Modeled and Measured Carbon Gas Concentrations in Eastern Iowa

Atmospheric measurements of CO2 concentration and other greenhouse gases have a key role in climate science, climate change detection, and climate policy. It is likely that greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration and flux measurements will grow in importance as GHG management policies are implemented at state, national and international levels. As the chemical engineering community is actively engaged in many aspects of technology development (e.g., energy efficiency, low carbon energy, and carbon sequestration) the GHG monitoring network and its use may be of interest to chemical engineers in the energy and climate fields.

In locations with inaccurate emission inventories, top-down flux estimates are a key source of emissions data. Efforts to narrow the gap between top-down and bottom-up inventories are advancing under the guidance of the interagency North American Carbon Plan. One key activity is the establishment by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of a high accuracy CO2 monitoring program. CO2 and CO monitoring from a 400 m television transmitter tower located 10 km from the University of Iowa began in July 2007.

The two year measurement record of CO2, CO, 13CO2, COS, and CH4 from this tower will be presented. Corresponding model predictions from University of Iowa air quality models will be analyzed during portions of the 2 year period. Of particular focus will be determining the role of regional air-quality models such as WRF/Chem and STEM can bring to the carbon cycle problems, through their extensive treatment of pollutant gases and atmospheric chemistry processes that are not typically resolved in carbon cycle models.