Carbon dioxide concentration and flux in an urban residential area in Seoul, Korea

Abstract

The carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and fluxes measured at a height of 17.5 m above the ground by a sonic anemometer and an open-path gas analyzer at an urban residential site in Seoul, Korea from February 2011 to January 2012 were analyzed. The annual mean CO2 concentration was found to be 750 mg m−3, with a maximum monthly mean concentration of 827 mg m−3 in January and a minimum value of 679 mg m−3 in August. Meanwhile, the annual mean CO2 flux was found to be 0.45 mg m−2 s−1, with a maximum monthly mean flux of 0.91 mg m−2 s−1 in January and a minimum value of 0.19 mg m−2 s−1 in June. The hourly mean CO2 concentration was found to show a significant diurnal variation; a maximum at 0700–0900 LST and a minimum at 1400–1600 LST, with a large diurnal range in winter and a small one in summer, mainly caused by diurnal changes in mixing height, CO2 flux, and surface complexity. The hourly mean CO2 flux was also found to show a significant diurnal variation, but it showed two maxima at 0700–0900 LST and 2100–2400 LST, and two minima at 1100–1500 LST and 0300–0500 LST, mainly caused by a diurnal pattern in CO2 emissions and sinks from road traffic, domestic heating and cooking by liquefied natural gas use, and the different horizontal distribution of CO2 sources and sinks near the site. Differential advection with respect to wind direction was also found to be a cause of diurnal variations in both the CO2 concentration and flux.