Determination of the flux of atmospheric methane from earth's surface

The vertical distributions of the concentrations of methane and radon decay products in the layer from 0 to 5 km were synchronously measured in April 1975 in the Vitebsk region of the USSR. Data were obtained in a section of a 100-km flight path under neutrally stable atmospheric conditions. The mean vertical contaminant-transport coefficients, the chemical destruction constants of methane, and the methane flux from the earth's surface were calculated. Upper limits are estimated for the mean hydroxyl-radical concentrations in the troposphere. A procedure for the rough estimation of the annual global production of methane and CO (from methane) is discussed.