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Constraining anthropogenic CH4 emissions in Nanjing and the Yangtze River Delta, China, using atmospheric CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios

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Abstract

Methane (CH4) emissions estimated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) inventory method at the city and regional scale are subject to large uncertainties. In this study, we determined the CH4:CO2 emissions ratio for both Nanjing and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), using the atmospheric CH4 and CO2 concentrations measured at a suburban site in Nanjing in the winter. The atmospheric estimate of the CH4:CO2 emissions ratio was in reasonable agreement with that calculated using the IPCC method for the YRD (within 20%), but was 200% greater for the municipality of Nanjing. The most likely reason for the discrepancy is that emissions from unmanaged landfills are omitted from the official statistics on garbage production.

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  1. Yale-NUIST Center on Atmospheric Environment & Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Shuanghe Shen, Wei Xiao, Shoudong Liu & Xuhui Lee

  2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Shuanghe Shen & Wei Xiao

  3. Ningbo Meteorological Observatory, Ningbo, 315012, China

    Dong Yang

  4. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA

    Xuhui Lee

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  1. Shuanghe Shen
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  2. Dong Yang
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  3. Wei Xiao
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Shen, S., Yang, D., Xiao, W. et al. Constraining anthropogenic CH4 emissions in Nanjing and the Yangtze River Delta, China, using atmospheric CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 31, 1343–1352 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-014-3231-3

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