methaneisthemostabundantgreenhousegasinthe（ methaneisthemostabundantgreenhousegasinthe）.docVIP

An Inversion Algorithm for the Detection of Methane over the Wetlands by Open-Path FTIR in Various Atmospheric Conditions Thomas Connor?, Juliette N. Rooney-Varga§, Robert R. Gamache?, and Mark E. Hines§ ?Department of Environmental, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences §Department of Biological Sciences University of Massachusetts Lowell 1 University Avenue Lowell, MA 01854 Abstract: An intelligent inversion algorithm has been developed to determine the path averaged concentration of methane over wetlands from open-path Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FTIR) measurements. The algorithm, based on a Doesn’t-Use-Derivative (DUD) non-linear least-squares method, is robust and yields accurate methane concentrations for all atmospheric conditions. Fifty-eight spectral channels were needed to accurately determine the concentration of methane in the presence of other absorbing gases, especially for water vapor at 100 percent humidity. Tests were made for mixtures of the first 12 gases on the HITRAN database at typical ambient concentrations. The algorithm is described with particular attention to applications of methane fluxes over Northern-Hemisphere wetlands.  Introduction Methane is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the troposphere after water and carbon dioxide [1] and, on a per molecule basis, is 24.5 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide [2]. At ~1750 ppbv, its current globally averaged tropospheric mixing ratio is more than twice as high as in preindustrial times [3]. Estimates of atmospheric conditions based on ice core chemistry indicate that the current methane mixing ratio is unprecedented over the past 420,000 years [4]. In addition, ice core data indicate that methane concentrations have been well-correlated with temperature over the long term. [4-6] It is likely that increased emissions from wetlands in response to climate change played a major role in the link between temperature and methane [1]. Wetlands are the most imp