Space-based observations of tropospheric ethane map emissions from fossil fuel extraction.

ABSTRACT: Ethane is the most abundant non-methane hydrocarbon in the troposphere, where it impacts ozone and reactive nitrogen and is a key tracer used for partitioning emitted methane between anthropogenic and natural sources. However, quantification has been challenged by sparse observations. Here, we present a satellite-based measurement of tropospheric ethane and demonstrate its utility for fossil-fuel source quantification. An ethane spectral signal is detectable from space in Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) radiances, revealing ethane signatures associated with fires and fossil fuel production. We use machine-learning to convert these signals to ethane abundances and validate the results against surface observations (R² = 0.66, mean CrIS/surface ratio: 0.65). The CrIS data show

SUBMITTER: Brewer JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11380669 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature