Soil Atmosphere Concentration Profiles and Methane Emission Rates in the Restoration Covers Above Landfill Sites: Equipment and Preliminary Results

In an investigation into the microbial oxidation of methane in soils, a simple and robust sampling device for the collection of small samples of soil atmosphere was used. The method has the potential for determining small-scale variations in depth profiles of gases, without the potential problems of sample migration during collection. Measurements of methane concentration profiles at a number of points along a transect in a restored landfill site in Essex correlated well with the measured emission of landfill gas from the surface of the soil. Emissions were only detected where methane concentrations reached the soil surface.