Articles | Volume 22, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3911-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3911-2022
Research article
 | 
25 Mar 2022
Research article |  | 25 Mar 2022

Quantifying fossil fuel methane emissions using observations of atmospheric ethane and an uncertain emission ratio

Alice E. Ramsden, Anita L. Ganesan, Luke M. Western, Matthew Rigby, Alistair J. Manning, Amy Foulds, James L. France, Patrick Barker, Peter Levy, Daniel Say, Adam Wisher, Tim Arnold, Chris Rennick, Kieran M. Stanley, Dickon Young, and Simon O'Doherty

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Short summary
Quantifying methane emissions from different sources is a key focus of current research. We present a method for estimating sectoral methane emissions that uses ethane as a tracer for fossil fuel methane. By incorporating variable ethane : methane emission ratios into this model, we produce emissions estimates with improved uncertainty characterisation. This method will be particularly useful for studying methane emissions in areas with complex distributions of sources.
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