Autonomous ecosystem-scale technologies: SkyGas to SkyLine

‌Researchers from York have built a unique automatic greenhouse gases measurement system and are applying it for the first time to tackle the huge challenges associated with making automated greenhouse gases measurements over complicated landscapes.

https://youtu.be/fLwUyDdRuKw

Dr James Stockdale, project co-lead from the Department of Environment and Geography, explains: “Limitations to our knowledge mean that discussions of land management for carbon are often focused on activities such as tree planting while ignoring the hidden complexity of flows of GHGs in and out of soils.”

In order to meet the environmental and policy challenge of human-induced climate change in the 21st century, there is an urgent need for quantitative information about the sources and sinks of the responsible greenhouse gases (GHGs). Unfortunately, there are serious gaps in our quantification of some major global natural sources and sinks of GHGs across a wide range of ecosystems, whether natural or highly-managed agricultural sites. These limitations to our knowledge are largely a reflection of the necessary technologies for making the measurements.

Technological advancements are needed, not only in the development of spectroscopic techniques used in the next generation of gas analysers, but also in the development of robust, field-ready platforms to enable real-world measurements by scientists across the globe.

Aims and objectives

Existing ecosystem-scale measurement technologies are prone to producing single integrated measurements, which reduce the ability to undertake robust experiments at this ecosystem scale. In response, the development of SkyGas and SkyLine measurement systems at York aims to produce robust technologies which are able to continuously monitor GHG sources and sinks across multiple locations to enable the testing of specific hypotheses in various landscapes.

SkyLine In Action

https://youtu.be/Anhxe5k6a6o

This timelapse video shows SkyLine measuring greenhouse gas flows from soils and open water in a forested location.

Findings and outcomes so far

Five NERC-funded projects (totalling more than £0.8M) have helped to develop and use these novel technologies to autonomously monitor GHGs in a range of ecosystem-scale experiments:

SkyGas: Development of a new technique for determining watershed/airshed gas fluxes
The role of lateral exchange in modulating the seaward flux of Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorous
GREENHOUSE - Generating Regional Emissions Estimates with a Novel Hierarchy of Observations and Upscaled Simulation Experiments
Commercialisation of the greenhouse gas monitoring system SkyLine2D
Upscaling of greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater wetlands

SkyGas and SkyLine technologies are enabling the improved temporal and spatial range of data collected in a large number of experiments and have been used in conjunction with a range of collaborators including Forest Research, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Universities of Copenhagen, Exeter, and Sheffield. Experiments have been made in different agricultural, forested and peatland ecosystems. The previously unobtainable environmental data which is being gathered will support environmental policy in both developed and developing countries.

In addition to the increased understanding of temporal and spatial patterns of GHG emissions, these highly novel technologies have presented a commercial opportunity through the creation of a University spin-out company, EarthBound Scientifc Ltd. This new company, trading since 2021, is focused on meeting ongoing demand for Skyline2D using IP licensed from the University of York, and is also developing other novel environmental monitoring technologies. For further details see the Earthbound Scientific website.

Ongoing experiments in the UK and EU use SkyGas and SkyLine technologies with initial publications detailing sources and sinks of GHGs in a range of landscapes. These include previously unseen diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide emission, and inter-annual comparisons of methane from carbon rich peatland systems. In addition, the continuous measurement of a large number of discrete measurement plots in one SkyGas experiment has helped develop a new statistically-robust experimental approach. To find out on these publications visit the Earthbound Scientific website.

Project activities and publications

To view the research outputs of this project visit the Earthbound Scientific Outputs webpage.