Articles | Volume 23, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6127-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6127-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Jun 2023
Research article |
| 06 Jun 2023
| 06 Jun 2023
Quantification of oil and gas methane emissions in the Delaware and Marcellus basins using a network of continuous tower-based measurements
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Kenneth Davis
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Natasha Miles
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Scott Richardson
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Aijun Deng
Utopus Insights, Inc, Valhalla, NY, USA
Benjamin Hmiel
Environmental Defense Fund, 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1300, Austin, TX, USA
David Lyon
Environmental Defense Fund, 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1300, Austin, TX, USA
Thomas Lauvaux
GSMA, University of Reims-Champagne Ardenne, UMR CNRS 7331, Reims, France
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Petter Weibring, Dirk Richter, James G. Walega, Alan Fried, Joshua DiGangi, Hannah Halliday, Yonghoon Choi, Bianca Baier, Colm Sweeney, Ben Miller, Kenneth J. Davis, Zachary Barkley, and Michael D. Obland
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The present study describes an autonomously operated instrument for high-precision (20–40 parts per trillion in 1 s) measurements of ethane during actual airborne operations on a small aircraft platform (NASA's King Air B200). This paper discusses the dynamic nature of airborne performance due to various aircraft-induced perturbations, methods devised to identify such events, and solutions we have enacted to circumvent these perturbations.
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Short summary
Using methane monitoring instruments attached to towers, we measure methane concentrations and quantify methane emissions coming from the Marcellus and Permian oil and gas basins. In the Marcellus, emissions were 3 times higher than the state inventory across the entire monitoring period. In the Permian, we see a sharp decline in emissions aligning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tower observational networks can be utilized in other basins for long-term monitoring of emissions.
Using methane monitoring instruments attached to towers, we measure methane concentrations and...
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