and global environmental changes can exceed their effects in isolation, thereby creating unexpected feedbacks to soil greenhouse gas emissions. These findings highlight the need to further explore the impacts of ecological disturbances on ecosystem functioning in the context of global change if we wish to be able to model future soil greenhouse gas emissions with greater confidence. PMID:21687708

  1. Greenhouse gas emissions and management practices that impact them in US rice systems

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Previous reviews have quantified factors affecting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) systems, but not from rice systems typical for the United States, which often vary considerably particularly in practices (i.e., water and carbon management) that affect emissions. Usi...

  2. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Chinese Eco-Industrial Parks by Targeting Energy Infrastructure: A Vintage Stock Model.

    PubMed

    Guo, Yang; Tian, Jinping; Chertow, Marian; Chen, Lujun

    2016-10-03

    Mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China's industrial sector is crucial for addressing climate change. We developed a vintage stock model to quantify the GHG mitigation potential and cost effectiveness in Chinese eco-industrial parks by targeting energy infrastructure with five key measures. The model, integrating energy efficiency assessments, GHG emission accounting, cost-effectiveness analyses, and scenario analyses, was applied to 548 units of energy infrastructure in 106 parks. The results indicate that two measures (shifting coal-fired boilers to natural gas-fired boilers and replacing coal-fired units with natural gas combined cycle units) present a substantial potential to mitigate GHGs (42%-46%) compared with the baseline scenario. The other three measures (installation of municipal solid waste-to-energy units, replacement of small-capacity coal-fired units with large units, and implementation of turbine retrofitting) present potential mitigation values of 6.7%, 0.3%, and 2.1%, respectively. In most cases, substantial economic benefits also can be achieved by GHG emission mitigation. An uncertainty analysis showed that enhancing the annual working time or serviceable lifetime levels could strengthen the GHG mitigation potential at a lower cost for all of the measures.

  3. Intelligent Bioreactor Management Information System (IBM-IS) for Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Paul Imhoff; Ramin Yazdani; Don Augenstein

    Methane is an important contributor to global warming with a total climate forcing estimated to be close to 20% that of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the past two decades. The largest anthropogenic source of methane in the US is 'conventional' landfills, which account for over 30% of anthropogenic emissions. While controlling greenhouse gas emissions must necessarily focus on large CO2 sources, attention to reducing CH4 emissions from landfills can result in significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at low cost. For example, the use of 'controlled' or bioreactor landfilling has been estimated to reduce annual US greenhouse emissions by aboutmore » 15-30 million tons of CO2 carbon (equivalent) at costs between $3-13/ton carbon. In this project we developed or advanced new management approaches, landfill designs, and landfill operating procedures for bioreactor landfills. These advances are needed to address lingering concerns about bioreactor landfills (e.g., efficient collection of increased CH4 generation) in the waste management industry, concerns that hamper bioreactor implementation and the consequent reductions in CH4 emissions. Collectively, the advances described in this report should result in better control of bioreactor landfills and reductions in CH4 emissions. Several advances are important components of an Intelligent Bioreactor Management Information System (IBM-IS).« less

  4. Greenhouse gas mitigation can reduce sea-ice loss and increase polar bear persistence

    Treesearch

    Steven C. Amstrup; Eric T. DeWeaver; David C. Douglas; Bruce G. Marcot; George M. Durner; Cecilia M. Bitz; David A. Bailey

    2010-01-01

    On the basis of projected losses of their essential sea-ice habitats, a United States Geological Survey research team concluded in 2007 that two-thirds of the world's polar bears (Ursus maritimus) could disappear by mid-century if business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions continue. That projection, however, did not consider the possible...

  5. The Impact of Advanced Greenhouse Gas Measurement Science on Policy Goals and Research Strategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abrahams, L.; Clavin, C.; McKittrick, A.

    2016-12-01

    In support of the Paris agreement, accurate characterizations of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions estimates have been area of increased scientific focus. Over the last several years, the scientific community has placed significant emphasis on understanding, quantifying, and reconciling measurement and modeling methods that characterize methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas sources. This work has prompted national policy discussions and led to the improvement of regional and national methane emissions estimates. Research campaigns focusing on reconciling atmospheric measurements ("top-down") and process-based emissions estimates ("bottom-up") have sought to identify where measurement technology advances could inform policy objectives. A clear next step is development and deployment of advanced detection capabilities that could aid U.S. emissions mitigation and verification goals. The breadth of policy-relevant outcomes associated with advances in GHG measurement science are demonstrated by recent improvements in the petroleum and natural gas sector emission estimates in the EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory, ambitious efforts to apply inverse modeling results to inform or validate national GHG inventory, and outcomes from federal GHG measurement science technology development programs. In this work, we explore the variety of policy-relevant outcomes impacted by advances in GHG measurement science, with an emphasis on improving GHG inventory estimates, identifying emissions mitigation strategies, and informing technology development requirements.

  6. 75 FR 12232 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-15

    ... Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas...: Comments should be submitted to Mr. Leif Hockstad at: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change...

  7. 78 FR 12310 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2011

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-22

    ... Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas...: Comments should be submitted to Mr. Leif Hockstad at: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change...

  8. 76 FR 10026 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2009

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-23

    ... Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas...: Comments should be submitted to Mr. Leif Hockstad at: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change...

  9. Groundwater pollution potential and greenhouse gas emission from soils amended with different swine biochars

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Although there exist numerous research studies in the literature on greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potentials of soils amended with plant-based biochar made from traditional dry pyrolysis (hereafter referred as pyrochar), a very few such studies exist for hydrochar made from hydro...

  10. Unregulated greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from current technology heavy-duty vehicles.

    PubMed

    Thiruvengadam, Arvind; Besch, Marc; Carder, Daniel; Oshinuga, Adewale; Pasek, Randall; Hogo, Henry; Gautam, Mridul

    2016-11-01

    The study presents the measurement of carbonyl, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene), ammonia, elemental/organic carbon (EC/OC), and greenhouse gas emissions from modern heavy-duty diesel and natural gas vehicles. Vehicles from different vocations that included goods movement, refuse trucks, and transit buses were tested on driving cycles representative of their duty cycle. The natural gas vehicle technologies included the stoichiometric engine platform equipped with a three-way catalyst and a diesel-like dual-fuel high-pressure direct-injection technology equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The diesel vehicles were equipped with a DPF and SCR. Results of the study show that the BTEX emissions were below detection limits for both diesel and natural gas vehicles, while carbonyl emissions were observed during cold start and low-temperature operations of the natural gas vehicles. Ammonia emissions of about 1 g/mile were observed from the stoichiometric natural gas vehicles equipped with TWC over all the driving cycles. The tailpipe GWP of the stoichiometric natural gas goods movement application was 7% lower than DPF and SCR equipped diesel. In the case of a refuse truck application the stoichiometric natural gas engine exhibited 22% lower GWP than a diesel vehicle. Tailpipe methane emissions contribute to less than 6% of the total GHG emissions. Modern heavy-duty diesel and natural gas engines are equipped with multiple after-treatment systems and complex control strategies aimed at meeting both the performance standards for the end user and meeting stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions regulation. Compared to older technology diesel and natural gas engines, modern engines and after-treatment technology have reduced unregulated emissions to levels close to detection limits. However, brief periods of inefficiencies related to low exhaust thermal energy have been shown to

  11. Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health Co-Benefits: A Structured Review of Lifestyle-Related Climate Change Mitigation Strategies.

    PubMed

    Quam, Vivian G M; Rocklöv, Joacim; Quam, Mikkel B M; Lucas, Rebekah A I

    2017-04-27

    This is the first structured review to identify and summarize research on lifestyle choices that improve health and have the greatest potential to mitigate climate change. Two literature searches were conducted on: (1) active transport health co-benefits, and (2) dietary health co-benefits. Articles needed to quantify both greenhouse gas emissions and health or nutrition outcomes resulting from active transport or diet changes. A data extraction tool (PRISMA) was created for article selection and evaluation. A rubric was devised to assess the biases, limitations and uncertainties of included articles. For active transport 790 articles were retrieved, nine meeting the inclusion criteria. For diet 2524 articles were retrieved, 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 31 articles were reviewed and assessed using the rubric, as one article met the inclusion criteria for both active transport and diet co-benefits. Methods used to estimate the effect of diet or active transport modification vary greatly precluding meta-analysis. The scale of impact on health and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) outcomes depends predominately on the aggressiveness of the diet or active transport scenario modelled, versus the modelling technique. Effective mitigation policies, infrastructure that supports active transport and low GHGE food delivery, plus community engagement are integral in achieving optimal health and GHGE outcomes. Variation in culture, nutritional and health status, plus geographic density will determine which mitigation scenario(s) best suit individual communities.

  12. Environmental impacts of food trade via resource use and greenhouse gas emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dalin, Carole; Rodríguez-Iturbe, Ignacio

    2016-03-01

    Agriculture will need to significantly intensify in the next decades to continue providing essential nutritive food to a growing global population. However, it can have harmful environmental impacts, due to the use of natural and synthetic resources and the emission of greenhouse gases, which alter the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles, and threaten the fertility, health and biodiversity of landscapes. Because of the spatial heterogeneity of resource productivity, farming practices, climate, and land and water availability, the environmental impact of producing food is highly dependent on its origin. For this reason, food trade can either increase or reduce the overall environmental impacts of agriculture, depending on whether or not the impact is greater in the exporting region. Here, we review current scientific understanding of the environmental impacts of food trade, focusing on water and land use, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In the case of water, these impacts are mainly beneficial. However, in the cases of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, this conclusion is not as clear. Overall, there is an urgent need for a more comprehensive, integrated approach to estimate the global impacts of food trade on the environment. Second, research is needed to improve the evaluation of some key aspects of the relative value of each resource depending on the local and regional biophysical and socio-economic context. Finally, to enhance the impact of such evaluations and their applicability in decision-making, scenario analyses and accounting of key issues like deforestation and groundwater exhaustion will be required.

  13. 0-6696 : incorporating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in long-range transportation planning : [project summary].

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-08-01

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to be : an important focus area for state, local, and : federal agencies. The transportation sector is the : second biggest contributor to GHG emissions in : the United States, and Texas contributes the : highe...

  14. Optimization of heat and mass transfers in counterflow corrugated-plate liquid-gas exchangers used in a greenhouse dehumidifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bentounes, N.; Jaffrin, A.

    1998-09-01

    Heat and mass transfers occuring in a counterflow direct contact liquid-gas exchanger determine the performance of a new greenhouse air dehumidifier designed at INRA. This prototype uses triethylene glycol (TEG) as the desiccant fluid which extracts water vapor from the air. The regeneration of the TEG desiccant fluid is then performed by direct contact with combustion gas from a high efficiency boiler equipped with a condensor. The heat and mass transfers between the thin film of diluted TEG and the hot gas were simulated by a model which uses correlation formula from the literature specifically relevant to the present cross-corrugated plates geometry. A simple set of analytical solutions is first derived, which explains why some possible processes can clearly be far from optimal. Then, more exact numerical calculations confirm that some undesirable water recondensations on the upper part of the exchanger were limiting the performance of this prototype. More suitable conditions were defined for the process, which lead to a new design of the apparatus. In this second prototype, a gas-gas exchanger provides dryer and cooler gas to the basis of the regenerators, while a warmer TEG is fed on the top. A whole range of operating conditions was experimented and measured parameters were compared with numerical simulations of this new configuration: recondensation did not occur any more. As a consequence, this second prototype was able to concentrate the desiccant fluid at the desired rate of 20 kg H_{2O}/hour, under temperature and humidity conditions which correspond to the dehumidification of a 1000 m2 greenhouse heated at night during the winter season.

  15. A closed-chamber method to measure greenhouse gas fluxes from dry aquatic sediments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lesmeister, Lukas; Koschorreck, Matthias

    2017-06-01

    Recent research indicates that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dry aquatic sediments are a relevant process in the freshwater carbon cycle. However, fluxes are difficult to measure because of the often rocky substrate and the dynamic nature of the habitat. Here we tested the performance of different materials to seal a closed chamber to stony ground both in laboratory and field experiments. Using on-site material consistently resulted in elevated fluxes. The artefact was caused both by outgassing of the material and production of gas. The magnitude of the artefact was site dependent - the measured CO2 flux increased between 10 and 208 %. Errors due to incomplete sealing proved to be more severe than errors due to non-inert sealing material.Pottery clay as sealing material provided a tight seal between the chamber and the ground and no production of gases was detected. With this approach it is possible to get reliable gas fluxes from hard-substrate sites without using a permanent collar. Our test experiments confirmed that CO2 fluxes from dry aquatic sediments are similar to CO2 fluxes from terrestrial soils.

  16. Soil C storage and greenhouse gas emission perennial grasses managed for bio energy feedstock

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Perennial grasses like switchgrass or big bluestem when managed as bioenergy feedstock require nitrogenous inputs. Nitrogen fertilizer frequently cause nitrous oxide emission. Therefore, managing grasses as feedstock may reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential expected from perennial. ...

  17. Evaluation of constructed wetlands by wastewater purification ability and greenhouse gas emissions.

    PubMed

    Gui, P; Inamori, R; Matsumura, M; Inamori, Y

    2007-01-01

    Domestic wastewater is a significant source of nitrogen and phosphorus, which cause lake eutrophication. Among the wastewater treatment technologies, constructed wetlands are a promising low-cost means of treating point and diffuse sources of domestic wastewater in rural areas. However, the sustainable operation of constructed wetland treatment systems depends upon a high rate conversion of organic and nitrogenous loading into their metabolic gaseous end products, such as N2O and CH4. In this study, we examined and compared the performance of three typical types of constructed wetlands: Free Water Surface (FWS), Subsurface Flow (SF) and Vertical Flow (VF) wetlands. Pollutant removal efficiency and N2O and CH4 emissions were assessed as measures of performance. We found that the pollutant removal rates and gas emissions measured in the wetlands exhibited clear seasonal changes, and these changes were closely associated with plant growth. VF wetlands exhibited stable removal of organic pollutants and NH3-N throughout the experiment regardless of season and showed great potential for CH4 adsorption. SF wetlands showed preferable T-N removal performance and a lower risk of greenhouse gas emissions than FWS wetlands. Soil oxidation reduction potential (ORP) analysis revealed that water flow structure and plant growth influenced constructed wetland oxygen transfer, and these variations resulted in seasonal changes of ORP distribution inside wetlands that were accompanied by fluctuations in pollutant removal and greenhouse gas emissions.

  18. Light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards and corporate average fuel economy standards : final rule

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-05-07

    Final Rule to establish a National Program consisting of new standards for light-duty vehicles that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy. This joint : Final Rule is consistent with the National Fuel Efficiency Policy announce...

  19. Production efficiencies of U.S. electric generation plants: Effects of data aggregation and greenhouse gas and renewable energy policy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lynes, Melissa Kate

    Over the last few decades there has been a shift in electricity production in the U.S. Renewable energy sources are becoming more widely used. In addition, electric generation plants that use coal inputs are more heavily regulated than a couple decades ago. This shift in electricity production was brought on by changes in federal policy -- a desire for electricity produced in the U.S. which led to policies being adopted that encourage the use of renewable energy. The change in production practices due to policies may have led to changes in the productivity of electric generation plants. Multiple studies have examined the most efficient electric generation plants using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. This study builds on past research to answer three questions: 1) Does the level of aggregation of fuel input variables affect the plant efficiency scores and how does the efficiency of renewable energy input compare to nonrenewable energy inputs; 2) Are policies geared toward directly or indirectly reducing greenhouse gas emissions affecting the production efficiencies of greenhouse gas emitting electric generation plants; and 3) Do renewable energy policies and the use of intermittent energy sources (i.e. wind and solar) affect the productivity growth of electric generation plants. All three analysis, presented in three essays, use U.S. plant level data obtained from the Energy Information Administration to answer these questions. The first two essays use DEA to determine the pure technical, overall technical, and scale efficiencies of electric generation plants. The third essay uses DEA within the Malmquist index to assess the change in productivity over time. Results indicate that the level of aggregation does matter particularly for scale efficiency. This implies that valuable information is likely lost when fuel inputs are aggregated together. Policies directly focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions may improve the production efficiencies of

  20. THE IMPACT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Technological advancements in United States (U.S.) municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal and a focus on the environmental advantages of integrated MSW management have greatly reduced the environmental impacts of MSW management, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study ...

  1. Greenhouse gas fluxes of a shallow lake in south-central North Dakota, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Tangen, Brian; Finocchiaro, Raymond; Gleason, Robert A.; Dahl, Charles F.

    2016-01-01

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes of aquatic ecosystems in the northern Great Plains of the U.S. represent a significant data gap. Consequently, a 3-year study was conducted in south-central North Dakota, USA, to provide an initial estimate of GHG fluxes from a large, shallow lake. Mean GHG fluxes were 0.02 g carbon dioxide (CO2) m−2 h−1, 0.0009 g methane (CH4) m−2 h−1, and 0.0005 mg nitrous oxide (N2O) m−2 h−1. Fluxes of CO2 and CH4 displayed temporal and spatial variability which is characteristic of aquatic ecosystems, while fluxes of N2O were consistently low throughout the study. Comparisons between results of this study and published values suggest that mean daily fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O fromLong Lakewere low, particularly when compared to the well-studied prairie pothole wetlands of the region. Similarly, cumulative seasonal CH4 fluxes, which ranged from 2.68–7.58 g CH4 m−2, were relatively low compared to other wetland systems of North America. The observed variability among aquatic ecosystems underscores the need for further research.

  2. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is only the beginning: a literature review of the co-benefits of reducing vehicle miles traveled.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-03-01

    Traditional evaluation of the transportation system focuses on automobile traffic flow and : congestion reduction. However, this paradigm is shifting. In an effort to combat global warming : and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a number of citi...

  3. Greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potential of soils amended with raw swine manure, dry and wet pyrolyzed swine biochars

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The objective of this research is to study the greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potentials of the soils amended with raw swine solid and swine biochars made from different thermochemical conditions. Triplicate sets of small pots were designed: 1) control soil with a 50/50 mixture of...

  4. Quantifying and managing regional greenhouse gas emissions: waste sector of Daejeon, Korea.

    PubMed

    Yi, Sora; Yang, Heewon; Lee, Seung Hoon; An, Kyoung-Jin

    2014-06-01

    A credible accounting of national and regional inventories for the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction has emerged as one of the most significant current discussions. This article assessed the regional GHG emissions by three categories of the waste sector in Daejeon Metropolitan City (DMC), Korea, examined the potential for DMC to reduce GHG emission, and discussed the methodology modified from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Korea national guidelines. During the last five years, DMC's overall GHG emissions were 239 thousand tons CO2 eq./year from eleven public environmental infrastructure facilities, with a population of 1.52 million. Of the three categories, solid waste treatment/disposal contributes 68%, whilst wastewater treatment and others contribute 22% and 10% respectively. Among GHG unit emissions per ton of waste treatment, the biggest contributor was waste incineration of 694 kg CO2 eq./ton, followed by waste disposal of 483 kg CO2 eq./ton, biological treatment of solid waste of 209 kg CO2 eq./ton, wastewater treatment of 0.241 kg CO2 eq./m(3), and public water supplies of 0.067 kg CO2 eq./m(3). Furthermore, it is suggested that the potential in reducing GHG emissions from landfill process can be as high as 47.5% by increasing landfill gas recovery up to 50%. Therefore, it is apparent that reduction strategies for the main contributors of GHG emissions should take precedence over minor contributors and lead to the best practice for managing GHGs abatement. Copyright © 2014 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Greenhouse gas emissions from oilfield-produced water in Shengli Oilfield, Eastern China.

    PubMed

    Yang, Shuang; Yang, Wei; Chen, Guojun; Fang, Xuan; Lv, Chengfu; Zhong, Jiaai; Xue, Lianhua

    2016-08-01

    Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oil and gas systems are an important component of the GHG emission inventory. To assess the carbon emissions from oilfield-produced water under atmospheric conditions correctly, in situ detection and simulation experiments were developed to study the natural release of GHG into the atmosphere in the Shengli Oilfield, the second largest oilfield in China. The results showed that methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) were the primary gases released naturally from the oilfield-produced water. The atmospheric temperature and release time played important roles in determining the CH4 and CO2 emissions under atmospheric conditions. Higher temperatures enhanced the carbon emissions. The emissions of both CH4 and CO2 from oilfield-produced water were highest at 27°C and lowest at 3°C. The bulk of CH4 and CO2 was released from the oilfield-produced water during the first release period, 0-2hr, for each temperature, with a maximum average emission rate of 0.415gCH4/(m(3)·hr) and 3.934gCO2/(m(3)·hr), respectively. Then the carbon emissions at other time periods gradually decreased with the extension of time. The higher solubility of CO2 in water than CH4 results in a higher emission rate of CH4 than CO2 over the same release duration. The simulation proved that oilfield-produced water is one of the potential emission sources that should be given great attention in oil and gas systems. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. Worldwide Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Petroleum Jet Fuel

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-11-09

    The main objective of this project was to calculate greenhouse gas emissions estimates for petroleum jet fuels for the recent past and for future scenarios in the coming decades. Results were reported globally and broken out by world regions, and the...

  7. GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) MITIGATION AND MONITORING TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE: ACTIVITIES OF THE GHG TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION CENTER

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper discusses greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and monitoring technology performance activities of the GHG Technology Verification Center. The Center is a public/private partnership between Southern Research Institute and the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development. It...

  8. The greenhouse gas intensity and potential biofuel production capacity of maize stover harvest in the US Midwest

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, Curtis D.; Zhang, Xuesong; Reddy, Ashwan D.

    Agricultural residues are important sources of feedstock for a cellulosic biofuels industry that is being developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy independence. While the US Midwest has been recognized as key to providing maize stover for meeting near-term cellulosic biofuel production goals, there is uncertainty that such feedstocks can produce biofuels that meet federal cellulosic standards. Here, we conducted extensive site-level calibration of the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) terrestrial ecosystems model and applied the model at high spatial resolution across the US Midwest to improve estimates of the maximum production potential and greenhouse gas emissions expectedmore » from continuous maize residue-derived biofuels. A comparison of methodologies for calculating the soil carbon impacts of residue harvesting demonstrates the large impact of study duration, depth of soil considered, and inclusion of litter carbon in soil carbon change calculations on the estimated greenhouse gas intensity of maize stover-derived biofuels. Using the most representative methodology for assessing long-term residue harvesting impacts, we estimate that only 5.3 billion liters per year (bly) of ethanol, or 8.7% of the near-term US cellulosic biofuel demand, could be met under common no-till farming practices. However, appreciably more feedstock becomes available at modestly higher emissions levels, with potential for 89.0 bly of ethanol production meeting US advanced biofuel standards. Adjustments to management practices, such as adding cover crops to no-till management, will be required to produce sufficient quantities of residue meeting the greenhouse gas emission reduction standard for cellulosic biofuels. Considering the rapid increase in residue availability with modest relaxations in GHG reduction level, it is expected that management practices with modest benefits to soil carbon would allow considerable expansion of potential

  9. Substrate potential of last interglacial to Holocene permafrost organic matter for future microbial greenhouse gas production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stapel, Janina G.; Schwamborn, Georg; Schirrmeister, Lutz; Horsfield, Brian; Mangelsdorf, Kai

    2018-04-01

    In this study the organic matter (OM) in several permafrost cores from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island in NE Siberia was investigated. In the context of the observed global warming the aim was to evaluate the potential of freeze-locked OM from different depositional ages to act as a substrate provider for microbial production of greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost. To assess this potential, the concentrations of free and bound acetate, which form an appropriate substrate for methanogenesis, were determined. The largest free-acetate (in pore water) and bound-acetate (organic-matrix-linked) substrate pools were present in interstadial marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 and stadial MIS 4 Yedoma permafrost deposits. In contrast, deposits from the last interglacial MIS 5e (Eemian) contained only a small pool of substrates. The Holocene (MIS 1) deposits revealed a significant bound-acetate pool, representing a future substrate potential upon release during OM degradation. Additionally, pyrolysis experiments on the OM allocated an increased aliphatic character to the MIS 3 and 4 Late Pleistocene deposits, which might indicate less decomposed and presumably more easily degradable OM. Biomarkers for past microbial communities, including those for methanogenic archaea, also showed the highest abundance during MIS 3 and 4, which indicated OM-stimulated microbial degradation and presumably greenhouse gas production during time of deposition. On a broader perspective, Arctic warming will increase and deepen permafrost thaw and favor substrate availability from older freeze-locked permafrost deposits. Thus, the Yedoma deposits especially showed a high potential for providing substrates relevant for microbial greenhouse gas production.

  10. The effects of rape residue mulching on net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity from no-tillage paddy fields.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Zhi-Sheng; Cao, Cou-Gui; Guo, Li-Jin; Li, Cheng-Fang

    2014-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted to provide a complete greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for global warming potential (GWP), net GWP, and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) from no-tillage (NT) paddy fields with different amounts of oilseed rape residue mulch (0, 3000, 4000, and 6000 kg dry matter (DM) ha(-1)) during a rice-growing season after 3 years of oilseed rape-rice cultivation. Residue mulching treatments showed significantly more organic carbon (C) density for the 0-20 cm soil layer at harvesting than no residue treatment. During a rice-growing season, residue mulching treatments sequestered significantly more organic C from 687 kg C ha(-1) season(-1) to 1654 kg C ha(-1) season(-1) than no residue treatment. Residue mulching significantly increased emissions of CO2 and N2O but decreased CH4 emissions. Residue mulching treatments significantly increased GWP by 9-30% but significantly decreased net GWP by 33-71% and GHGI by 35-72% relative to no residue treatment. These results suggest that agricultural economic viability and GHG mitigation can be achieved simultaneously by residue mulching on NT paddy fields in central China.

  11. Greenhouse gas emissions from vegetation fires in Southern Africa.

    PubMed

    Scholes, R J

    1995-01-01

    Methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic carbon, and aerosols emitted as a result of the deliberate or accidental burning of natural vegetation constitute a large component of the greenhouse gas emissions of many African countries, but the data needed for calculating these emissions by the IPCC methodology is sparse and subject to estimation errors. An improved procedure for estimating emissions from fires in southern Africa has been developed. The proposed procedure involves reclassifying existing vegetation maps into one of eleven broad, functional vegetation classes. Fuel loads are calculated within each 0.5 × 0.5° cell based on empirical relationships to climate data for each class. The fractional area of each class that burns is estimated by using daily low-resolution satellite fire detection, which is calibrated against a subsample of pre- and post-fire high-resolution satellite images. The emission factors that relate the quantity of gas released to the mass of fuel burned are based on recent field campaigns in Africa and are related to combustion efficiency, which is in turn related to the fuel mix. The emissions are summed over the 1989 fire season for Africa south of the equator. The estimated emissions from vegetation burning in the subcontinent are 0.5 Tg CH4, 14.9 Tg CO, 1.05 Tg NOx, and 1.08 Tg of particles smaller than 2.5µm. The 324 Tg CO2 emitted is expected to be reabsorbed in subsequent years. These estimates are smaller than previous estimates.

  12. Public health co-benefits of greenhouse gas emissions reduction: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Gao, Jinghong; Kovats, Sari; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Wilkinson, Paul; Woodward, Alistair; Li, Jing; Gu, Shaohua; Liu, Xiaobo; Wu, Haixia; Wang, Jun; Song, Xiaoqin; Zhai, Yunkai; Zhao, Jie; Liu, Qiyong

    2018-06-15

    Public health co-benefits from curbing climate change can make greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation strategies more attractive and increase their implementation. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence of these health co-benefits to improve our understanding of the mitigation measures involved, potential mechanisms, and relevant uncertainties. A comprehensive search for peer-reviewed studies published in English was conducted using the primary electronic databases. Reference lists from these articles were reviewed and manual searches were performed to supplement relevant studies. The identified records were screened based on inclusion criteria. We extracted data from the final retrieved papers using a pre-designed data extraction form and a quality assessment was conducted. The studies were heterogeneities, so meta-analysis was not possible and instead evidence was synthesized using narrative summaries. Thirty-six studies were identified. We identified GHG mitigation strategies in five domains - energy generation, transportation, food and agriculture, households, and industry and economy - which usually, although not always, bring co-benefits for public health. These health gains are likely to be multiplied by comprehensive measures that include more than one sectors. GHG mitigation strategies can bring about substantial and possibly cost-effective public health co-benefits. These findings are highly relevant to policy makers and other stakeholders since they point to the compounding value of taking concerted action against climate change and air pollution. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Fire Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wetlands in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peter, D. L.; Bristol, E. M.; Mann, P. J.; Schade, J. D.; Natali, S.; Holmes, R. M.

    2017-12-01

    Climate change in increasing both fire frequency and fire intensity, especially in Arctic regions. Fire often leads to increased soil temperature, which increases the likelihood of permafrost thaw. Permafrost soils in northern latitudes store large amounts of carbon, and thawing of this permafrost will alter carbon cycling processes, which may substantially impact ecosystem processes in aquatic ecosystems. One potential consequence of altered aquatic ecosystem processes is changes in carbon emissions resulting from altered carbon inputs from thawing permafrost. Aquatic ecosystems are known to be hotspots of greenhouse gas emissions, so changes in greenhouse gas fluxes from them may have important impacts on global climate. In this work, we focused on CO2 and CH4 fluxes from peat plateau ponds, fens and bogs in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta in southwest Alaska. The YK Delta experienced unprecedented fires in summer 2015, presenting an opportunity to assess the impacts of fire on greenhouse gas fluxes from aquatic ecosystems. We sampled upland ponds, channel fens, bogs, and lowland ponds in sites that had burned in 2015 as well as from similar sites where there have been no recorded fires in the past 75 years. We found little difference in gas flux between aquatic sites in burned and unburned sites, with the exception of channel fens, which showed substantially higher fluxes of both CH4 and CO2 in burned sites. This is in contrast to similar measurements taken in summer 2016, when burned ponds showed consistently higher GHG fluxes, suggesting these increases were not sustained in sites other than channel fens. These results, if general, indicate the possibility that the response of aquatic ecosystems to fire may lead to positive feedbacks on climate change.

  14. Fuel-cycle greenhouse gas emissions impacts of alternative transportation fuels and advanced vehicle technologies.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-15

    At an international conference on global warming, held in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, the United States committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 7% over its 1990 level by the year 2012. To help achieve that goal, transportation G...

  15. Greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potentials of soils amended with different swine biochars

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The objective of this research was to study the greenhouse gas emission and groundwater pollution potentials of the soils amended with various biochars using different biomass feedstocks and thermal processing conditions. Triplicate sets of small pots were designed; control soil consisting of Histi...

  16. Three years of semicontinuous greenhouse gas measurements at the Puy de Dôme station (central France)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lopez, M.; Schmidt, M.; Ramonet, M.; Bonne, J.-L.; Colomb, A.; Kazan, V.; Laj, P.; Pichon, J.-M.

    2015-09-01

    Three years of greenhouse gas measurements, obtained using a gas chromatograph (GC) system located at the Puy de Dôme station at 1465 m a.s.l. in central France, are presented. The GC system was installed in 2010 at Puy de Dôme and was designed for automatic and accurate semicontinuous measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur hexafluoride mole fractions. We present in detail the instrumental setup and the calibration strategy, which together allow the GC to reach repeatabilities of 0.1 μmol mol-1, 1.2 nmol mol-1, 0.3 nmol mol-1 and 0.06 pmol mol-1 for CO2, CH4, N2O and SF6, respectively. The analysis of the 3-year atmospheric time series revealed how the planetary boundary layer height drives the mole fractions observed at a mountain site such as Puy de Dôme where air masses alternate between the planetary boundary layer and the free troposphere. Accurate long-lived greenhouse gas measurements collocated with 222Rn measurements as an atmospheric tracer allowed us to determine the CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions in the catchment area of the station. The derived CO2 surface flux revealed a clear seasonal cycle, with net uptake by plant assimilation in the spring and net emission caused by the biosphere and burning of fossil fuel during the remainder of the year. We calculated a mean annual CO2 flux of 1310 ± 680 t CO2 km-2. The derived CH4 and N2O emissions in the station catchment area were 7.0 ± 4.0 t CH4 km-2 yr-1 and 1.8 ± 1.0 t N2O km-2 yr-1, respectively. Our derived annual CH4 flux is in agreement with the national French inventory, whereas our derived N2O flux is 5 times larger than the same inventory.

  17. 1. VIEW SOUTHWEST, EAST FRONT OF GREENHOUSE #1 (BUILDING 5), ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    1. VIEW SOUTHWEST, EAST FRONT OF GREENHOUSE #1 (BUILDING 5), WITH NORTH FRONT OF SHED (BUILDING 20) IN DISTANCE - U.S. Plant Introduction Station, Greenhouse Nos. 1 & 2, 11601 Old Pond Road, Glenn Dale, Prince George's County, MD

  18. Perfluorotributylamine: A novel long-lived greenhouse gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hong, Angela C.; Young, Cora J.; Hurley, Michael D.; Wallington, Timothy J.; Mabury, Scott A.

    2013-11-01

    Perfluorinated compounds impact the Earth's radiative balance. Perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) belongs to the perfluoroalkyl amine class of compounds; these have not yet been investigated as long-lived greenhouse gases (LLGHGs). Atmospheric measurements of PFTBA made in Toronto, ON, detected a mixing ratio of 0.18 parts per trillion by volume. An instantaneous radiative efficiency of 0.86 W m-2 ppb-1 was calculated from its IR absorption spectra, and a lower limit of 500 years was estimated for its atmospheric lifetime. PFTBA has the highest radiative efficiency of any compound detected in the atmosphere. If the concentration in Toronto is representative of the change in global background concentration since the preindustrial period, then the radiative forcing of PFTBA is 1.5 × 10-4 W m-2. We calculate the global warming potential of PFTBA over a 100 year time horizon to be 7100. Detection of PFTBA demonstrates that perfluoroalkyl amines are a class of LLGHGs worthy of future study.

  19. Extractable pool of biochar controls on crop productivity rather than greenhouse gas emission from a rice paddy under rice-wheat rotation.

    PubMed

    Korai, Punhoon Khan; Xia, Xin; Liu, Xiaoyu; Bian, Rongjun; Omondi, Morris Oduor; Nahayo, Alphonse; Pan, Genxing

    2018-01-16

    The role of extractable pool of biochar in crop productivity and soil greenhouse gas (GHGs) emission is not yet clear. In this study, two biochars with and without extraction was added to a paddy before rice transplantation at 20 t·ha -1 . Crop yield, plant traits and greenhouse gas emission monitored throughout a rice-wheat rotation. Between the biochar treatments, changes in bulk density and microbial biomass carbon were insignificant. However, the increase in organic carbon was similar between maize and wheat biochars while higher under bulk wheat biochar than extracted one. The increase in available P and K was higher under wheat than maize biochar regardless of extraction. Moreover, the increase in plant traits and grain yield, in rice season only, was higher under bulk than extracted biochars. Yet, there was no difference in changes in GHGs emission between bulk and extracted biochars regardless of feedstock. Nevertheless, increased methane emission for rice season was lower under extracted biochars than bulk ones. Overall, crop productivity rather than GHGs emission was affected by treatment of extraction of biochars. Thus, use of unextracted biochar is recommended for improving soil crop productivity in the paddy soils.

  20. Dynamic Measurements of Greenhouse Gas Respirations Caused by Changing Oxygen Levels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fleck, D.; Saad, N.

    2015-12-01

    The necessity for constant monitoring of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is clearly evident now more than ever. Moreover, interpreting and understanding the processes that dictate the production and consumption of these gases will allow for proper management of GHGs in order to mitigate its detrimental climate effects. Presence of oxygen, or lack of it, is the driving force for determining pathways within biochemical redox reactions. Experiments to find correlations between oxygen and greenhouse gases have helped us understand photosynthesis, denitrification and beyond. Within the past few years measurements of O2 and nitrous oxide have been used over a wide ranging array of disciplines; from studying avenues for redox chemistry to characterizing gas profiles in sputum of cystic fibrosis patients. We present a full analysis solution, based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy, for simultaneous measurements of N2O, CO2, CH4, H2O, NH3, and O2 concentrations in soil flux, in order to better understand dynamics of ecological and biogeochemical processes. The stability and high temporal resolution of the five-species CRDS analyzer, coupled with a continuous high-precision O2 measurement (1-σ <200ppm) produces a complete picture of biogeochemical processes, for which a multitude of additional research experiments can be conceived. Adding another dimension to explore to help determine the rate at which these greenhouse gases are produced or consumed, allows scientists to further address fundamental scientific questions. Data is presented showing precision, drift and limitations of the O2 sensor measurement as well as the validity of spectroscopic corrections with the CRDS analyzer caused by changing O2. Experimental data is also presented to explore correlations of soil respiration rates of N2O, CO2 and CH4 due to differing soil O2 contents at varying timescales from minutes to days.

  1. Is CH4 consumption by soils controlled by physics or biology? Results from a study of plot-scale variability of greenhouse gas fluxes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maier, Martin; Paulus, Sinikka; Nicolai, Clara; Nauer, Philipp

    2017-04-01

    higher soil respiration. Thus, we conclude that soil texture has a significant effect on greenhouse gas fluxes on the plot scale and that the fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O are linked. Acknowledgement This research was financially supported by the project DFG (MA 5826/2-1).

  2. Harmonization of initial estimates of shale gas life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for electric power generation.

    PubMed

    Heath, Garvin A; O'Donoughue, Patrick; Arent, Douglas J; Bazilian, Morgan

    2014-08-05

    Recent technological advances in the recovery of unconventional natural gas, particularly shale gas, have served to dramatically increase domestic production and reserve estimates for the United States and internationally. This trend has led to lowered prices and increased scrutiny on production practices. Questions have been raised as to how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the life cycle of shale gas production and use compares with that of conventionally produced natural gas or other fuel sources such as coal. Recent literature has come to different conclusions on this point, largely due to differing assumptions, comparison baselines, and system boundaries. Through a meta-analytical procedure we call harmonization, we develop robust, analytically consistent, and updated comparisons of estimates of life cycle GHG emissions for electricity produced from shale gas, conventionally produced natural gas, and coal. On a per-unit electrical output basis, harmonization reveals that median estimates of GHG emissions from shale gas-generated electricity are similar to those for conventional natural gas, with both approximately half that of the central tendency of coal. Sensitivity analysis on the harmonized estimates indicates that assumptions regarding liquids unloading and estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) of wells have the greatest influence on life cycle GHG emissions, whereby shale gas life cycle GHG emissions could approach the range of best-performing coal-fired generation under certain scenarios. Despite clarification of published estimates through harmonization, these initial assessments should be confirmed through methane emissions measurements at components and in the atmosphere and through better characterization of EUR and practices.

  3. Harmonization of initial estimates of shale gas life cycle greenhouse gas emissions for electric power generation

    PubMed Central

    Heath, Garvin A.; O’Donoughue, Patrick; Arent, Douglas J.; Bazilian, Morgan

    2014-01-01

    Recent technological advances in the recovery of unconventional natural gas, particularly shale gas, have served to dramatically increase domestic production and reserve estimates for the United States and internationally. This trend has led to lowered prices and increased scrutiny on production practices. Questions have been raised as to how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the life cycle of shale gas production and use compares with that of conventionally produced natural gas or other fuel sources such as coal. Recent literature has come to different conclusions on this point, largely due to differing assumptions, comparison baselines, and system boundaries. Through a meta-analytical procedure we call harmonization, we develop robust, analytically consistent, and updated comparisons of estimates of life cycle GHG emissions for electricity produced from shale gas, conventionally produced natural gas, and coal. On a per-unit electrical output basis, harmonization reveals that median estimates of GHG emissions from shale gas-generated electricity are similar to those for conventional natural gas, with both approximately half that of the central tendency of coal. Sensitivity analysis on the harmonized estimates indicates that assumptions regarding liquids unloading and estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) of wells have the greatest influence on life cycle GHG emissions, whereby shale gas life cycle GHG emissions could approach the range of best-performing coal-fired generation under certain scenarios. Despite clarification of published estimates through harmonization, these initial assessments should be confirmed through methane emissions measurements at components and in the atmosphere and through better characterization of EUR and practices. PMID:25049378

  4. Treating cattle with antibiotics affects greenhouse gas emissions, and microbiota in dung and dung beetles.

    PubMed

    Hammer, Tobin J; Fierer, Noah; Hardwick, Bess; Simojoki, Asko; Slade, Eleanor; Taponen, Juhani; Viljanen, Heidi; Roslin, Tomas

    2016-05-25

    Antibiotics are routinely used to improve livestock health and growth. However, this practice may have unintended environmental impacts mediated by interactions among the wide range of micro- and macroorganisms found in agroecosystems. For example, antibiotics may alter microbial emissions of greenhouse gases by affecting livestock gut microbiota. Furthermore, antibiotics may affect the microbiota of non-target animals that rely on dung, such as dung beetles, and the ecosystem services they provide. To examine these interactions, we treated cattle with a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic and assessed downstream effects on microbiota in dung and dung beetles, greenhouse gas fluxes from dung, and beetle size, survival and reproduction. We found that antibiotic treatment restructured microbiota in dung beetles, which harboured a microbial community distinct from those in the dung they were consuming. The antibiotic effect on beetle microbiota was not associated with smaller size or lower numbers. Unexpectedly, antibiotic treatment raised methane fluxes from dung, possibly by altering the interactions between methanogenic archaea and bacteria in rumen and dung environments. Our findings that antibiotics restructure dung beetle microbiota and modify greenhouse gas emissions from dung indicate that antibiotic treatment may have unintended, cascading ecological effects that extend beyond the target animal. © 2016 The Author(s).

  5. Treating cattle with antibiotics affects greenhouse gas emissions, and microbiota in dung and dung beetles

    PubMed Central

    Fierer, Noah; Hardwick, Bess; Simojoki, Asko; Slade, Eleanor; Taponen, Juhani; Viljanen, Heidi; Roslin, Tomas

    2016-01-01

    Antibiotics are routinely used to improve livestock health and growth. However, this practice may have unintended environmental impacts mediated by interactions among the wide range of micro- and macroorganisms found in agroecosystems. For example, antibiotics may alter microbial emissions of greenhouse gases by affecting livestock gut microbiota. Furthermore, antibiotics may affect the microbiota of non-target animals that rely on dung, such as dung beetles, and the ecosystem services they provide. To examine these interactions, we treated cattle with a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic and assessed downstream effects on microbiota in dung and dung beetles, greenhouse gas fluxes from dung, and beetle size, survival and reproduction. We found that antibiotic treatment restructured microbiota in dung beetles, which harboured a microbial community distinct from those in the dung they were consuming. The antibiotic effect on beetle microbiota was not associated with smaller size or lower numbers. Unexpectedly, antibiotic treatment raised methane fluxes from dung, possibly by altering the interactions between methanogenic archaea and bacteria in rumen and dung environments. Our findings that antibiotics restructure dung beetle microbiota and modify greenhouse gas emissions from dung indicate that antibiotic treatment may have unintended, cascading ecological effects that extend beyond the target animal. PMID:27226475

  6. Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health Co-Benefits: A Structured Review of Lifestyle-Related Climate Change Mitigation Strategies

    PubMed Central

    Quam, Vivian G. M.; Rocklöv, Joacim; Quam, Mikkel B. M.; Lucas, Rebekah A. I.

    2017-01-01

    This is the first structured review to identify and summarize research on lifestyle choices that improve health and have the greatest potential to mitigate climate change. Two literature searches were conducted on: (1) active transport health co-benefits, and (2) dietary health co-benefits. Articles needed to quantify both greenhouse gas emissions and health or nutrition outcomes resulting from active transport or diet changes. A data extraction tool (PRISMA) was created for article selection and evaluation. A rubric was devised to assess the biases, limitations and uncertainties of included articles. For active transport 790 articles were retrieved, nine meeting the inclusion criteria. For diet 2524 articles were retrieved, 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 31 articles were reviewed and assessed using the rubric, as one article met the inclusion criteria for both active transport and diet co-benefits. Methods used to estimate the effect of diet or active transport modification vary greatly precluding meta-analysis. The scale of impact on health and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) outcomes depends predominately on the aggressiveness of the diet or active transport scenario modelled, versus the modelling technique. Effective mitigation policies, infrastructure that supports active transport and low GHGE food delivery, plus community engagement are integral in achieving optimal health and GHGE outcomes. Variation in culture, nutritional and health status, plus geographic density will determine which mitigation scenario(s) best suit individual communities. PMID:28448460

  7. Effects of dry period length on production, cash flows and greenhouse gas emissions of the dairy herd: A dynamic stochastic simulation model

    PubMed Central

    van Middelaar, Corina E.; Mostert, Pim F.; van Knegsel, Ariëtte T. M.; Kemp, Bas; de Boer, Imke J. M.; Hogeveen, Henk

    2017-01-01

    Shortening or omitting the dry period of dairy cows improves metabolic health in early lactation and reduces management transitions for dairy cows. The success of implementation of these strategies depends on their impact on milk yield and farm profitability. Insight in these impacts is valuable for informed decision-making by farmers. The aim of this study was to investigate how shortening or omitting the dry period of dairy cows affects production and cash flows at the herd level, and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk, using a dynamic stochastic simulation model. The effects of dry period length on milk yield and calving interval assumed in this model were derived from actual performance of commercial dairy cows over multiple lactations. The model simulated lactations, and calving and culling events of individual cows for herds of 100 cows. Herds were simulated for 5 years with a dry period of 56 (conventional), 28 or 0 days (n = 50 herds each). Partial cash flows were computed from revenues from sold milk, calves, and culled cows, and costs from feed and rearing youngstock. Greenhouse gas emissions were computed using a life cycle approach. A dry period of 28 days reduced milk production of the herd by 3.0% in years 2 through 5, compared with a dry period of 56 days. A dry period of 0 days reduced milk production by 3.5% in years 3 through 5, after a dip in milk production of 6.9% in year 2. On average, dry periods of 28 and 0 days reduced partial cash flows by €1,249 and €1,632 per herd per year, and increased greenhouse gas emissions by 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. Considering the potential for enhancing cow welfare, these negative impacts of shortening or omitting the dry period seem justifiable, and they might even be offset by improved health. PMID:29077739

  8. Software for evaluating greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint of dairy production systems

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Abstract: Dairy production, along with all other types of animal agriculture, is a recognized source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but little information exists on the net emissions from our farms. Component models for representing all important sources and sinks of CH4, N2O, and CO2 in dairy p...

  9. Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems

    PubMed Central

    Herrero, Mario; Havlík, Petr; Valin, Hugo; Notenbaert, An; Rufino, Mariana C.; Thornton, Philip K.; Blümmel, Michael; Weiss, Franz; Grace, Delia; Obersteiner, Michael

    2013-01-01

    We present a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency, excretion, and greenhouse gas emissions for 28 regions, 8 livestock production systems, 4 animal species (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, and poultry), and 3 livestock products (milk, meat, and eggs). The dataset contains over 50 new global maps containing high-resolution information for understanding the multiple roles (biophysical, economic, social) that livestock can play in different parts of the world. The dataset highlights: (i) feed efficiency as a key driver of productivity, resource use, and greenhouse gas emission intensities, with vast differences between production systems and animal products; (ii) the importance of grasslands as a global resource, supplying almost 50% of biomass for animals while continuing to be at the epicentre of land conversion processes; and (iii) the importance of mixed crop–livestock systems, producing the greater part of animal production (over 60%) in both the developed and the developing world. These data provide critical information for developing targeted, sustainable solutions for the livestock sector and its widely ranging contribution to the global food system. PMID:24344273

  10. U.S. Airport Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories: State of the Practice and Recommendations for Airports.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-03-01

    This document presents highlights from five research reports on airport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories. It presents the most salient findings for policy makers and U.S. airports seeking to better understand and inventory airport GHG emiss...

  11. Greenhouse gas emissions in the state of Morelos, Mexico: a first approximation for establishing mitigation strategies.

    PubMed

    Quiroz-Castañeda, Rosa Estela; Sánchez-Salinas, Enrique; Castrejón-Godínez, María Luisa; Ortiz-Hernández, Ma Laura

    2013-11-01

    In this study, the authors report the first greenhouse gas emission inventory of Morelos, a state in central Mexico, in which the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) have been identified using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were estimated as CO2 equivalents (CO2 eq) for the years 2005, 2007, and 2009, with 2005 being treated as the base year. The percentage contributions from each category to the CO2 eq emissions in the base year were as follows: 38% from energy, 30% from industrial processes, 23% from waste, 5% from agriculture, and 4% from land use/land use change and forestry (LULUCF). As observed in other state inventories in Mexico, road transportation is the main source of CO2 emissions, wastewater handling and solid waste disposal are the main sources of CH4 emissions, and agricultural soils are the source of the most significant N2O emissions. The information reported in this inventory identifies the main emission sources. Based on these results, the government can propose public policies specifically designed for the state of Morelos to establish GHG mitigation strategies in the near future.

  12. Improving estimations of greenhouse gas transfer velocities by atmosphere-ocean couplers in Earth-System and regional models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vieira, V. M. N. C. S.; Sahlée, E.; Jurus, P.; Clementi, E.; Pettersson, H.; Mateus, M.

    2015-09-01

    Earth-System and regional models, forecasting climate change and its impacts, simulate atmosphere-ocean gas exchanges using classical yet too simple generalizations relying on wind speed as the sole mediator while neglecting factors as sea-surface agitation, atmospheric stability, current drag with the bottom, rain and surfactants. These were proved fundamental for accurate estimates, particularly in the coastal ocean, where a significant part of the atmosphere-ocean greenhouse gas exchanges occurs. We include several of these factors in a customizable algorithm proposed for the basis of novel couplers of the atmospheric and oceanographic model components. We tested performances with measured and simulated data from the European coastal ocean, having found our algorithm to forecast greenhouse gas exchanges largely different from the forecasted by the generalization currently in use. Our algorithm allows calculus vectorization and parallel processing, improving computational speed roughly 12× in a single cpu core, an essential feature for Earth-System models applications.

  13. The relative importance of sources of greenhouse-gas emissions: comparison of global through subnational perspectives.

    PubMed

    Cushman, Robert M; Jones, Sonja B

    2002-03-01

    Increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are widely expected to cause global warming and other climatic changes. It is important to establish priorities for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, so that resources can be allocated efficiently and effectively. This is a global problem, and it is possible, on a global scale, to identify those activities whose emissions have the greatest potential for enhancing the greenhouse effect. However, perspectives from smaller scales must be appreciated, because it is on scales down to the local level that response measures will be implemented. This paper analyzes the relative importance of emissions from the many individual sources, on scales ranging from global to national to subnational. Individual country perspectives and proposed policy measures and those of subnational political entities exhibit some commonalities but differ among themselves and from a global-scale perspective in detail.

  14. Soil greenhouse gas emissions and carbon budgeting in a short-hydroperiod floodplain wetland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Batson, Jackie; Noe, Gregory B.; Hupp, Cliff R.; Krauss, Ken W.; Rybicki, Nancy B.; Schenk, Edward R.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the controls on floodplain carbon (C) cycling is important for assessing greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for C sequestration in river-floodplain ecosystems. We hypothesized that greater hydrologic connectivity would increase C inputs to floodplains that would not only stimulate soil C gas emissions but also sequester more C in soils. In an urban Piedmont river (151 km2 watershed) with a floodplain that is dry most of the year, we quantified soil CO2, CH4, and N2O net emissions along gradients of floodplain hydrologic connectivity, identified controls on soil aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and developed a floodplain soil C budget. Sites were chosen along a longitudinal river gradient and across lateral floodplain geomorphic units (levee, backswamp, and toe slope). CO2 emissions decreased downstream in backswamps and toe slopes and were high on the levees. CH4 and N2O fluxes were near zero; however, CH4 emissions were highest in the backswamp. Annual CO2 emissions correlated negatively with soil water-filled pore space and positively with variables related to drier, coarser soil. Conversely, annual CH4 emissions had the opposite pattern of CO2. Spatial variation in aerobic and anaerobic respiration was thus controlled by oxygen availability but was not related to C inputs from sedimentation or vegetation. The annual mean soil CO2 emission rate was 1091 g C m-2 yr-1, the net sedimentation rate was 111 g C m-2 yr-1, and the vegetation production rate was 240 g C m-2 yr-1, with a soil C balance (loss) of -338 g C m-2 yr-1. This floodplain is losing C likely due to long-term drying from watershed urbanization.

  15. Soil greenhouse gas emissions and carbon budgeting in a short-hydroperiod floodplain wetland

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Batson, Jackie; Noe, Gregory B.; Hupp, Cliff R.; Krauss, Ken W.; Rybicki, Nancy B.; Schenk, Edward R.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the controls on floodplain carbon (C) cycling is important for assessing greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for C sequestration in river-floodplain ecosystems. We hypothesized that greater hydrologic connectivity would increase C inputs to floodplains that would not only stimulate soil C gas emissions but also sequester more C in soils. In an urban Piedmont river (151 km2 watershed) with a floodplain that is dry most of the year, we quantified soil CO2, CH4, and N2O net emissions along gradients of floodplain hydrologic connectivity, identified controls on soil aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and developed a floodplain soil C budget. Sites were chosen along a longitudinal river gradient and across lateral floodplain geomorphic units (levee, backswamp, and toe slope). CO2 emissions decreased downstream in backswamps and toe slopes and were high on the levees. CH4 and N2O fluxes were near zero; however, CH4emissions were highest in the backswamp. Annual CO2 emissions correlated negatively with soil water-filled pore space and positively with variables related to drier, coarser soil. Conversely, annual CH4 emissions had the opposite pattern of CO2. Spatial variation in aerobic and anaerobic respiration was thus controlled by oxygen availability but was not related to C inputs from sedimentation or vegetation. The annual mean soil CO2 emission rate was 1091 g C m−2 yr−1, the net sedimentation rate was 111 g C m−2 yr−1, and the vegetation production rate was 240 g C m−2 yr−1, with a soil C balance (loss) of −338 g C m−2 yr−1. This floodplain is losing C likely due to long-term drying from watershed urbanization.

  16. Ecodriving and carbon footprinting : understanding how public education can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-04-01

    Ecodriving is a collection of changes to driving behavior and vehicle maintenance designed to impact fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in existing vehicles. Because of its promise to improve fuel economy within the existing fleet, e...

  17. [China's rice field greenhouse gas emission under climate change based on DNDC model simulation].

    PubMed

    Tian, Zhan; Niu, Yi-long; Sun, Lai-xiang; Li, Chang-sheng; Liu, Chun-jiang; Fan, Dong-li

    2015-03-01

    In contrast to a large body of literature assessing the impact of agriculture greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on climate change, there is a lack of research examining the impact of climate change on agricultural GHG emissions. This study employed the DNDC v9.5, a state-of-art biogeochemical model, to simulate greenhouse gas emissions in China' s rice-growing fields during 1971-2010. The results showed that owing to temperature rising (on average 0.49 °C higher in the second 20 years than in the first 20 year) and precipitation increase (11 mm more in the second 20 years than in the first 20 years) during the rice growing season, CH4 and N2O emissions in paddy field increased by 0.25 kg C . hm-2 and 0.25 kg N . hm-2, respectively. The rising temperature accelerated CH4 emission and N2O emission increased with precipitation. These results indicated that climate change exerted impact on the mechanism of GHG emissions in paddy field.

  18. Plant regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon lability in a Neotropical peatland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Girkin, Nicholas; Vane, Christopher; Turner, Benjamin; Ostle, Nicholas; Sjogersten, Sofie

    2017-04-01

    Tropical peatlands are under significant threat from land use changes but there remains a significant knowledge gap regarding the influences of contrasting plant types on greenhouse gas emissions and belowground carbon dynamics. We investigated differences in surface CO2 and CH4 fluxes and differences in soil organic carbon chemistry under contrasting surface vegetation types, a palm (Raphia taedigera) and a broadleaved evergreen tree (Campnosperma panamensis), in a Neotropical peatland. CO2 and CH4 production differed significantly between species, with higher fluxes measured under R. taedigera. There were significant differences in peat carbon properties under each species as revealed by Rock-Eval pyrolysis. Peat from under each species showed contrasting trends in degradation inside and outside the rooting zone, and strong differences in the presence of the most labile fractions of carbon. These results highlight the strong impacts that surface vegetation can have on surface gas emissions as well as the influences exerted on peat carbon chemistry within a tropical forested peatland, with implications for our understanding of changes in land use type across the tropics.

  19. Hydrological control on Ozone greenhouse gas effect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuai, L.; Bowman, K. W.; Worden, H. M.; Herman, R. L.; Kulawik, S. S.

    2016-12-01

    Our study present a new concept to use a derived observation-based quantity: instantaneous radiative kernel (IRK), to access the hydrological control on the variation of ozone greenhouse gas effect with AURA TES satellite data. We attribute the spatiotemporal variation of the TES O3 longwave radiative effect (LWRE), which is defined as the net reduction of top-of-atmosphere flux due to total tropospheric O3 absorption, to variations in relative humidity, surface temperature, and tropospheric O3 column. The maximum GHG effect for ozone, represented by LWRE, is found to be around 0.6 to 0.7 Wm-2 on zonal average in the subtropics. This maximum is related by low water vapor concentrations and suppression of clouds, which are driven by the downward branch of the Hadley cell over this region. Within the subtropics, the largest values of LWRE are over the Middle East (>1 W/m2) due to both large thermal contrast and tropospheric ozone enhancements from atmospheric circulation and pollution. Conversely, a lower ozone GHG effect (about 0.4 Wm-2 or lower) is found in the deep tropics closely following the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, attributable to strong water vapor absorption and clouds over deep convective regions. These results show that changes in the hydrological cycle due to climate change could impact the magnitude and distribution of ozone radiative forcing.

  20. Effects of manure storage additivies on manure composition and greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Abstract: Storage of dairy manure slurry allows for flexibility in the timing of land application of manure to reduce environmental impacts related to water quality. Yet, manure storage can increase greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions and cause operational issues due to the buildup of slurry ...

  1. A life cycle assessment of non-renewable energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with blueberry and raspberry production in northern Italy.

    PubMed

    Girgenti, Vincenzo; Peano, Cristiana; Bounous, Michele; Baudino, Claudio

    2013-08-01

    This study examined the emissions produced during the pre-farm, farm and post-farm phases of the production cycle of raspberries and giant American whortleberries (blueberries) cultivated in one of the best-adapted areas in northern Italy. The pre-farm phase included the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of plants in the nursery and the transportation of the plants to the production farms. The farm phase involved the emissions of greenhouse gases from chemical products, the water used for irrigation, the generation of waste, and the consumption of electricity and other energy. The post-farm phase comprised the transportation of the products to the distribution centre (DC) and their storage in the DC. The use phase is not included in the system, nor is transportation from the supermarket to the home of the final consumer, but the disposal of the packaging is nevertheless taken into account. Indeed, the use of traditional plastic materials during both the field phase (nursery and cultivation) and the post-harvesting phase (packaging) produced the greatest estimated impact. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. How conservation agriculture can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance soil carbon storage in croplands

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Conservation agriculture can mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture by enhancing soil carbon sequestration, improving soil quality, N-use efficiency and water use efficiencies, and reducing fuel consumption. Management practices that increase carbon inputs and while reducing carbo...

  3. Long-term greenhouse gas measurements from aircraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karion, A.; Sweeney, C.; Wolter, S.; Newberger, T.; Chen, H.; Andrews, A.; Kofler, J.; Neff, D.; Tans, P.

    2012-10-01

    In March 2009 the NOAA/ESRL/GMD Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases Group collaborated with the US Coast Guard (USCG) to establish the Alaska Coast Guard (ACG) sampling site, a unique addition to NOAA's atmospheric monitoring network. This collaboration takes advantage of USCG bi-weekly Arctic Domain Awareness (ADA) flights, conducted with Hercules C-130 aircraft from March to November each year. NOAA has installed window-replacement inlet plates on two USCG C-130 aircraft and deploys a pallet with NOAA instrumentation on each ADA flight. Flights typically last 8 h and cover a very large area, traveling from Kodiak, AK in the south up to Barrow, AK in the north, and making altitude profiles near the coast as well as in the interior. NOAA instrumentation on each flight includes: a flask sampling system, a continuous CO2/CH4/CO/H2O analyzer, a continuous ozone analyzer, and an ambient temperature and humidity sensor. GPS time and location from the aircraft's navigation system are also collected. Air samples collected in flight are analyzed at NOAA/ESRL for the major greenhouse gases and a variety of halocarbons and hydrocarbons that influence climate, stratospheric ozone, and air quality. Instruments on this aircraft are designed and deployed to be able to collect air samples and data autonomously, so that NOAA personnel visit the site only for installation at the beginning of each season. We present an assessment of the cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) CO2/CH4/CO/H2O analyzer performance operating on an aircraft over a three-year period. We describe the overall system for making accurate greenhouse gas measurements using a CRDS analyzer on an aircraft with minimal operator interaction. Short and long-term stability of the CRDS analyzer over a seven-month deployment period is better than 0.15 ppm, 2 ppb, and 5 ppb for CO2, CH4, CO respectively, considering differences of on-board reference tank measurements from a laboratory calibration performed prior to

  4. Greenhouse gas reduction by recovery and utilization of landfill methane and CO{sub 2} technical and market feasibility study, Boului Landfill, Bucharest, Romania. Final report, September 30, 1997--September 19, 1998

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cook, W.J.; Brown, W.R.; Siwajek, L.

    1998-09-01

    The project is a landfill gas to energy project rated at about 4 megawatts (electric) at startup, increasing to 8 megawatts over time. The project site is Boului Landfill, near Bucharest, Romania. The project improves regional air quality, reduces emission of greenhouse gases, controls and utilizes landfill methane, and supplies electric power to the local grid. The technical and economic feasibility of pre-treating Boului landfill gas with Acrion`s new landfill gas cleanup technology prior to combustion for power production us attractive. Acrion`s gas treatment provides several benefits to the currently structured electric generation project: (1) increase energy density of landfillmore » gas from about 500 Btu/ft{sup 3} to about 750 Btu/ft{sup 3}; (2) remove contaminants from landfill gas to prolong engine life and reduce maintenance;; (3) recover carbon dioxide from landfill gas for Romanian markets; and (4) reduce emission of greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction attributable to successful implementation of the landfill gas to electric project, with commercial liquid CO{sub 2} recovery, is estimated to be 53 million metric tons of CO{sub 2} equivalent of its 15 year life.« less

  5. An approach for verifying biogenic greenhouse gas emissions inventories with atmospheric CO2 concentration data

    Treesearch

    Stephen M Ogle; Kenneth Davis; Thomas Lauvaux; Andrew Schuh; Dan Cooley; Tristram O West; Linda S Heath; Natasha L Miles; Scott Richardson; F Jay Breidt; James E Smith; Jessica L McCarty; Kevin R Gurney; Pieter Tans; A Scott Denning

    2015-01-01

    Verifying national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories is a critical step to ensure that reported emissions data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are accurate and representative of a country's contribution to GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Furthermore, verifying biogenic fluxes provides a check on estimated...

  6. A new index to assess chemicals increasing the greenhouse effect based on their toxicity to algae.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ting; Zhang, Xiaoxian; Tian, Dayong; Gao, Ya; Lin, Zhifen; Liu, Ying; Kong, Lingyun

    2015-11-01

    CO2, as the typical greenhouse gas causing the greenhouse effect, is a major global environmental problem and has attracted increasing attention from governments. Using algae to eliminate CO2, which has been proposed as an effective way to reduce the greenhouse effect in the past decades, can be disturbed by a growing number of artificial chemicals. Thus, seven types of chemicals and Selenastrum capricornutum (algae) were examined in this study, and the good consistency between the toxicity of artificial chemicals to algae and the disturbance of carbon fixation by the chemicals was revealed. This consistency showed that the disturbance of an increasing number of artificial chemicals to the carbon fixation of algae might be a "malware" worsening the global greenhouse effect. Therefore, this study proposes an original, promising index to assess the risk of deepening the greenhouse effect by artificial chemicals before they are produced and marketed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Effects of three years of simulated nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions in a Korean pine plantation of northeast China.

    PubMed

    Song, Lei; Tian, Peng; Zhang, Jinbo; Jin, Guangze

    2017-12-31

    Continuously enhanced nitrogen (N) deposition alters the pattern of N and carbon (C) transformations, and thus influences greenhouse gas emissions. It is necessary to clarify the effect of N deposition on greenhouse gas emissions and soil N dynamics for an accurate assessment of C and N budgets under increasing N deposition. In this study, four simulated N deposition treatments (control [CK: no N addition], low-N [L: 20kgNha -1 yr -1 ], medium-N [M: 40kgNha -1 yr -1 ], and high-N [H: 80kgNha -1 yr -1 ]) were operated from 2014. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide fluxes were monitored semimonthly, as were soil variables such as temperature, moisture and the concentrations of total dissolved N (TDN), NO 3 - , NO 2 - , NH 4 + , and dissolved organic N (DON) in soil solutions. The simulated N deposition resulted in a significant increase in TDN, NO 3 - and DON concentrations in soil solutions. The average CO 2 emission rate ranged from 222.6mgCO 2 m -2 h -1 in CK to 233.7mgCO 2 m -2 h -1 in the high-N treatment. Three years of simulated N deposition had no effect on soil CO 2 emission, which was mainly controlled by soil temperature. The mean N 2 O emission rate during the whole 3years was 0.02mgN 2 Om -2 h -1 for CK, which increased significantly to 0.05mgN 2 Om -2 h -1 in the high-N treatment. The N 2 O emission rate positively correlated with NH 4 + concentrations, and negatively correlated with soil moisture. The average CH 4 flux during the whole 3years was -0.74μgCH 4 m -2 h -1 in CK, which increased to 1.41μgCH 4 m -2 h -1 in the low-N treatment. CH 4 flux positively correlated with NO 3 - concentrations. These results indicate that short-term N deposition did not affect soil CO 2 emissions, while CH 4 and N 2 O emissions were sensitive to N deposition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. The Impact of a Potential Shale Gas Development in Germany and the United Kingdom on Pollutant and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weger, L.; Cremonese, L.; Bartels, M. P.; Butler, T. M.

    2016-12-01

    Several European countries with domestic shale gas reserves are considering extracting this natural gas resource to complement their energy transition agenda. Natural gas, which produces lower CO2 emissions upon combustion compared to coal or oil, has the potential to serve as a bridge in the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. However, the generation of shale gas leads to emissions of CH4 and pollutants such as PM, NOx and VOCs, which in turn impact climate as well as local and regional air quality. In this study, we explore the impact of a potential shale gas development in Europe, specifically in Germany and the United Kingdom, on emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants. In order to investigate the effect on emissions, we first estimate a range of wells drilled per year and production volume for the two countries under examination based on available geological information and on regional infrastructural and economic limitations. Subsequently we assign activity data and emissions factors to the well development, gas production and processing stages of shale gas generation to enable emissions quantification. We then define emissions scenarios to explore different storylines of potential shale gas development, including low emissions (high level of regulation), high emissions (low level of regulation) and middle emissions scenarios, which influence fleet make-up, emission factor and activity data choices for emissions quantification. The aim of this work is to highlight important variables and their ranges, to promote discussion and communication of potential impacts, and to construct possible visions for a future shale gas development in the two study countries. In a follow-up study, the impact of pollutant emissions from these scenarios on air quality will be explored using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem) model.

  9. UK emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide

    PubMed Central

    Skiba, U.; Jones, S. K.; Dragosits, U.; Drewer, J.; Fowler, D.; Rees, R. M.; Pappa, V. A.; Cardenas, L.; Chadwick, D.; Yamulki, S.; Manning, A. J.

    2012-01-01

    Signatories of the Kyoto Protocol are obliged to submit annual accounts of their anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which include nitrous oxide (N2O). Emissions from the sectors industry (3.8 Gg), energy (14.4 Gg), agriculture (86.8 Gg), wastewater (4.4 Gg), land use, land-use change and forestry (2.1 Gg) can be calculated by multiplying activity data (i.e. amount of fertilizer applied, animal numbers) with simple emission factors (Tier 1 approach), which are generally applied across wide geographical regions. The agricultural sector is the largest anthropogenic source of N2O in many countries and responsible for 75 per cent of UK N2O emissions. Microbial N2O production in nitrogen-fertilized soils (27.6 Gg), nitrogen-enriched waters (24.2 Gg) and manure storage systems (6.4 Gg) dominate agricultural emission budgets. For the agricultural sector, the Tier 1 emission factor approach is too simplistic to reflect local variations in climate, ecosystems and management, and is unable to take into account some of the mitigation strategies applied. This paper reviews deviations of observed emissions from those calculated using the simple emission factor approach for all anthropogenic sectors, briefly discusses the need to adopt specific emission factors that reflect regional variability in climate, soil type and management, and explains how bottom-up emission inventories can be verified by top-down modelling. PMID:22451103

  10. Estonian greenhouse gas emissions inventory report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Punning, J.M.; Ilomets, M.; Karindi, A.

    1996-07-01

    It is widely accepted that the increase of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere due to human activities would result in warming of the Earth`s surface. To examine this effect and better understand how the GHG increase in the atmosphere might change the climate in the future, how ecosystems and societies in different regions of the World should adapt to these changes, what must policymakers do for the mitigation of that effect, the worldwide project within the Framework Convention on Climate Change was generated by the initiative of United Nations. Estonia is one of more than 150 countries, which signedmore » the Framework Convention on Climate Change at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. In 1994 a new project, Estonian Country Study was initiated within the US Country Studies Program. The project will help to compile the GHG inventory for Estonia, find contemporary trends to investigate the impact of climate change on the Estonian ecosystems and economy and to formulate national strategies for Estonia addressing to global climate change.« less

  11. Globally significant greenhouse-gas emissions from African inland waters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borges, Alberto V.; Bouillon, Steven

    2017-04-01

    The relevance of inland waters to global biogeochemical cycles is increasingly recognized, and of particular importance is their contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The latter remain largely unreported in African inland waters. Here we report dissolved CO2, CH4 and N2O from 12 rivers in Sub-Saharan Africa acquired during >30 field expeditions and additional seasonally resolved sampling at >30 sites between 2006 and 2014. Fluxes were calculated from reported gas transfer velocity values, and upscaled using available spatial datasets, with an estimated uncertainty of about ±19%. CO2 equivalent emissions ( 0.4±0.1 PgC yr-1) match 2/3 of the overall net carbon sink previously reported for Africa. Including emissions from wetlands of the Congo, the putative total emission ( 0.9±0.1 PgC yr-1) is about half of the global oceanic or land carbon sinks. In-situ respiration supported <14% of riverine CO2 emissions, which must therefore largely be driven by mineralization in wetlands or uplands. Riverine CO2 and CH4 emissions were directly correlated to wetland coverage and aboveground vegetation biomass, implying that future changes in wetland and upland vegetation cover will strongly impact GHG emissions from African inland waters.

  12. Environmental Consequences of Invasive Species: Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Insecticide Use and the Role of Biological Control in Reducing Emissions

    PubMed Central

    Heimpel, George E.; Yang, Yi; Hill, Jason D.; Ragsdale, David W.

    2013-01-01

    Greenhouse gas emissions associated with pesticide applications against invasive species constitute an environmental cost of species invasions that has remained largely unrecognized. Here we calculate greenhouse gas emissions associated with the invasion of an agricultural pest from Asia to North America. The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, was first discovered in North America in 2000, and has led to a substantial increase in insecticide use in soybeans. We estimate that the manufacture, transport, and application of insecticides against soybean aphid results in approximately 10.6 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent greenhouse gasses being emitted per hectare of soybeans treated. Given the acreage sprayed, this has led to annual emissions of between 6 and 40 million kg of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gasses in the United States since the invasion of soybean aphid, depending on pest population size. Emissions would be higher were it not for the development of a threshold aphid density below which farmers are advised not to spray. Without a threshold, farmers tend to spray preemptively and the threshold allows farmers to take advantage of naturally occurring biological control of the soybean aphid, which can be substantial. We find that adoption of the soybean aphid economic threshold can lead to emission reductions of approximately 300 million kg of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases per year in the United States. Previous studies have documented that biological control agents such as lady beetles are capable of suppressing aphid densities below this threshold in over half of the soybean acreage in the U.S. Given the acreages involved this suggests that biological control results in annual emission reductions of over 200 million kg of CO2 equivalents. These analyses show how interactions between invasive species and organisms that suppress them can interact to affect greenhouse gas emissions. PMID:23977273

  13. Environmental consequences of invasive species: greenhouse gas emissions of insecticide use and the role of biological control in reducing emissions.

    PubMed

    Heimpel, George E; Yang, Yi; Hill, Jason D; Ragsdale, David W

    2013-01-01

    Greenhouse gas emissions associated with pesticide applications against invasive species constitute an environmental cost of species invasions that has remained largely unrecognized. Here we calculate greenhouse gas emissions associated with the invasion of an agricultural pest from Asia to North America. The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, was first discovered in North America in 2000, and has led to a substantial increase in insecticide use in soybeans. We estimate that the manufacture, transport, and application of insecticides against soybean aphid results in approximately 10.6 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent greenhouse gasses being emitted per hectare of soybeans treated. Given the acreage sprayed, this has led to annual emissions of between 6 and 40 million kg of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gasses in the United States since the invasion of soybean aphid, depending on pest population size. Emissions would be higher were it not for the development of a threshold aphid density below which farmers are advised not to spray. Without a threshold, farmers tend to spray preemptively and the threshold allows farmers to take advantage of naturally occurring biological control of the soybean aphid, which can be substantial. We find that adoption of the soybean aphid economic threshold can lead to emission reductions of approximately 300 million kg of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases per year in the United States. Previous studies have documented that biological control agents such as lady beetles are capable of suppressing aphid densities below this threshold in over half of the soybean acreage in the U.S. Given the acreages involved this suggests that biological control results in annual emission reductions of over 200 million kg of CO2 equivalents. These analyses show how interactions between invasive species and organisms that suppress them can interact to affect greenhouse gas emissions.

  14. Paludiculture as a chance for peatland and climate: the greenhouse gas balance of biomass production on two rewetted peatlands does not differ from the natural state

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Günther, Anke; Huth, Vytas; Jurasinski, Gerald; Albrecht, Kerstin; Glatzel, Stephan

    2015-04-01

    In Europe, rising prices for farm land make it increasingly difficult for government administrations to compete with external investors during the acquisition of land for wetland conservation. Thus, adding economic value to these, otherwise "lost", areas by combining extensive land use with nature conservation efforts could increase the amount of ground available for wetland restoration. Against this background, the concept of paludiculture aims to provide biomass for multiple purposes from peatlands with water tables high enough to conserve the peat body. However, as plants have been shown to contribute to greenhouse gas exchange in peatlands, manipulating the vegetation (by harvesting, sowing etc.) might alter the effect of the restored peatlands on climate. Here, we present greenhouse gas data from two experimental paludiculture systems on formerly drained intensive grasslands in northern Germany. In a fen that has been rewetted more than 15 years ago three species of reed plants were harvested to simulate biomass production for bioenergy and as construction material. And in a peat bog that has been converted from drained grassland to a field with a controlled water table around ground surface Sphagnum mosses were cultivated to provide an alternative growing substrate for horticulture. In both systems, we determined carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide exchange using closed chambers over two years. Additionally, water and peat chemistry and environmental parameters as recorded by a weather station were analyzed. Both restored peatlands show greenhouse gas balances comparable to those of natural ecosystems. Nitrous oxide was not emitted in either system. Fluctuations of the emissions reflect changes in weather conditions across the study years. In the fen, relative emission patterns between plant species were not constant over time. We did not find a negative short-term effect of biomass harvest or Sphagnum cultivation on net greenhouse gas balances

  15. What are we missing? Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions accounting in the metals and minerals industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greene, Suzanne E.

    2018-05-01

    Metal and mineral companies have significant greenhouse gas emissions in their upstream and downstream value chains due to outsourced extraction, beneficiation and transportation activities, depending on a firm's business model. While many companies move towards more transparent reporting of corporate greenhouse gas emissions, value chain emissions remain difficult to capture, particularly in the global supply chain. Incomplete reports make it difficult for companies to track emissions reductions goals or implement sustainable supply chain improvements, especially for commodity products that form the base of many other sector's value chains. Using voluntarily-reported CDP data, this paper sheds light on hotspots in value chain emissions for individual metal and mineral companies, and for the sector as a whole. The state of value chain emissions reporting for the industry is discussed in general, with a focus on where emissions could potentially be underestimated and how estimates could be improved.

