Monitoring of methane emission from a landfill site in daily and hourly time scales using an automated gas sampling system

Abstract

Landfill sites are significant sources of methane gas globally. Understanding the temporal variabilities of methane emissions from landfill sites is necessary for estimating such emissions. In this study, an automated monitoring system was used to monitor methane emission flux and concentration on daily and hourly time scales at a landfill site. Measured methane emission fluxes were almost negligible in the studied area. However, methane concentration at landfill surface at nighttime was significantly higher than those in the daytime, which demonstrates the importance of investigating methane emissions at an hourly time scale, including during nighttime. The daily and hourly variations in methane concentration were well correlated with either soil temperature or volumetric water content near the surface. The obtained relations indicate that the automated monitoring system measurements can facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the methane emission mechanisms at different time scales.