Informal Lunchtime Atmospheric Chemistry Discussion Series
Presented by: Olalekan Balogun, Graduate Student, Geography
Supervisors: Dr. Richard Bello, Dr. Kaz Higuchi
Description:
The Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) region of Canada is the second largest semi-continuous wetland region in the world covering an area of 320, 000 km2. Consequently, there has been much interest in quantifying wetland emissions and fluxes from the HBL. Such studies are vital to a better understanding of greenhouse gas emission estimates and fluxes from northern wetlands; a prerequisite for accurate global climate change modelling and predictions by GCMs.
In this study, we employ a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (STILT) coupled to the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) dataset to model CO2 and CH4 atmospheric concentrations in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. The model results are compared with actual measurements from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC) microwave tower. Furthermore, surface fluxes of these gases are estimated and mapped to show the upstream influences on the measured mixing ratios at the CNSC microwave tower in Churchill Manitoba.