Lateral gas transport in soil adjacent to an old landfill: factors governing gas migration

Field experiments investigating lateral gas transport in soil adjacent to an old landfill in Denmark during a one-year period were conducted. A significant seasonal variation, with low concentrations of methane and high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the summer, caused by methane oxidation was observed. There was a good correlation between pressure above the barometric pressure and the methane concentration in the soil, indicating that advective flow was the controlling process. This was confirmed by calculations. Diurnal measurement during a drop in barometric pressure showed that lateral migration of landfill gas was a very dynamic system and the concentrations of LFG at a specific place and depth changed dramatically within a very short time. The experiments showed that change in barometric pressure was an important factor affecting gas migration at the Skellingsted landfill in Denmark.