Methane emissions from the Marcellus Shale in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia based on airborne measurements.

ABSTRACT: Natural gas production in the U.S. has increased rapidly over the past decade, along with concerns about methane (CH₄) leakage (total fugitive emissions), and climate impacts. Quantification of CH₄ emissions from oil and natural gas (O&NG) operations is important for establishing scientifically sound, cost-effective policies for mitigating greenhouse gases. We use aircraft measurements and a mass balance approach for three flight experiments in August and September 2015 to estimate CH₄ emissions from O&NG operations in the southwestern Marcellus Shale region. We estimate the mean ± 1σ CH₄ emission rate as 36.7 ± 1.9 kg CH₄ s^-1 (or 1.16 ± 0.06 Tg CH₄ yr^-1) with 59% coming from O&NG operations. We

SUBMITTER: Ren X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5439486 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature