Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques

Ro, Kyoung S.; Johnson, Melvin H.; Hunt, Patrick G.; Flesch, Thomas K.

doi:10.3390/atmos2030553

Open AccessArticle

Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques

by

Kyoung S. Ro

^1,*,

Melvin H. Johnson

¹,

Patrick G. Hunt

¹ and

Thomas K. Flesch

²

¹

USDA-ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water and Plant Research Center, Florence, SC 29501, USA

²

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Atmosphere 2011, 2(3), 553-566; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos2030553

Submission received: 1 July 2011 / Revised: 26 August 2011 / Accepted: 8 September 2011 / Published: 23 September 2011

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Emissions from Agricultural Practices)

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Abstract

Two micrometeorological techniques for measuring trace gas emission rates from distributed area sources were evaluated using a variety of synthetic area sources. The vertical radial plume mapping (VRPM) and the backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLS) techniques with an open-path optical spectroscopic sensor were evaluated for relative accuracy for multiple emission-source and sensor configurations. The relative accuracy was calculated by dividing the measured emission rate by the actual emission rate; thus, a relative accuracy of 1.0 represents a perfect measure. For a single area emission source, the VRPM technique yielded a somewhat high relative accuracy of 1.38 ± 0.28. The bLS technique resulted in a relative accuracy close to unity, 0.98 ± 0.24. Relative accuracies for dual source emissions for the VRPM and bLS techniques were somewhat similar to single source emissions, 1.23 ± 0.17 and 0.94 ± 0.24, respectively. When the bLS technique was used with vertical point concentrations, the relative accuracy was unacceptably low.

Keywords: vertical radial plume mapping (VRPM); backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLS); open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy; multi-distributed sources

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ro, K.S.; Johnson, M.H.; Hunt, P.G.; Flesch, T.K. Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques. Atmosphere 2011, 2, 553-566. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos2030553

AMA Style

Ro KS, Johnson MH, Hunt PG, Flesch TK. Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques. Atmosphere. 2011; 2(3):553-566. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos2030553

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ro, Kyoung S., Melvin H. Johnson, Patrick G. Hunt, and Thomas K. Flesch. 2011. "Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques" Atmosphere 2, no. 3: 553-566. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos2030553

APA Style

Ro, K. S., Johnson, M. H., Hunt, P. G., & Flesch, T. K. (2011). Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques. Atmosphere, 2(3), 553-566. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos2030553

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Measuring Trace Gas Emission from Multi-Distributed Sources Using Vertical Radial Plume Mapping (VRPM) and Backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) Techniques

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