Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Atmospheric content of the most abundant of 12CH4 isotopologues from ground-based and satellite infrared solar observations and development of a methane isotopic GEOS-Chem module.

Objective

Atmospheric methane (CH4), the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, contributed to one-fifth of the increase in radiative forcing by human-linked greenhouse gases since 1750. The recent increase of its abundance since 2005 is not fully understood and the changes in the source(s) or sink(s) responsible for it have yet to be identified and quantified. The main isotopologues of 12CH4, i.e. 13CH4 and CH3D or heavy methane, are emitted with different isotopic ratios specific to emission sources and are depleted at different rates. Thus, they act as unique tracers and can provide additional constraints on the regional, hemispheric and global methane budgets. Since no ground-based infrared solar observations have been exploited thus far to retrieve heavy methane concentrations, the first objective is to develop a retrieval strategy for these species from observations collected at three complementary sites member of the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC): Eureka (Arctic, Canada), Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps) and Toronto (ON, Canada); later applicable to the whole network. Satellite observations from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) providing high vertical resolution and broad spatial coverage will also be included as well as spectra from a portable instrument to match future requirements of methane mapping. The proposed project will also include the development of a methane isotopic module for the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem built on the isotopologue properties. The simulation will be compared with produced and available observations and will be evaluated in terms of absolute value, seasonal cycle and trend in parallel with observations. This newly developed module will allow us to provide a spatially global answer to the question of the methane budget. This project thus plays a key role in the highly topical issues of air quality and climate change.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-GF - Global Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 165 211,20
Address
PLACE DU 20 AOUT 7
4000 LIEGE
Belgium

See on map

Region
Région wallonne Prov. Liège Arr. Liège
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 165 211,20

Partners (1)

My booklet 0 0