Articles | Volume 25, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-15009-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-25-15009-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Nov 2025
Research article |
| 10 Nov 2025
| 10 Nov 2025
Airborne quantification of Angolan offshore oil and gas methane emissions
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Maximilian Eckl
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Magdalena Pühl
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Tiziana Bräuer
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Klaus-Dirk Gottschaldt
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Heinfried Aufmhoff
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Lisa Eirenschmalz
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Flugexperimente, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Gregor Neumann
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Felicitas Sakellariou
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Daniel Sauer
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Robert Baumann
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Guilherme De Aguiar Ventura
Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, Luanda, Angola
Winne Nayole Cadete
Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, Luanda, Angola
Dário Luciano Zua
Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, Luanda, Angola
Manuel Xavier
Ministério dos Recursos Minerais, Petróleo e Gás, Luanda, Angola
Paulo Correia
Ministério dos Recursos Minerais, Petróleo e Gás, Luanda, Angola
Anke Roiger
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5191–5216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5191-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5191-2023, 2023
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Andreas Luther, Julian Kostinek, Ralph Kleinschek, Sara Defratyka, Mila Stanisavljević, Andreas Forstmaier, Alexandru Dandocsi, Leon Scheidweiler, Darko Dubravica, Norman Wildmann, Frank Hase, Matthias M. Frey, Jia Chen, Florian Dietrich, Jarosław Nȩcki, Justyna Swolkień, Christoph Knote, Sanam N. Vardag, Anke Roiger, and André Butz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5859–5876, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5859-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5859-2022, 2022
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Coal mining is an extensive source of anthropogenic methane emissions. In order to reduce and mitigate methane emissions, it is important to know how much and where the methane is emitted. We estimated coal mining methane emissions in Poland based on atmospheric methane measurements and particle dispersion modeling. In general, our emission estimates suggest higher emissions than expected by previous annual emission reports.
Amy Foulds, Grant Allen, Jacob T. Shaw, Prudence Bateson, Patrick A. Barker, Langwen Huang, Joseph R. Pitt, James D. Lee, Shona E. Wilde, Pamela Dominutti, Ruth M. Purvis, David Lowry, James L. France, Rebecca E. Fisher, Alina Fiehn, Magdalena Pühl, Stéphane J. B. Bauguitte, Stephen A. Conley, Mackenzie L. Smith, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Ignacio Pisso, and Stefan Schwietzke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4303–4322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4303-2022, 2022
Short summary
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We measured CH4 emissions from 21 offshore oil and gas facilities in the Norwegian Sea in 2019. Measurements compared well with operator-reported emissions but were greatly underestimated when compared with a 2016 global fossil fuel inventory. This study demonstrates the need for up-to-date and accurate inventories for use in research and policy and the important benefits of best-practice reporting methods by operators. Airborne measurements are an effective tool to validate such inventories.
Ramon Campos Braga, Barbara Ervens, Daniel Rosenfeld, Meinrat O. Andreae, Jan-David Förster, Daniel Fütterer, Lianet Hernández Pardo, Bruna A. Holanda, Tina Jurkat-Witschas, Ovid O. Krüger, Oliver Lauer, Luiz A. T. Machado, Christopher Pöhlker, Daniel Sauer, Christiane Voigt, Adrian Walser, Manfred Wendisch, Ulrich Pöschl, and Mira L. Pöhlker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17513–17528, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17513-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17513-2021, 2021
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Interactions of aerosol particles with clouds represent a large uncertainty in estimates of climate change. Properties of aerosol particles control their ability to act as cloud condensation nuclei. Using aerosol measurements in the Amazon, we performed model studies to compare predicted and measured cloud droplet number concentrations at cloud bases. Our results confirm previous estimates of particle hygroscopicity in this region.
Sven Krautwurst, Konstantin Gerilowski, Jakob Borchardt, Norman Wildmann, Michał Gałkowski, Justyna Swolkień, Julia Marshall, Alina Fiehn, Anke Roiger, Thomas Ruhtz, Christoph Gerbig, Jaroslaw Necki, John P. Burrows, Andreas Fix, and Heinrich Bovensmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17345–17371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17345-2021, 2021
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Quantification of anthropogenic CH4 emissions remains challenging, but it is essential for near-term climate mitigation strategies. We use airborne remote sensing observations to assess bottom-up estimates of coal mining emissions from one of Europe's largest CH4 emission hot spots located in Poland. The analysis reveals that emissions from small groups of shafts can be disentangled, but caution is advised when comparing observations to commonly reported annual emissions.
