Temporal variability largely explains top-down/bottom-up difference in methane emission estimates from a natural gas production region.

ABSTRACT: This study spatially and temporally aligns top-down and bottom-up methane emission estimates for a natural gas production basin, using multiscale emission measurements and detailed activity data reporting. We show that episodic venting from manual liquid unloadings, which occur at a small fraction of natural gas well pads, drives a factor-of-two temporal variation in the basin-scale emission rate of a US dry shale gas play. The midafternoon peak emission rate aligns with the sampling time of all regional aircraft emission studies, which target well-mixed boundary layer conditions present in the afternoon. A mechanistic understanding of emission estimates derived from various methods is critical for unbiased emission verification and effective greenhouse gas emission mitigation. Our results

SUBMITTER: Vaughn TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6243284 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature