Above- and below-ground methane fluxes and methanotrophic activity in a landfill-cover soil

Journal Article · Tue May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2011.11.003· OSTI ID:21612967

Eugster, W ^[1]; Gomez, K E ^[2]; Gonzalez-Gil, G ^[3]; Niklaus, P A ^[1]; Oester, P ^[4]

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1. Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zuerich, Universitaetstrasse 2, 8092 Zuerich (Switzerland)
2. Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zuerich, Universitaetstrasse 16, 8092 Zuerich (Switzerland)
3. Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology, EPF Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)
4. Oester Messtechnik, Bahnhofstrasse 3, 3600 Thun (Switzerland)

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We quantify above- and below-ground CH{sub 4} fluxes in a landfill-cover soil. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We link methanotrophic activity to estimates of CH{sub 4} loading from the waste body. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Methane loading and emissions are highly variable in space and time. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Eddy covariance measurements yield largest estimates of CH{sub 4} emissions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Potential methanotrophic activity is high at a location with substantial CH{sub 4} loading. - Abstract: Landfills are a major anthropogenic source of the greenhouse gas methane (CH{sub 4}). However, much of the CH{sub 4} produced during the anaerobic degradation of organic waste is consumed by methanotrophic microorganisms during passage through the landfill-cover soil. On a section of a closed landfill near Liestal, Switzerland, we performed experiments to compare CH{sub 4} fluxes obtained by different methods at or above the cover-soil surface with below-ground fluxes, and to link methanotrophic activity to estimates of CH{sub 4} ingress (loading) from the waste body at selected locations. Fluxes of CH{sub 4} into or out of the cover soil were quantified by eddy-covariance and static flux-chamber measurements. In addition, CH{sub 4} concentrations at the soil surface were monitored using a field-portable FID detector. Near-surface CH{sub 4} fluxes and CH{sub 4} loading were estimated from soil-gas concentration profiles in conjunction with radon measurements, and gas push-pull tests (GPPTs) were performed to quantify rates of microbial CH{sub 4} oxidation. Eddy-covariance measurements yielded by far the largest and probably most representative estimates of overall CH{sub 4} emissions from the test section (daily mean up to {approx}91,500 {mu}mol m{sup -2} d{sup -1}), whereas flux-chamber measurements and CH{sub 4} concentration profiles indicated that at the majority of locations the cover soil was a net sink for atmospheric CH{sub 4} (uptake up to -380 {mu}mol m{sup -2} d{sup -1}) during the experimental period. Methane concentration profiles also indicated strong variability in CH{sub 4} loading over short distances in the cover soil, while potential methanotrophic activity derived from GPPTs was high (v{sub max} {approx} 13 mmol L{sup -1}(soil air) h{sup -1}) at a location with substantial CH{sub 4} loading. Our results provide a basis to assess spatial and temporal variability of CH{sub 4} dynamics in the complex terrain of a landfill-cover soil.

• OSTI ID: 21612967
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Journal Name: Waste Management Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 32; ISSN WAMAE2; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR
ALKANES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMPLEX TERRAIN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
EUROPE
FLUIDS
GASES
GREENHOUSE GASES
HYDROCARBONS
MANAGEMENT
METHANE
MICROORGANISMS
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC WASTES
OXIDATION
RADON
RARE GASES
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SINKS
SOILS
SWITZERLAND
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WESTERN EUROPE