by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
Landfills could be releasing far more methane<\/strong> into the atmosphere than official inventories indicate. The discrepancy may stem not only from the models used to produce the estimates but also from the way direct measurements are conducted. Occasional surveys, often concentrated in summer and on clear days that are more favorable for aircraft and satellite observations, may fail to capture the peaks<\/strong> that occur in winter and when atmospheric pressure falls. These are the findings of a study<\/a> published in Environmental Science & Technology<\/em> by researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory<\/strong>, a Columbia University<\/strong> institute located in Palisades, New York.<\/p>\n The research, based on two and a half years of monitoring, examined a large landfill<\/strong> complex in New Jersey, and its findings cannot automatically be generalized to all landfills. Nevertheless, it highlights the limitations of short-term surveys, suggesting that they may significantly underestimate actual landfill emissions.<\/p>\n