Spatial and Diurnal Assessment of Methane(CH₄) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study monitored the levels of methane, CH₄ in the different periods of the day in three sites in Port Harcourt urban city using on-site digital portable monitor for 21 days .The results showed that the levels of methane in the sites during the monitoring campaign ranged between 0.01-0.07ppm. Site 2 had highest levels of methane relative to sites 1 and 3. ANOVA statistics showed that the difference in mean concentration of methane between the sites were not statistically significant (p< 0.05) and differences were observed perhaps by random chance in the sampling process..The spatial variation had the trend : morning methane concentrations > evening concentrations > afternoon concentrations. There is no international/ national guideline limit for methane. However, the levels of methane found by this study are lower compared to literature values reported for studies in industrialized cities in Europe and Asia.

Keywords: Diurnal, Methane, Minitab, PGM50, Port Harcourt, Spatial, Urban