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Cited by 58Atmospheric and Environmental Gas DynamicsPeatlands and Wetlands EcologyClimate change and permafrost

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Methane emissions from an oil sands tailings pond: a quantitative comparison of fluxes derived by different methods

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You, Yuan, Staebler, Ralf M., Moussa, Samar G., Beck, James, Mittermeier, Richard L.·2021·Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
DOI 10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021

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Abstract

Tailings ponds in the Alberta oil sands region are significant sources of fugitive emissions of methane to the atmosphere, but detailed knowledge on spatial and temporal variabilities is lacking due to limitations of the methods deployed under current regulatory compliance monitoring programs. To develop more robust and representative methods for quantifying fugitive emissions, three micrometeorological flux methods (eddy covariance, gradient, and inverse dispersion) were applied along with traditional flux chambers to determine fluxes over a 5-week period. Eddy covariance flux measurements provided the benchmark. A method is presented to directly calculate stability-corrected eddy diffusivities that can be applied to vertical gas profiles for gradient flux estimation. Gradient fluxes were shown to agree with eddy covariance within 18 %, while inverse dispersion model flux estimates were 30 % lower. Fluxes were shown to have only a minor diurnal cycle (15 % variability) and were weakly dependent on wind speed, air, and water surface temperatures. Flux chambers underestimated the fluxes by 64 % in this particular campaign. The results show that the larger footprint together with high temporal resolution of micrometeorological flux measurement methods may result in more robust estimates of the pond greenhouse gas emissions.

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Metadata

Authors
You, Y., Staebler, R. M., Moussa, S. G., Beck, J., & Mittermeier, R. L.
Affiliations
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA)
  • Suncor Energy (Canada) (CA)
Corresponding author
  • You, Yuan
  • Staebler, Ralf M.
ORCID
Venue
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Published
2021-03-08
Volume
14
Issue
3
Pages
1879-1892
ISSN
  • 1867-1381 (ISSN-L)
  • 1867-8548
DOI
10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021
OpenAlex
W3036105796
Cited by
58
References
54
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 11
FWCI
4.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Atmospheric measurement techniques (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Natural Resources Canada (Program for Energy Research and Development)
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada (Climate Change and Air Pollution Program)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Climate change and permafrost
Keywords
methane emissions, oil sands tailings ponds, fugitive emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, eddy covariance, flux chamber, diurnal variation, footprints, regulatory compliance monitoring, Alberta oil sands

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Methane emissions from an oil sands tailings pond: a quantitative comparison of fluxes derived by different methods. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021
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You, Y., Staebler, R. M., Moussa, S. G., Beck, J., & Mittermeier, R. L. (2021). Methane emissions from an oil sands tailings pond: a quantitative comparison of fluxes derived by different methods. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021