Cornell Flux Chamber¶
Project overview¶
Methane (CH4) emissions are increasing globally. Yet, partitioning different sources of methane emissions remains challenging due to the limited spatial and temporal scale of field measurements. Improving ground measurements of CH4 flux will allow us to identify and quantify how different policy and management actions can reduce emissions. In order to increase ground measurements of CH4 flux, we need affordable, rugged, and portable sensors that can be deployed for days to weeks at a time. This webpage documents the design, construction, and field testing of 10 prototype chambers to measure CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from a variety of environments (e.g., manure, wetlands, lakes, agricultural fields). The development of these affordable, portable, rugged, and easy to use chambers will expand ground CH4 flux measurements world-wide, ultimately providing much-needed science to inform carbon policy.
This webpage is dynamic, and will be updated as the project progresses.
Code¶
All project code lives in this git repository. As we develop libraries for communicating with the various sensors that compose our floating flux chamber, those libraries will be documented on webpages linked below.
- Flux chamber $\longrightarrow$ The main body of code to run the integrated motor and data logging system.
- CO2 sensor (+temp, +humidity) $\longrightarrow$ Selected Sensiron SCD30. Devices have been procured, students are building an interface library.
- Methane sensor $\longrightarrow$ Selected Figaro NGM 2511-E13. Devices have been procured, students are building an interface library.
- SD card
- Real time clock
- Stepper motors
- Terminal interface $\longrightarrow$ A debugging interface to test motor and logging settings.
- Testing $\longrightarrow$ Results of an extended lab test.
Mechanical design¶
- Design considerations $\longrightarrow$ Agreed upon first variation shown on this page. Mechanical prototyping underway.
Electrical design¶
Will include documentation of schematic, layout, etc.
Calibration and deployment instructions¶
To be populated.
Resources and literature¶
- The proposal for this project, which describes our objectives
- Self-Made Equipment for Automatic Methane Diffusion and Ebullition Measurements From Aquatic Environments
- [Technical note: Facilitating the use of low-cost methane (CH4)
sensors in flux chambers – calibration, data processing, and an open-source make-it-yourself logger](https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/17/3659/2020/)