In situ observations of Greenhouse Gases at Carnsore Point
This page displays all of the metadata information which describes this resource. This metadata information provides details of: the owners and creators of this resource; download links to any files which are available for downloading; geographical and temporal information about the datasets or project in general; other information such as a description of the project, experimental techniques used, data download restrictions, etc.
View other resources on SAFER owned/managed by the owner of this resource.
Files attached to this resource have been downloaded 23 times.
View Download Timeline Graphic
Resource or Project Abstract
Monitoring of atmospheric concentrations of gases is important in assessing the impact of international policies related to the atmospheric environment. The effects of control measures on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons and HCFCs introduced under the 'Montreal Protocol of Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer' are now being observed. Continued monitoring is required to assess the overall success of the Protocol and the implication for atmospheric levels of replacement compounds such as HFCs. Similar analysis of gases regulated by the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases will likewise assist policy makers. Since 1987, high-frequency, real time measurements of the principal halocarbons and radiatively active trace gases have been made as part of the Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (GAGE) and Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) at Mace Head, County Galway, Ireland. For much of the time, the measurement station, which is situated on the Atlantic coast, monitors clean westerly air that has travelled across the North Atlantic Ocean. However, when the winds are easterly, Mace Head receives substantial regional scale pollution in air that has travelled from the industrial regions of Europe. The site is therefore uniquely situated to record trace gas concentrations associated with both the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere background levels and with the more polluted air arising from Europe. From late 2005 a sister site has been established on the east coast of Ireland at Carnsore Point. Combining the information from both sites gives a much clearer distinction of Irish and to a lesser extent UK emissions from the rest of Europe. The Met Office?s Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model, NAME (Numerical Atmospheric dispersion Modelling Environment), has been run for each 3-hour period of each year so as to understand the origin of the air arriving at Mace Head and Carnsore Point at the time of each observation. By identifying when the air is unpolluted, i.e. when the air has travelled across the Atlantic and the air concentration reflects the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere baseline value, the data collected at Mace Head have been used to estimate baseline concentrations, trends and seasonal cycles of a wide range of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases for the period 1995-2010 inclusive. By removing the underlying baseline trends from the observations and by modelling where the air originated from on a regional scale, estimates of Irish, UK, UK+Irish and North West European (UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) emissions and their geographical distributions have been made. The estimates have been made using the NAME-inversion method. The estimates are presented as yearly averages and are compared to UNFCCC inventories where available.
The atmospheric measurements and emission estimates of greenhouse gases provide an important cross-check for the emissions inventories submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This verification work is consistent with good practice guidance issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Go back to top of page
Top 
Contact Information for This Resource
Data, Files, Information Objects Related To This Project Resource
Please Read Carefully Before Downloading
It is important for the EPA and the Environmental Research Community to know that the data and information products we distribute are useful to the user community we support. One way of doing this is by tracking the use of data and information in publications. Parts of or all of the datasets, data, or digital information products available here can be freely downloaded for further use in scientific applications under the condition that the source will be properly quoted in published papers, journals, websites, presentations, books, etc. Whenever possible the EPA strongly urge you to cite the use of these data, information, and web resources in the reference section of your publications. For convenience an automatically generated citation is available below which can be used immediately for citation purposes.
EPA SAFER Data Download Disclaimer: Before downloading any of the data or information objects below you are kindly asked to read the data download disclaimer Read Disclaimer (Opens in New Window). Downloading data or information objects from SAFER-Data indicates an acceptance of the data download disclaimer and the conditions outlined within it.
| Attachment Name and Download Link |
|---|
| Offline Print Quality Version CCRP_13_ODoherty_GHGCarnsore-prn.pdf (7.77 Mb) |
| Project Report Optimised For Online Viewing CCRP_13_ODoherty_GHGCarnsore-web.pdf (5.3 Mb) |
Suggested Citation Information
The information supplied in the table below should be provided with all citations to this electronic resource. You are requested to format each of the fields below as required by the specific bibliographical style you are using.
| Author(s) | O'Doherty, S. |
| Title Of Website | Secure Archive For Environmental Research Data |
| Publication Information | In situ observations of Greenhouse Gases at Carnsore Point |
| Name of Organisation | Environmental Protection Agency Ireland |
| Electronic Address or URL | https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/resource?id=ed6e4d90-2bbc-11e1-ad3d-005056ae0019 |
| Unique Identifier | ed6e4d90-2bbc-11e1-ad3d-005056ae0019 |
| Date of Access | Last Updated on SAFER: 2024-09-17 |
An example of this citation in proper usage:
O'Doherty, S. "In situ observations of Greenhouse Gases at Carnsore Point". Associated datasets and digitial information objects connected to this resource are available at: Secure Archive For Environmental Research Data (SAFER) managed by Environmental Protection Agency Ireland https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/resource?id=ed6e4d90-2bbc-11e1-ad3d-005056ae0019 (Last Accessed: 2024-09-17)
Go back to top of page Top
Access Information For This Resource
| SAFER-Data Display URL | https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=255 |
| Resource Keywords | Greenhouse Gases Carnsore |
| EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code | 07-CCRP-1.1.5a |
| EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme | Climate Change |
| Resource Availability: |
 Public-Open |
| Limitations on the use of this Resource | Any attached datasets, data files, or information objects can be downloaded for further use in scientific applications under the condition that the source is properly quoted and cited in published papers, journals, websites, presentations, books, etc. Before downloading, users must agree to the "Conditions of Download and Access" from SAFER-Data. These appear before download. Users of the data should also communicate with the original authors/owners of this resource if they are uncertain about any aspect of the data or information provided before further usage |
| Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download): | 2 |
| Project Start Date | Monday 1st January 2007 (01-01-2007) |
| Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects | Monday 1st January 2007 (01-01-2007) |
| Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects | Wednesday 1st December 2010 (01-12-2010) |
| Published on SAFER | Wednesday 21st December 2011 (21-12-2011) |
| Date of Last Edit | Wednesday 21st December 2011 at 10:21:30 (21-12-2011) |
| Datasets or Files Updated On | Wednesday 21st December 2011 at 10:21:30 (21-12-2011) |
Go back to top of page
Top
Geographical and Spatial Information Related To This Resource
Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
The University of Bristol (UoB) mobile laboratory was situated at Carnsore Point during 2005-06 as part of a funded 1-year feasibility study investigating emissions from the Republic of Ireland for halogenated hydrocarbon species including Montreal and Kyoto regulated gases. Unfunded measurements were also obtained for 2007 beyond the term of the initial contract. The current study, starting in January of 2008, continued this investigation for a further 3 years.
Go back to top of page
Top
Supplementary Information About This Resource
In this section some supplementary information about this resource is outlined. Lineage information helps us to understand why this project was carried out, what policy or research requirements did it fulfil, etc. Lineage is important in understanding the rationale behind the carrying out of a project or the collection of a specific dataset etc. Links to web sites, applications, papers, etc are outlined to provide you with additional information or supplementary reading about the project or dataset
| Lineage information about this project or dataset |
| Since 1987, high-frequency, real time measurements of the principal halocarbons and radiatively active trace gases have been made as part of the Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (GAGE) and Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) at Mace Head, County Galway, Ireland. For much of the time, the measurement station, which is situated on the Atlantic coast, monitors clean westerly air that has travelled across the North Atlantic Ocean. However, when the winds are easterly, Mace Head receives substantial regional scale pollution in air that has travelled from the industrial regions of Europe. The site is therefore uniquely situated to record trace gas concentrations associated with both the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere background levels and with the more polluted air arising from Europe. From late 2005 a sister site has been established on the east coast of Ireland at Carnsore Point. Combining the information from both sites gives a much clearer distinction of Irish and to a lesser extent UK emissions from the rest of Europe. |
| Supplementary Information |
| The first part of the report considers the Northern Hemisphere baseline trends, growth rates and seasonal cycles of 14 trace gases that have been measured at both the Carnsore Point and Mace Head observing stations. The HCFC gases regulated under the Montreal Protocol are still increasing but their rate of growth is slowing. HFC-125 and -134a are both growing strongly reflecting their use as replacement gases for CFC and HCFC gases, in applications such as air conditioning and refrigeration, mainly mobile air conditioning in cars for HFC-134a HFC-152a had been increasing but recently its growth rate has declined to almost zero. The solvent methylene dichloride (CH2Cl2) has been increasing since 2006 but the other solvents, TCE and PCE, are both declining in the atmosphere. Both methyl bromide and halon-1211 are now declining.
The second part of the report considers the use of inversion modelling to estimate regional emissions of the same 14 trace gases. Estimates are made for Ireland, the UK, Ireland+UK combined and North West Europe (Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark). The temporal and horizontal resolutions of the inversion output were increased when observations from both observing sites were included. Including the Carnsore Point data gave greater clarity to the geographical distribution of the Irish emissions and, because of the shorter time-window of the inversion solutions, recent changes in emissions show up faster when a combined data set is used, e.g. HFC-134a. However the work also demonstrated the importance of strongly inter-calibrated, inter-comparable observations across the network. |
| Links To Other Related Resources |
| NONE |
Any links supplied by the resource owner are stored such that they will open in a new window. Following such a link may lead to a 3rd party website over which EPA has no control in regards to contents or suitability.
Go back to top of page
Top
The following is a list of similiar projects and resources on SAFER. Usually these resources share a similiar thematic area to the resource In situ observations of Greenhouse Gases at Carnsore Point you are currently viewing. You can view the full description for these projects and resources by using the links supplied.
- A new approach to bioaerosol monitoring in Ireland Analyses of the development and occurrence of biological and chemical aerosols. (BioCheA) View Full Metadata Description
- Integrated Modelling Project ireland View Full Metadata Description
- An Assessment of Uncertainties in Climate Modelling at the Regional Scale: The Development of Probabilistic Based Climate Scenarios for Ireland View Full Metadata Description
- Field sampling of boilers - flue gas analysis - Morrin UCD View Full Metadata Description
- Domestic Offsetting Scoping Study for Ireland View Full Metadata Description
Go back to top of page
Top