Articles | Volume 20, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4545-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4545-2020
Research article
 | 
17 Apr 2020
Research article |  | 17 Apr 2020

Background heterogeneity and other uncertainties in estimating urban methane flux: results from the Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX)

Nikolay V. Balashov, Kenneth J. Davis, Natasha L. Miles, Thomas Lauvaux, Scott J. Richardson, Zachary R. Barkley, and Timothy A. Bonin

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Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
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Cited articles

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Barkley, Z. R., Lauvaux, T., Davis, K. J., Deng, A., Miles, N. L., Richardson, S. J., Cao, Y., Sweeney, C., Karion, A., Smith, M., Kort, E. A., Schwietzke, S., Murphy, T., Cervone, G., Martins, D., and Maasakkers, J. D.: Quantifying methane emissions from natural gas production in north-eastern Pennsylvania, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13941–13966, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13941-2017, 2017. 
Bonin, T. A., Carroll, B. J., Hardesty, R. M., Brewer, W. A., Hajny, K., Salmon, O. E., and Shepson, P. B.: Doppler lidar observations of the mixing height in Indianapolis using an automated composite fuzzy logic approach, J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol., 35, 473–490, https://doi.org/10.1175/jtech-d-17-0159.1, 2018. 
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Short summary
An accurate independent verification methodology to estimate methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) emissions is essential for the effective implementation of policies that aim to reduce the impacts of climate change. In this paper, four uncertainties that complicate the independent estimation of urban methane emissions are identified: the definition of urban domain, background heterogeneity, emissions temporal variability, and missing sources. Ways to improve emission estimates are suggested.
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