  16. Comparing the greenhouse gas emissions from three alternative waste combustion concepts

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vainikka, Pasi, E-mail: pasi.vainikka@vtt.fi; Tsupari, Eemeli; Sipilae, Kai

    2012-03-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Significant GHG reductions are possible by efficient WtE technologies. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer CHP and high power-to-heat ratio provide significant GHG savings. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer N{sub 2}O and coal mine type are important in LCA GHG emissions of FBC co-combustion. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Substituting coal and fuel oil by waste is beneficial in electricity and heat production. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Substituting natural gas by waste may not be reasonable in CHP generation. - Abstract: Three alternative condensing mode power and combined heat and power (CHP) waste-to-energy concepts were compared in terms of their impacts on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a heat and power generation system.more » The concepts included (i) grate, (ii) bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) and (iii) circulating fluidised bed (CFB) combustion of waste. The BFB and CFB take advantage of advanced combustion technology which enabled them to reach electric efficiency up to 35% and 41% in condensing mode, respectively, whereas 28% (based on the lower heating value) was applied for the grate fired unit. A simple energy system model was applied in calculating the GHG emissions in different scenarios where coal or natural gas was substituted in power generation and mix of fuel oil and natural gas in heat generation by waste combustion. Landfilling and waste transportation were not considered in the model. GHG emissions were reduced significantly in all of the considered scenarios where the waste combustion concepts substituted coal based power generation. With the exception of condensing mode grate incinerator the different waste combustion scenarios resulted approximately in 1 Mton of fossil CO{sub 2}-eq. emission reduction per 1 Mton of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated. When natural gas based power generation was substituted by electricity from the waste combustion significant GHG emission reductions were not

  17. Where do California's greenhouse gases come from?

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fischer, Marc

    2009-12-11

    Last March, more than two years after California passed legislation to slash greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Marc Fischer boarded a Cessna loaded with air monitoring equipment and crisscrossed the skies above Sacramento and the Bay Area. Instruments aboard the aircraft measured a cocktail of greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use, methane from livestock and landfills, CO2 from refineries and power plants, traces of nitrous oxide from agriculture and fuel use, and industrially produced other gases like refrigerants. The flight was part of the Airborne Greenhouse Gas Emissions Survey, a collaborationmore » between Berkeley Lab, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of California, and UC Davis to pinpoint the sources of greenhouse gases in central California. The survey is intended to improve inventories of the states greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn will help scientists verify the emission reductions mandated by AB-32, the legislation enacted by California in 2006.« less

  18. Greenhouse Gas Inventory of a Typical High-End Industrial Park in China

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Bin; He, Guoxuan; Qi, Jing; Zhou, Shiyi; Jiang, Meiming

    2013-01-01

    Global climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which severely limits the development of human society and threatens the survival of humanity, has drawn the international community's long-term attention. Gathering the most important production factors in the region, an industrial park usually represents the development level of specific industries in the region. Therefore, the industrial park should be regarded as the base unit for developing a low-carbon economy and reducing GHG emissions. Focusing on a typical high-end industrial park in Beijing, we analyze the carbon sources within the system boundary and probe into the emission structure in view of life-cycle analysis. A GHG inventory is thereby set up to calculate all GHG emissions from the concerned park. Based on the results, suggestions are presented to guide the low-carbon development of the high-end industrial park. PMID:23431258

  19. Greenhouse gas inventory of a typical high-end industrial park in China.

    PubMed

    Chen, Bin; He, Guoxuan; Qi, Jing; Su, Meirong; Zhou, Shiyi; Jiang, Meiming

    2013-01-01

    Global climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which severely limits the development of human society and threatens the survival of humanity, has drawn the international community's long-term attention. Gathering the most important production factors in the region, an industrial park usually represents the development level of specific industries in the region. Therefore, the industrial park should be regarded as the base unit for developing a low-carbon economy and reducing GHG emissions. Focusing on a typical high-end industrial park in Beijing, we analyze the carbon sources within the system boundary and probe into the emission structure in view of life-cycle analysis. A GHG inventory is thereby set up to calculate all GHG emissions from the concerned park. Based on the results, suggestions are presented to guide the low-carbon development of the high-end industrial park.

  20. Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from a modern U.S. swine breeding-gestation-farrowing system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stinn, John P.; Xin, Hongwei; Shepherd, Timothy A.; Li, Hong; Burns, Robert T.

    2014-12-01

    Aerial emissions from livestock production continue to be an area of attention and concern for both the potential health and environmental impacts. However, information of gaseous, especially greenhouse gas (GHG), emissions for swine breeding/gestation and farrowing production systems is limited. The purpose of this study was to quantify ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) concentrations and emissions from a modern breeding-gestation-farrowing system located in central Iowa, USA. A 4300-sow farm was selected for the extensive field monitoring which employed a Mobile Air Emission Monitoring Unit equipped with state-of-the-art gas analyzers and a data acquisition system. The monitored portion of the farm facility consisted of a deep-pit breeding/early gestation (B/EG) barn (1800 head), a deep-pit late gestation (LG) barn (1800 head), and two shallow-pit (pull-plug) farrowing rooms (40 head per room). A dynamic flux chamber was used to monitor gaseous emissions from the external manure storage for the farrowing rooms. Data were collected for 29 consecutive months (January 2011 through June 2013). Daily indoor NH3, CO2, N2O, and CH4 concentrations (ppm, mean ± SD) were 12.0 (±7.6), 1594 (±797), 0.31 (±0.11), and 28.5 (±9.8), respectively, in the breeding/gestation barns; and 9.7 (±4.1), 1536 (±701), 0.30 (±0.10), and 78.3 (±37), respectively, in the farrowing rooms. Daily emissions per animal unit (AU, 500 kg live weight) were 35.1 g NH3, 7.46 kg CO2, 0.17 g N2O, and 263.4 g CH4 for sows in the B/EG barn; and 28.2 g NH3, 6.50 kg CO2, 0.12 g N2O, and 201.3 g CH4 for sows in the LG barn. The average daily emissions per AU (sow and piglets) of the farrowing rooms during the lactation period (birth to weaning) were: 59.7 g NH3, 16.4 kg CO2, 0.73 g N2O, and 107 g CH4. For the monitored period, the external manure storage had the following average daily emission per m2 surface area: 1.26 g NH3, 137 g CO2, and 94.8 g CH4, which

  1. Agricultural soil greenhouse gas emissions: a review of national inventory methods.

    PubMed

    Lokupitiya, Erandathie; Paustian, Keith

    2006-01-01

    Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are required to submit national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, together with information on methods used in estimating their emissions. Currently agricultural activities contribute a significant portion (approximately 20%) of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, and agricultural soils have been identified as one of the main GHG source categories within the agricultural sector. However, compared to many other GHG sources, inventory methods for soils are relatively more complex and have been implemented only to varying degrees among member countries. This review summarizes and evaluates the methods used by Annex 1 countries in estimating CO2 and N2O emissions in agricultural soils. While most countries utilize the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default methodology, several Annex 1 countries are developing more advanced methods that are tailored for specific country circumstances. Based on the latest national inventory reporting, about 56% of the Annex 1 countries use IPCC Tier 1 methods, about 26% use Tier 2 methods, and about 18% do not estimate or report N2O emissions from agricultural soils. More than 65% of the countries do not report CO2 emissions from the cultivation of mineral soils, organic soils, or liming, and only a handful of countries have used country-specific, Tier 3 methods. Tier 3 methods usually involve process-based models and detailed, geographically specific activity data. Such methods can provide more robust, accurate estimates of emissions and removals but require greater diligence in documentation, transparency, and uncertainty assessment to ensure comparability between countries. Availability of detailed, spatially explicit activity data is a major constraint to implementing higher tiered methods in many countries.

  2. Mars Greenhouses: Concepts and Challenges. Proceedings from a 1999 Workshop

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wheeler, Ray M. (Editor); Martin-Brennan, Cindy (Editor)

    2000-01-01

    Topic covered include :Plants on Mars: On the Next Mission and in the Long Term Future; Bubbles in the Rocks: Natural and Artificial Caves and Cavities as Like Support Structures; Challenges for Bioregenerative Life Support on Mars; Cost Effectiveness Issues; Low Pressure Systems for Plant Growth; Plant Responses to Rarified Atmospheres; Can CO2 be Used as a Pressurizing Gas for Mars Greenhouses?; Inflatable Habitats Technology Development; Development of an Inflatable Greenhouse for a Modular Crop Production System; Mars Inflatable Greenhouse Workshop; Design Needs for Mars Deployable Greenhouse; Preliminary Estimates of the Possibilities for Developing a Deployable Greenhouse for a Planetary Surface Mars; Low Pressure Greenhouse Concepts for Mars; Mars Greenhouse Study: Natural vs. Artificial Lighting; and Wire Culture for an Inflatable Mars Greenhouse and Other Future Inflatable Space Growth Chambers.

  3. Northern Hemisphere Winter Climate Response to Greenhouse Gas, Ozone, Solar and Volcanic Forcing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shindell, Drew T.; Schmidt, Gavin A.; Miller, Ron L.; Rind, David; Hansen, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) climate/middle atmosphere model has been used to study the impacts of increasing greenhouse gases, polar ozone depletion, volcanic eruptions, and solar cycle variability. We focus on the projection of the induced responses onto Northern Hemisphere winter surface climate. Changes in the model's surface climate take place largely through enhancement of existing variability patterns, with greenhouse gases, polar ozone depletion and volcanic eruptions primarily affecting the Arctic Oscillation (AO) pattern. Perturbations descend from the stratosphere to the surface in the model by altering the propagation of planetary waves coming up from the surface, in accord with observational evidence. Models lacking realistic stratospheric dynamics fail to capture these wave flux changes. The results support the conclusion that the stratosphere plays a crucial role in recent AO trends. We show that in our climate model, while ozone depletion has a significant effect, greenhouse gas forcing is the only one capable of causing the large, sustained increase in the AO observed over recent decades. This suggests that the AO trend, and a concurrent strengthening of the stratospheric vortex over the Arctic, are very likely anthropogenic in origin.

  4. Greenhouse Gases

    MedlinePlus

    ... Information Administration (EIA) does not estimate emissions of water vapor. Research by NASA suggests a stronger impact from the indirect human effects on water vapor concentrations. Ozone is technically a greenhouse gas ...

  5. Calculation of greenhouse gas emissions of jatropha oil and jatropha biodiesel as alternative fuels for electricity production in Côte d'Ivoire

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atta, Pascal Atta; N'guessan, Yao; Morin, Celine; Voirol, Anne Jaecker; Descombes, Georges

    2017-02-01

    The electricity in Côte d'Ivoire is mainly produced from fossil energy sources. This causes damages on environment due to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The aim of this paper is to calculate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of jatropha oil and jatropha biodiesel as alternative fuels for electricity production in Côte d'Ivoire by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The functional unit in this LCA is defined as 1 kWh of electricity produced by the combustion of jatropha oil or jatropha biodiesel in the engine of a generator. Two scenarios, called short chain and long chain, were examined in this LCA. The results show that 0.132 kg CO2 equivalent is emitted for the scenario 1 with jatropha oil as an alternative fuel against 0.6376 kg CO2 equivalent for the scenario 2 with jatropha biodiesel as an alternative fuel. An 87 % reduction of kg CO2 equivalent is observed in scenario 1 and a 37 % reduction of kg CO2 equivalent is observed in the scenario 2, when compared with a Diesel fuel.

  6. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Septic Systems in New York State.

    PubMed

    Truhlar, Allison M; Rahm, Brian G; Brooks, Rachael A; Nadeau, Sarah A; Makarsky, Erin T; Walter, M Todd

    2016-07-01

    Onsite septic systems use microbial processes to eliminate organic wastes and nutrients such as nitrogen; these processes can contribute to air pollution through the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Current USEPA estimates for septic system GHG emissions are based on one study conducted in north-central California and are limited to methane; therefore, the contribution of these systems to the overall GHG emission budget is unclear. This study quantified and compared septic system GHG emissions from the soil over leach fields and the roof vent, which are the most likely locations for gas emissions during normal septic system operation. At each of eight septic systems, we measured fluxes of CH, CO, and NO using a static chamber method. The roof vent released the majority of septic system gas emissions. In addition, the leach field was a significant source of NO fluxes. Comparisons between leach field and vent emissions suggest that biological processes in the leach field soil may influence the type and quantity of gas released. Overall, our results suggest that (i) revisions are needed in USEPA guidance (e.g., septic systems are not currently listed as a source of NO emissions) and (ii) similar studies representing a wider range of climatic and geographic settings are needed. The total vent, sand filter, and leach field GHG emissions were 0.17, 0.045, and 0.050 t CO-equivalents capita yr, respectively. In total, this represents about 1.5% of the annual carbon footprint of an individual living in the United States. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  7. Spatial and temporal variability in greenhouse gas abundance of urban streams: The role of urban infrastructure

    EPA Science Inventory

    Background/Question/MethodsStreams and rivers are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Water quality and watershed management, are likely to influence GHG emissions regionally. In urban-impacted watersheds, increased nitrogen loading, organic matter, and war...

  8. 77 FR 22391 - Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-13

    ... dioxide (CO 2 ) for new affected fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units (EGUs). The EPA is proposing these requirements because CO 2 is a greenhouse gas (GHG) and fossil fuel-fired power plants are... new fossil fuel-fired EGUs greater than 25 megawatt electric (MWe) to meet an output-based standard of...

  9. Spatial and temporal variability of greenhouse gas emissions from a small and shallow temperate lake

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Praetzel, Leandra; Schmiedeskamp, Marcel; Broder, Tanja; Hüttemann, Caroline; Jansen, Laura; Metzelder, Ulrike; Wallis, Ronya; Knorr, Klaus-Holger; Blodau, Christian

    2017-04-01

    Small inland waters (< 1 km2) have recently been discovered as significant sources and sinks in the global carbon cycle because they cover larger areas than previously assumed and exhibit a higher metabolic activity than larger lakes. They are further expected to be susceptible to changing climate conditions. So far, little is known about the spatial and temporal variability of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions and in-lake dynamics of CH4 production and oxidation in small, epilimnetic lakes in the temperate zone. Of particular interest is the potential occurrence of "hot spots" and "hot moments" that could contribute significantly to total emissions. To address this knowledge gap, we determined CO2 and CH4 emissions and dynamics to identify their controlling environmental factors in a polymictic small (1.4 ha) and shallow (max. depth approx. 1.5 m) crater lake ("Windsborn") in the Eifel uplands in south-west Germany. As Lake Windsborn has a small catchment area (8 ha) and no surficial inflows, it serves well as a model system for the identification of factors and processes controlling emissions. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 we measured CO2 and CH4 gas fluxes with different techniques across the sediment/water and water/atmosphere interface. Atmospheric exchange was measured using mini-chambers equipped with CO2 sensors and with an infra-red greenhouse gas analyzer for high temporal resolution flux measurements. Ebullition of CH4 was quantified with funnel traps. Sediment properties were examined using pore-water peepers. All measurements were carried out along a transect covering both littoral and central parts of the lake. Moreover, a weather station on a floating platform in the center of the lake recorded meteorological data as well as CO2 concentration in different depths of the water column. So far, Lake Windsborn seems to be a source for both CO2 and CH4 on an annual scale. CO2 emissions generally increased from spring to summer. Even though CO2

  10. Eocene Hyperthermal Climate Sensitivity to Greenhouse Gas and Aerosol Forcing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Winguth, A. M. E.; Hughlett, T. M.; Brown, M.; Rothstein, M.; Shields, C. A.; Winguth, C.

