{"id":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","oai_identifier":"oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/125126"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/toronto-retro/oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/125126","repository":{"repo_id":"toronto-retro","name":"University of Toronto","base_url":"https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Quantifying Methane Emissions from the Greater Toronto Area","abstract":"The government of Ontario has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% of2005 levels by 2030. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA, pop. 6.4 million) is the most populous city in Canada, thus accurately quantifying GHG emissions from the GTA is an important step towards meeting Ontario’s commitments. In order to quantify GHG emissions and emission trends in an urban area, it is important to monitor GHG concentration levels in the atmosphere regularly to verify the accuracy of the reported emissions. In this study, I develop a new methane (CH4) emission inventory, using individual facility reports and emission estimates from area sources gathered for each municipality in the GTA. This allows us to have an emission inventory with a high spatial resolution that can be evaluated by atmospheric measurements. I describe the development of a network of portable Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) in the GTA that measure total columns of CO2, CH4 and CO in the atmosphere and use the tracer-tracer ratio method to estimate CH4 emissions in the GTA. In addition, I preform a detailed assessment of the FTS instrument accuracy, precision and their optical stability using data collected during a field campaign at 6 TCCON stations in North America. I also demonstrate that the low-resolution FTSs could be useful as a “travelling standard” to indirectly compare TCCON instruments to each other. Coincident measurements of the vertical profile of CO2, CH4, and CO from the AirCore balloon platform provided the data required to tie the FTS retrievals to the WMO trace gas standard scale so that they can be used as a satellite validation tool.","abstract_html":"The government of Ontario has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% of2005 levels by 2030. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA, pop. 6.4 million) is the most populous city in Canada, thus accurately quantifying GHG emissions from the GTA is an important step towards meeting Ontario’s commitments. In order to quantify GHG emissions and emission trends in an urban area, it is important to monitor GHG concentration levels in the atmosphere regularly to verify the accuracy of the reported emissions. In this study, I develop a new methane (CH4) emission inventory, using individual facility reports and emission estimates from area sources gathered for each municipality in the GTA. This allows us to have an emission inventory with a high spatial resolution that can be evaluated by atmospheric measurements. I describe the development of a network of portable Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) in the GTA that measure total columns of CO2, CH4 and CO in the atmosphere and use the tracer-tracer ratio method to estimate CH4 emissions in the GTA. In addition, I preform a detailed assessment of the FTS instrument accuracy, precision and their optical stability using data collected during a field campaign at 6 TCCON stations in North America. I also demonstrate that the low-resolution FTSs could be useful as a “travelling standard” to indirectly compare TCCON instruments to each other. Coincident measurements of the vertical profile of CO2, CH4, and CO from the AirCore balloon platform provided the data required to tie the FTS retrievals to the WMO trace gas standard scale so that they can be used as a satellite validation tool.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mostafavi Pak, Seyedeh Nasrin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Physical and Environmental Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Wunch, Debra"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-11","date_published":"2022-11","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:28:22Z","subjects":["Greater Toronto Area (GTA)","Greenhouse gas emission inventory","Greenhouse gas measurements","Methane (CH4)","Remote sensing of the atmosphere","Urban greenhouse gas emissions"],"languages":[],"rights":["Attribution 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1807/125126","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Wunch, Debra"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Physical and Environmental Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mostafavi Pak, Seyedeh Nasrin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2022-11"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2022-11-11T16:58:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-11-11T16:58:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2022-11"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Greater Toronto Area (GTA)","Greenhouse gas emission inventory","Greenhouse gas measurements","Methane (CH4)","Remote sensing of the atmosphere","Urban greenhouse gas emissions"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Attribution 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1807/125126"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The government of Ontario has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% of2005 levels by 2030. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA, pop. 6.4 million) is the most populous city in Canada, thus accurately quantifying GHG emissions from the GTA is an important step towards meeting Ontario’s commitments. In order to quantify GHG emissions and emission trends in an urban area, it is important to monitor GHG concentration levels in the atmosphere regularly to verify the accuracy of the reported emissions. In this study, I develop a new methane (CH4) emission inventory, using individual facility reports and emission estimates from area sources gathered for each municipality in the GTA. This allows us to have an emission inventory with a high spatial resolution that can be evaluated by atmospheric measurements. I describe the development of a network of portable Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) in the GTA that measure total columns of CO2, CH4 and CO in the atmosphere and use the tracer-tracer ratio method to estimate CH4 emissions in the GTA. In addition, I preform a detailed assessment of the FTS instrument accuracy, precision and their optical stability using data collected during a field campaign at 6 TCCON stations in North America. I also demonstrate that the low-resolution FTSs could be useful as a “travelling standard” to indirectly compare TCCON instruments to each other. Coincident measurements of the vertical profile of CO2, CH4, and CO from the AirCore balloon platform provided the data required to tie the FTS retrievals to the WMO trace gas standard scale so that they can be used as a satellite validation tool."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Quantifying Methane Emissions from the Greater Toronto Area"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Wunch, Debra"],"dc:contributor.department":["Physical and Environmental Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Mostafavi Pak, Seyedeh Nasrin"],"dc:date":["2022-11"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-11-11T16:58:28Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-11-11T16:58:28Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2022-11"],"dc:description.abstract":["The government of Ontario has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% of2005 levels by 2030. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA, pop. 6.4 million) is the most populous city in Canada, thus accurately quantifying GHG emissions from the GTA is an important step towards meeting Ontario’s commitments. In order to quantify GHG emissions and emission trends in an urban area, it is important to monitor GHG concentration levels in the atmosphere regularly to verify the accuracy of the reported emissions. In this study, I develop a new methane (CH4) emission inventory, using individual facility reports and emission estimates from area sources gathered for each municipality in the GTA. This allows us to have an emission inventory with a high spatial resolution that can be evaluated by atmospheric measurements. I describe the development of a network of portable Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) in the GTA that measure total columns of CO2, CH4 and CO in the atmosphere and use the tracer-tracer ratio method to estimate CH4 emissions in the GTA. In addition, I preform a detailed assessment of the FTS instrument accuracy, precision and their optical stability using data collected during a field campaign at 6 TCCON stations in North America. I also demonstrate that the low-resolution FTSs could be useful as a “travelling standard” to indirectly compare TCCON instruments to each other. Coincident measurements of the vertical profile of CO2, CH4, and CO from the AirCore balloon platform provided the data required to tie the FTS retrievals to the WMO trace gas standard scale so that they can be used as a satellite validation tool."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1807/125126"],"dc:rights":["Attribution 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["Greater Toronto Area (GTA)","Greenhouse gas emission inventory","Greenhouse gas measurements","Methane (CH4)","Remote sensing of the atmosphere","Urban greenhouse gas emissions"],"dc:title":["Quantifying Methane Emissions from the Greater Toronto Area"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:28:22Z"}