Developing a Network for Measuring Regional-Scale Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Agricultural systems have a profound influence on global anthropogenic nitrous oxide and methane emissions. Atmospheric nitrous oxide and methane mixing ratios have increased dramatically due to the production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and proliferation of intensive livestock systems. Nitrous oxide and methane are potent greenhouse gases and have important implications for Earth’s radiation budget, stratospheric ozone depletion, and the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Here, we describe the development of a tall tower (i.e. radio towers greater than 100 m tall) network that will provide highly accurate measurements of nitrous oxide and methane mixing ratios from strategic locations across the US Corn Belt and Rice Belt. The overall research approach will involve a robust inter-calibration strategy and Bayesian inverse modeling framework. These tall tower data will be used for: 1) improving bottom-up model estimates; 2) identifying previous unknown “hot spots” of high emissions; and 3) benchmarking progress in reducing overall emissions from the agricultural sector.