Occurrence and potential sources of greenhouse gases at Wuzhen, a typical ancient water town in Eastern China.

Authors

Zheng Xia, Jiasi Shen, Peipei Shao, Wenlong Zhao, Bingye Xu, Xudong Tian, Yang Wu, Changlin Zhan, Saiya An, Nan Li, Zhengning Xu, Bo Yao, Chong Wei

Published in

Environmental monitoring and assessment. Volume 198. Issue 8. Jul 06, 2026. Epub Jul 06, 2026.

Abstract

CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O are the most important greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Many observations were conducted at urban and background sites after China proposed carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets in 2020. In this study, a continuous one-year observation of GHGs from June 2024 to May 2025 was conducted at Wuzhen, a typical ancient water town in Eastern China. The annual average CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O concentrations were 451.83 ± 11.73 ppm, 2226.4 ± 134.9 ppb, and 382.2 ± 24.1 ppb, higher than nearby background observations. CO₂ concentration was highest in winter and lowest in autumn, while CH₄ and N₂O concentrations were highest in summer and lowest in spring, reflecting differences in sources (fuel combustion and biogenic production) and sinks (plant photosynthesis and atmospheric reactions). All GHGs showed clear diurnal variation, with highest values in the morning and lowest in the afternoon, along with changes in PBL height and their daytime sinks. CO₂ concentrations were significantly correlated with CH₄, carbon-containing air pollutants, and combustion-derived air pollutants, suggesting that they are co-emitted from carbon-containing fuel combustion. CH₄ and N₂O are significantly correlated with each other and with NH₃, indicating possible common sources from biogenic emissions, such as fertilizer used in agricultural activities. Bivariate polar plots indicated higher CO₂ and CH₄ accumulated locally in calm winds and transported from the northwest and southeast directions, while lower CO₂ and CH₄ were transported southeast from the ocean. Cluster analysis suggested the air masses originating from five directions contributed 14%-26% of the total trajectories.

PMID:
42410278
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Jul 2026.

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