    2017-12-01

    A series of DeepMIP climate sensitivity experiments have been carried out with the Community Earth System Model CESM1.2 to evaluate how changes in the radiative forcing could have contributed to explain Eocene hyperthermal events. A rise in Eocene greenhouse gas forcing could have been linked to an increase in volcanism and associated destabilization of marine carbon reservoirs by dissociation of clathrathes, reorganization of the marine microbial loop, or terrestrial sources from e.g. wetlands. Such environmental changes could potentially have led to additional biophysical feedbacks altering the cloud aerosol optical depth for example by alteration of marine plankton productivity and DMS emissions to the atmosphere. The analysis of our simulations suggests a substantial warming from 3x to 12x CO2 PAL, reaching moderate temperatures of up to 20 °C over Antarctica and in the Article realm in the most extreme scenario, consistent to proxy estimates in a high CO2 world. The lower equator-to-pole temperature gradient compared to present-day is due to the lack of an ice sheet, an increase in greenhouse gases, and a lower cloud optical depth. The climate simulations suggest an intensified hydrological cycle with higher precipitation in the tropics, particularly over the Indian Eocene continent, and in mid-latitudes, whereas mega-droughts are prominent in the subtropics, particularly in Africa and South America. The Eocene geography (the closure of the Drake Passage and the more southern location of Australia) and a lower-than-present meridional temperature gradient contribute to a much weaker surface ocean circulation near the Antarctic continent as compared to the current pronounced Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

  11. Developing a dynamic life cycle greenhouse gas emission inventory for wood construction for two different end-of-life scenarios

    Treesearch

    Richard D. Bergman; James Salazar; Scott Bowe

    2012-01-01

    Static life cycle assessment does not fully describe the carbon footprint of construction wood because of carbon changes in the forest and product pools over time. This study developed a dynamic greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory approach using US Forest Service and life-cycle data to estimate GHG emissions on construction wood for two different end-of-life scenarios....

  12. Long-range open-path greenhouse gas monitoring using mid-infrared laser dispersion spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Daghestani, Nart; Brownsword, Richard; Weidmann, Damien

    2015-04-01

    Accurate and sensitive methods of monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emission over large areas has become a pressing need to deliver improved estimates of both human-made and natural GHG budgets. These needs relate to a variety of sectors including environmental monitoring, energy, oil and gas industry, waste management, biogenic emission characterization, and leak detection. To address the needs, long-distance open-path laser spectroscopy methods offer significant advantages in terms of temporal resolution, sensitivity, compactness and cost effectiveness. Path-integrated mixing ratio measurements stemming from long open-path laser spectrometers can provide emission mapping when combined with meteorological data and/or through tomographic approaches. Laser absorption spectroscopy is the predominant method of detecting gasses over long integrated path lengths. The development of dispersion spectrometers measuring tiny refractive index changes, rather than optical power transmission, may offer a set of specific advantages1. These include greater immunity to laser power fluctuations, greater dynamic range due to the linearity of dispersion, and ideally a zero baseline signal easing quantitative retrievals of path integrated mixing ratios. Chirped laser dispersion spectrometers (CLaDS) developed for the monitoring of atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide will be presented. Using quantum cascade laser as the source, a minimalistic and compact system operating at 7.8 μm has been developed and demonstrated for the monitoring of atmospheric methane over a 90 meter open path2. Through full instrument modelling and error propagation analysis, precision of 3 ppm.m.Hz-0.5 has been established (one sigma precision for atmospheric methane normalized over a 1 m path and 1 s measurement duration). The system was fully functional in the rain, sleet, and moderate fog. The physical model and system concept of CLaDS can be adapted to any greenhouse gas species. Currently we are

  13. Doppler lidar characterization of the boundary layer for aircraft mass-balance estimates of greenhouse gas emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hardesty, R.; Brewer, A.; Banta, R. M.; Senff, C. J.; Sandberg, S. P.; Alvarez, R. J.; Weickmann, A. M.; Sweeney, C.; Karion, A.; Petron, G.; Frost, G. J.; Trainer, M.

    2012-12-01

    Aircraft-based mass balance approaches are often used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from distributed sources such as urban areas and oil and gas fields. A scanning Doppler lidar, which measures range-resolved wind and aerosol backscatter information, can provide important information on mixing and transport processes in the planetary boundary layer for these studies. As part of the Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Study, we deployed a high resolution Doppler lidar to characterize winds and turbulence, atmospheric mixing, and mixing layer depth in the oil and gas fields near Vernal, Utah. The lidar observations showed evolution of the horizontal wind field, vertical mixing and aerosol structure for each day during the 5-week deployment. This information was used in conjunction with airborne in situ observations of methane and carbon dioxide to compute methane fluxes and estimate basin-wide methane emissions. A similar experiment incorporating a lidar along with a radar wind profiler and instrumented aircraft was subsequently carried out in the vicinity of the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado. Using examples from these two studies we discuss the use of Doppler lidar in conjunction with other sources of wind information and boundary layer structure for mass-balance type studies. Plans for a one-year deployment of a Doppler lidar as part of the Indianapolis Flux experiment to estimate urban-scale greenhouse gas emissions near are also presented.

  14. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater consumption associated with Bakken tight oil

    PubMed Central

    Laurenzi, Ian J.; Bergerson, Joule A.; Motazedi, Kavan

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have been applied to extract crude oil from tight reservoirs, including the Bakken formation. There is growing interest in understanding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the development of tight oil. We conducted a life cycle assessment of Bakken crude using data from operations throughout the supply chain, including drilling and completion, refining, and use of refined products. If associated gas is gathered throughout the Bakken well life cycle, then the well to wheel GHG emissions are estimated to be 89 g CO2eq/MJ (80% CI, 87–94) of Bakken-derived gasoline and 90 g CO2eq/MJ (80% CI, 88–94) of diesel. If associated gas is flared for the first 12 mo of production, then life cycle GHG emissions increase by 5% on average. Regardless of the level of flaring, the Bakken life cycle GHG emissions are comparable to those of other crudes refined in the United States because flaring GHG emissions are largely offset at the refinery due to the physical properties of this tight oil. We also assessed the life cycle freshwater consumptions of Bakken-derived gasoline and diesel to be 1.14 (80% CI, 0.67–2.15) and 1.22 barrel/barrel (80% CI, 0.71–2.29), respectively, 13% of which is associated with hydraulic fracturing. PMID:27849573

  15. Evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower complexes on large rivers in Eastern Washington

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Arntzen, Evan V.; Miller, Benjamin L.; O'Toole, Amanda C.

    2013-03-15

    Water bodies, such as freshwater lakes, are known to be net emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4). In recent years, significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from tropical, boreal, and mid-latitude reservoirs have been reported. At a time when hydropower is increasing worldwide, better understanding of seasonal and regional variation in GHG emissions is needed in order to develop a predictive understanding of such fluxes within man-made impoundments. We examined power-producing dam complexes within xeric temperate locations in the northwestern United States. Sampling environments on the Snake (Lower Monumental Dam Complex) and Columbia Rivers (Priest Rapids Dam Complex) includedmore » tributary, mainstem, embayment, forebay, and tailrace areas during winter and summer 2012. At each sampling location, GHG measurement pathways included surface gas flux, degassing as water passed through dams during power generation, ebullition within littoral embayments, and direct sampling of hyporheic pore-water. Measurements were also carried out in a free-flowing reach of the Columbia River to estimate unaltered conditions. Surface flux resulted in very low emissions, with reservoirs acting as a sink for CO2 (up to –262 mg m-2 d-1, which is within the range previously reported for similarly located reservoirs). Surface flux of methane remained below 1 mg CH4 m-2d-1, a value well below fluxes reported previously for temperate reservoirs. Water passing through hydroelectric projects acted as a sink for CO2 during winter and a small source during summer, with mean degassing fluxes of –117 and 4.5 t CO2 d-1, respectively. Degassing of CH4 was minimal, with mean fluxes of 3.1 × 10-6 and –5.6 × 10-4 t CH4 d-1 during winter and summer, respectively. Gas flux due to ebullition was greater in coves located within reservoirs than in coves within the free flowing Hanford Reach–and CH4 flux exceeded that of CO2. Methane emissions varied widely across sampling

  16. Greenhouse gas emissions from an irrigated dairy forage rotation as influenced by fertilizer and manure applications

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Information is needed regarding the effect of nitrogen source on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from irrigated semiarid agricultural soils. We report nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane emissions from a silage corn (Zea mays L.) (2013)–barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) (2014)–alfalfa (Medicago sati...

  17. Managing the nitrogen cycle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from crop production and biofuel expansion

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The United States Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS2) established under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be lower for biofuels relative to fossil fuel combustion. However, there is an extensive debate in the literature about the potential to red...

  18. Greenhouse gas emissions from beef feedlot surface materials as affected by diet, moisture, temperature, and time

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A laboratory study was conducted to measure the effects of diet, moisture, temperature, and time on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from feedlot surface materials (FSM). The FSM were collected from open-lot pens where beef cattle were fed either a dry-rolled corn (DRC) diet containing no wet distille...

  19. Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste dumpsites in Cameroon.

    PubMed

    Ngwabie, N Martin; Wirlen, Yvette L; Yinda, Godwin S; VanderZaag, Andrew C

    2018-03-02

    Open dumpsites that receive municipal solid waste are potentially significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. There is little data available on emissions from these sources, especially in the unique climate and management of central Africa. This research aimed at quantifying CH 4 , N 2 O and CO 2 emissions from two open dumpsites in Cameroon, located in Mussaka-Buea, regional headquarters of the South West Region and in Mbellewa-Bamenda, regional headquarters of the North West Region. Emissions were measured during the wet season (May 2015 and August 2016) at the Mussaka and Mbellewa dumpsites respectively. Dumpsite surfaces were partitioned into several zones for emission measurements, based on the current activity and the age of the waste. Static flux chambers were used to quantify gas emission rates thrice a day (mornings, afternoons and evenings). Average emissions were 96.80 ± 144 mg CH 4 m -2  min -1 , 0.20 ± 0.43 mg N 2 O m -2  min -1 and 224.78 ± 312 mg CO 2 m -2  min -1 in the Mussaka dumpsite, and 213.44 ± 419 mg CH 4 m -2  min -1 , 0.15 ± 0.15 mg N 2 O m -2  min -1 and 1103.82 ± 1194 mg CO 2 m -2  min -1 at the Mbellewa dumpsite. Emissions as high as 1784 mg CH 4 m -2  min -1 , 2.3 mg N 2 O m -2  min -1 and 5448 mg CO 2 m -2  min -1 were measured from both dumpsites. Huge variations observed in emissions between the different zones on the waste surface were likely a result of the heterogeneous nature of the waste, different stages in waste decomposition and different environmental conditions within the waste. Management activities that disturb waste, such as spreading and compressing potentially increase gas emissions, while covering waste with a layer of soil potentially mitigate gas emissions. Recommendations were for dumpsites to be upgraded to sanitary landfills, and biogas production from such landfills should be exploited to reduce CH 4 emissions

  20. Climate Golden Age or Greenhouse Gas Dark Age Legacy?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carter, P.

    2016-12-01

    Relying on the IPCC Assessments, this paper assesses legacy from total committed global warming over centuries, correlated with comprehensive projected impacts. Socio-economic inertia, climate system inertia, atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, amplifying feedback emissions, and unmasking of cooling aerosols are determinants. Stabilization of global temperature (and ocean acidification for CO2) requires emissions of "long lived greenhouse gases" to be "about zero," including feedbacks. "The feedback … is positive" this century; many large feedback sources tend to be self- and inter-reinforcing. Only timely total conversion of all fossil fuel power to clean, virtually zero-carbon renewable power can achieve virtual zero carbon emissions. This results in multiple, increasing benefits for the entire world population of today's and all future generations, as laid out here. Conversions of methane- and nitrous oxide-emitting sources have large benefits. Without timely conversion to virtual zero emissions, the global climate and ocean disruptions are predicted to become progressively more severe and practically irreversible. "Continued emission of greenhouse gases will increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems." Crop yields in all main food-producing regions are projected to decline progressively with rising temperature (as proxy to multiple adverse effects) (AR5). Ocean heating, acidification, and de-oxygenation are projected to increase under all scenarios, as is species extinction. The legacy for humanity depends on reducing long-lived global emissions fast enough to virtual zero. Today's surface warming with unprecedented and accelerating atmospheric GHG concentrations requires an immediate response. The only IPCC scenario to possibly meet this and not exceed 2ºC by and after 2100 is the best-case RCP2.6, which requires CO2 eq. emissions to peak right away and decline at the latest by 2020.