Tiziana Bräuer, Christiane Voigt, Daniel Sauer, Stefan Kaufmann, Valerian Hahn, Monika Scheibe, Hans Schlager, Felix Huber, Patrick Le Clercq, Richard H. Moore, and Bruce E. Anderson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16817–16826, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16817-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16817-2021, 2021
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Over half of aviation climate impact is caused by contrails. Biofuels can reduce the ice crystal numbers in contrails and mitigate the climate impact. The experiment ECLIF II/NDMAX in 2018 assessed the effects of biofuels on contrails and aviation emissions. The NASA DC-8 aircraft performed measurements inside the contrail of the DLR A320. One reference fuel and two blends of the biofuel HEFA and kerosene are analysed. We find a max reduction of contrail ice numbers through biofuel use of 40 %.
Yu-Wen Chen, Yi-Chun Chen, Charles C.-K. Chou, Hui-Ming Hung, Shih-Yu Chang, Lisa Eirenschmalz, Michael Lichtenstern, Helmut Ziereis, Hans Schlager, Greta Stratmann, Katharina Kaiser, Johannes Schneider, Stephan Borrmann, Florian Obersteiner, Eric Förster, Andreas Zahn, Wei-Nai Chen, Po-Hsiung Lin, Shuenn-Chin Chang, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, Pao-Kuan Wang, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-788, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-788, 2021
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By presenting an approach using EMeRGe-Asia airborne field measurements and surface observations, this study shows that the fraction of OH reactivity due to SO2-OH reaction has a significant correlation with the sulfate concentration. Approximately 30 % of sulfate is produced by SO2-OH reaction. Our results underline the importance of SO2-OH gas-phase oxidation in sulfate formation, and demonstrate that the method can be applied to other regions and under different meteorological conditions.
Julian Kostinek, Anke Roiger, Maximilian Eckl, Alina Fiehn, Andreas Luther, Norman Wildmann, Theresa Klausner, Andreas Fix, Christoph Knote, Andreas Stohl, and André Butz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8791–8807, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8791-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8791-2021, 2021
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Abundant mining and industrial activities in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin lead to large emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane. This study quantifies these emissions with continuous, high-precision airborne measurements and dispersion modeling. Our emission estimates are in line with values reported in the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR 2017) but significantly lower than values reported in the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR v4.3.2).
Ulrich Schumann, Ian Poll, Roger Teoh, Rainer Koelle, Enrico Spinielli, Jarlath Molloy, George S. Koudis, Robert Baumann, Luca Bugliaro, Marc Stettler, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7429–7450, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7429-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7429-2021, 2021
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The roughly 70 % reduction of air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic from March–August 2020 compared to 2019 provides a test case for the relationship between air traffic density, contrails, and their radiative forcing of climate change. This paper investigates the induced traffic and contrail changes in a model study. Besides strong weather changes, the model results indicate aviation-induced cirrus and top-of-the-atmosphere irradiance changes, which can be tested with observations.
Joan Stude, Heinfried Aufmhoff, Hans Schlager, Markus Rapp, Frank Arnold, and Boris Strelnikov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 983–993, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-983-2021, 2021
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In this paper we describe the instrument ROMARA and show data from the first flight on a research rocket.
On the way through the atmosphere, the instrument detects positive and negative, natural occurring ions before returning back to ground.
ROMARA was successfully launched together with other instruments into a special radar echo.
We detected typical, light ions of positive and negative charge and heavy negative ions, but no heavy positive ions.
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Short summary
In September 2022, an aircraft campaign measured methane emissions from all 57 Angolan offshore oil and gas facilities. Total CH₄ emissions were 16.9 ± 5.3 t h−1, dominated by older, shallow-water platforms. Emissions were lower than inventories but 2 times larger than operator reports. Trace gas data suggest venting and fugitives as main CH₄ sources. The carbon intensity was 3.4 ± 0.8 g CO₂ eq MJ−1, with older platforms CH₄-dominated and newer deep-water sites CO₂-dominated.
In September 2022, an aircraft campaign measured methane emissions from all 57 Angolan offshore...
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