[ESAC Seminar] Eric Saboya

“Recent Trends and Seasonal Patterns in UK and Swiss N2O Emissions”

Reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions is crucial for countries to achieve net zero and interim emissions targets. Whilst national greenhouse gas emissions are routinely submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), such emissions estimates should ideally be independently verified. The UK and Switzerland are two of only three countries in the world that routinely provide independent greenhouse gas emissions estimates.

Here, atmospheric N2O measurements were used to infer UK N2O emissions estimates for 2013-2022 and Swiss N2O emissions estimates for 2017-2018 through inverse modelling (top-down method). Emissions estimates from this top-down approach were used to evaluate the UK’s N2O emissions reported to the UNFCCC. In addition, N2O emissions estimated through inverse modelling produced different seasonal cycles to the seasonal cycles predicted from process models. These differences are likely linked to N2O emissions arising from agricultural fertilizer applications but it could be driven by something else. This highlights the challenge of attributing N2O emissions to specific sources.

ESAC Early-Career Seminar Series —

A forum for students and postdocs to share recent research, hone presentation skills, and build community among peers, sponsored by the EAPS Student Advisory Committee. Open to current EAPS graduate and undergraduate students and postdocs. Typically hosted on Thursdays during the semester, including pizza lunch.

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