Modular system for survey and long-term monitoring of soil CO2 exchange and CH4 effluxes

利用各种技术，包括CO2和CH 4通量室，测量CO2和CH 4通量，已成为全球变化研究的一个组成部分。然而，这些方法在污染物水文地质学领域的应用非常有限。根据这一建议，我们正在申请设备，以扩展我们现有的单室CO2通量系统，以促进在8个观测点同时长期分析CO2-土壤气体交换，并同时以调查和长期模式测量CH 4排放量。同时分析在多个地点是必要的，以充分考虑在一个网站的CO2和CH 4通量的空间和时间的变化。该室系统将用于量化土壤/沉积物和大气之间的CO2交换，用于与加拿大资源和环境工业相关的各种应用，包括受碳氢化合物和生物燃料污染的场地、废石和尾矿、垃圾填埋场和受土壤厌氧影响的自然环境。在受碳氢化合物和生物燃料污染的场地，预计CO2和CH 4通量测量将有助于划定污染物源区的范围，限制深度综合污染物降解率，并揭示CH 4释放到大气中或进入附近结构的可能性。在矿区，CO2通量测量将提供一种间接手段来确定尾矿和废石风化率。在含有超镁铁质矿物的尾矿或废石的矿场，测量将揭示这种类型的材料是否能够直接从大气中隔离二氧化碳。在垃圾填埋场，该系统将对设施的CO2和CH 4排放量进行定量测量。该设备还将用于评估土壤厌氧造成甲烷排放量高的自然地点的甲烷：二氧化碳比率。通量室系统将有利于申请人的研究计划，通过理想地补充目前在土壤气体浓度分析，水分含量，同位素分析以及矿物学和微生物研究方面的专业知识。

The measurement of CO2 and CH4 fluxes using a variety of techniques, including CO2 and CH4 flux chambers, has become an integral part of global change studies. However, these methods have only found very limited use in the field of contaminant hydrogeology. With this proposal, we are requesting equipment to extend our existing single chamber CO2 flux system to facilitate simultaneous long-term analysis of CO2-soil gas exchange at eight observation points and to concurrently measure CH4 emissions both in survey and long-term mode. Simultaneous analysis at multiple locations is necessary to adequately account for the spatial and temporal variability of CO2 and CH4 fluxes at a site. The chamber system will be used to quantify the exchange of CO2 between soils/sediments and the atmosphere for a variety of applications of relevance to Canada's resource and environmental industry including sites contaminated with hydrocarbons and biofuel, waste rock and tailings, landfill sites, and natural environments affected by soil anaerobiosis. At sites contaminated with hydrocarbons and biofuel, it is anticipated that CO2 and CH4 flux measurements will help to delineate the extent of contaminant source zones, constrain depth-integrated contaminant degradation rates, and reveal the potential for CH4 release to the atmosphere or ingress into nearby structures. At mine sites, CO2 flux measurements will provide an indirect means to determine tailings and waste rock weathering rates. At mine sites with tailings or waste rock that contain ultra-mafic minerals, the measurements will reveal if this type of material is capable of directly sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere. At landfill sites, the system will provide a quantitative measure of CO2 and CH4 emissions from the facilities. The equipment will also be used to evaluate the CH4:CO2 ratio at natural sites with high CH4 effluxes caused by soil anaerobiosis. The flux chamber system will benefit the research programs of the applicants by ideally complementing current expertise in the analysis of soil gas concentrations, moisture contents, isotopic analyses, as well as mineralogical, and microbiological studies.